ARVADA — Fittingly, Ralston Valley boys soccer team made history by defeating its rival Arvada West on Tuesday night at the North Area Athletic Complex.
The 1-0 victory over A-West officially cemented the Fall 2025 season as the best regular-season record for Ralston Valley (14-0-1 record) in the program’s history. The Mustangs had a 13-0-2 regular mark in 2023 when Ralston Valley advanced to the 5A state quarterfinals.
“At first I didn’t think it was going to be broken,” Ralston Valley senior goalie Ben Brown said of topping the 2023 squad. “Taking that record from that team is a great honor.”
The lone blemish for the Mustangs this season was a tie against Regis Jesuit on Aug. 26. Brown actually scored the game-tying goal in the final seconds to give Ralston Valley the tie.
“Full credit to the boys,” Ralston Valley coach John Doody said of the Mustangs setting the new mark. “I don’t want to say we weren’t respected, but I don’t think people thought we would be at this level this year. I’m just so proud of them. Fourteen regular-season wins, I’ll take that every year.”
Ralston Valley clinched a three-peat of the 5A Jeffco League title two weeks ago with a 2-0 victory over Valor Christian on Oct. 7. The Mustangs finished out a perfect 5-0 conference record with a 4-1 win over Columbine on Oct. 14 and opened 5A Jeffco’s plus-2 tournament with another 2-0 shutout win over Valor on Oct. 17.
Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Public Schools
A-West (6-6-3) did give Ralston Valley a tussle Tuesday night at NAAC. The Mustangs finally took a 1-0 lead in the 67th minute. A perfect centering fed from senior Ethan Orchard to junior Dylan Chambers broke the scoreless tie.
“Ethan will take on players, so I’m waiting for that ball to come through,” Chambers said describing the lone goal. “I saw him beat a player and I was showing. It came right to me and I put it in.”
Chambers tapped the ball past A-West freshman goalie Hunter Wilcox, who had made several saves and got an assist from the cross bar and post on a few other shots.
“Those types of games are going to happen,” Brown said. “You might as well get this game out of the way now instead of in playoffs. Great of our attack for getting the goal and our defense for getting another shutout.”
Doody was ecstatic about Ralston Valley giving up just four goals over 15 regular-season games. The Mustangs finished with 11 shutout victories.
“What a credit to Ben, the backline and the whole team,” Doody said of the defensive prowess. “What a platform for us to have going into the playoffs.”
Ralston Valley now waits to see where it is seeded for the 32-team 5A state tournament. The Mustangs were No. 2 in the CHSAA Selection & Seeding Index before the regular-season finale victory Tuesday night at NAAC.
CHSAA’s seeding meeting is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 27.
“Seeding isn’t going to matter anymore,” Brown said looking ahead to the start of the postseason. “Every team is going to try to play their best to win that state championship. That is the mentality we are going to have to bring. Play like our lives are on the line.”
Ralston Valley should be joined by Columbine, A-West, Lakewood and Valor in the 5A state field.
“It looks like five 5A Jeffco teams going to playoffs,” Doody said. “I think that says a lot about the league, the coaching and the quality. I’m really excited about that. It’s a big thing for Jeffco.”
The Mustangs will most certainly host a first-round game Wednesday, Oct. 29, at NAAC. A victory in the opening round would allow Ralston Valley to host a second-round game Tuesday, Nov. 4, back at NAAC. The 5A quarterfinals will be played at a neutral site — Randy Penn Stadium at Englewood High School — on Saturday, Nov. 8.
The 5A semifinals will be played Tuesday, Nov. 11, at CIBER Field at the University of Denver. State championship games for all classifications are scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 15, at Switchbacks Weidner Field in Colorado Springs.
“There is always going to be exciting going into playoffs,” Chambers said. “We are all ready.”
Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Public Schools
