Wheat Ridge boys soccer picks up 5th straight win to stay in hunt for 4A/3A Jeffco title

ARVADA — Despite losing its leading goal scorer due to a red card Tuesday night at the North Area Athletic Complex, Wheat Ridge boys soccer pulled out a victory against Bear Creek.

Wheat Ridge senior Joseph Martell received a red card in the 35th minute to put the Farmers a man-down with the game scoreless against Bear Creek. However, junior Eduardo Jimenez Chacon came through with an assist and goal to lift the Farmers to a 2-1 victory.

“That is all we needed to do. Make sure we got the win,” Wheat Ridge coach Lawrie O’Toole said. “The boys know that. Going down a man and battling back from that for a win was great.”

Martell had scored 11 goals in the previous four games for Wheat Ridge (8-4, 6-1 in Class 4A/3A Jeffco League). The game was still scoreless after 40 minutes, which gave time for the Farmers to regroup.

“I got the team together and told everyone that we couldn’t lose our heads,” Jimenez Chacon said of what he told his team after Martell received the red card that will also keep him out of Wheat Ridge’s next game against Standley Lake. “I believed we were the better team. As long as we play our game we would win the game. That is what ended up happening.”

Jimenez Chacon got the scoring going in the 43rd minute. He fired a centering pass to junior Cole Aardema, who was able to tap it in for the first score of the game.

Bear Creek (2-6-4, 2-3-2) answered with a goal off a long free kick by senior Erick Vences that hit off a Farmer defender and into the net in the 45th minute to tie things up 1-1.

But again, Jimenez Chacon answered the call burying a penalty kick in the 66th minute to regain the lead. Aardema was fouled in the goal box to give the Farmers the penalty kick.

“I like taking those because I like the pressure,” Jimenez Chacon said of the penalty kick. “I’m also pretty composed when I take PKs. I knew it was going to go in.”

It was Jimenez Chacon’s seventh goal of the season.

“Eddy has a pulled groin and was only supposed to play 20 or 30 minutes today, but ended up playing the full 80,” O’Toole said. “He’ll probably need an ice bath tomorrow, but he was fantastic. He gave us just what we needed tonight.”

Bear Creek actually lost a player due to a red care too. Junior Lenny Ocana picked up his second yellow card midway through the second half that evened the number of players on the field for both teams. Two yellow cards equals a red card that sent off Ocana.

The Farmers finish the regular season with conference games against Standley Lake (Oct. 8), Evergreen (Oct. 19) and Green Mountain (Oct. 22). Golden and Evergreen, along with Wheat Ridge were in the top-10 of the CHSAA 4A boys soccer rankings powered by MaxPreps to start the day on Tuesday.

“Thursday we need to make sure we are ready to go,” O’Toole said of the game against Standley Lake back at NAAC. “Obviously, we’ll be without (Martell) now. Evergreen will be a huge and Green Mountain to finish.”

If the Farmers can close the season on an 8-game winning streak they could get into that top-8 and possibly host the first two rounds of the 4A state tournament that begins Oct. 29.