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Freshman's goals lead Arapahoe

Taylor's unassisted scores key Warriors to 13th straight win

Brad Byler, Special to the News

Published October 11, 2006 at midnight

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LITTLETON - Mountain Vista isn't a soccer team that is likely to be held down for much longer.

But Tuesday afternoon, No. 1 Arapahoe showed it's still firmly in control of the Class 5A Continental League.

Behind two goals by Ryan Taylor, the Warriors remained unbeaten with a 2-0 victory against their ambitious league rival. With the playoffs just around the corner, Arapahoe controls the league with a 10-0 record and 13-0 overall.

Playing on their home field at Arapahoe High School, the Warriors withstood a serious test from No. 7 Mountain Vista (8-2 league, 10-2 overall).

In a game that was physical and at times emotionally charged, Taylor seemed to have the coolest head and the hottest feet. The freshman's first goal came in the 17th minute on a beautiful play in which the forward weaved through two defensemen and hit a perfectly placed shot to the far post.

"I just got the ball and started dribbling," said Taylor, who is called "Tex" by his teammates for his slight southern drawl and mild manner. He moved to Colorado two years ago from Arlington, Texas. "The defenders were on each side and when one tried to cut me off I cut in on him and took the shot."

Taylor scored his ninth goal of the season with just more than 15 minutes to play in the game on a blast from 20 yards to put the game out of reach for Mountain Vista.

"Ryan has a heck of a lot of talent and he's very dangerous facing the goal, as Mountain Vista found out a little too late," Arapahoe coach Mark Hampshire said.

Mountain Vista appeared to have a goal in the 64th minute on a shot by Sam Brodsky that would have tied the game, but offsides was called on the play.

"It would have been a lot different if they had scored there," Taylor said. "Their momentum would have gone up and it would have been a lot harder."

The Golden Eagles also were awarded a rare indirect free kick inside Arapahoe's penalty box with 12:26 left in the game, but Josh Belfrage's shot was blocked by the wall of Arapahoe defenders.

There were six yellow cards given in the game, most coming late in the second half, and one red card, for a vicious kick by Arapahoe midfielder Will Kingery that just missed the head of a Mountain Vista player.

"Keeping our heads until the end there was important in a physical game," Hampshire said. "Keeping our heads and communication when we're tired is key when you get to the playoffs, and we didn't do that as well as we could have."

For Mountain Vista, a team that was a struggling program just two seasons ago, the close game showed how far the Golden Eagles have come.

"I say it all the time. Arapahoe is a dynasty and they have been for a long time," Mountain Vista coach Theresa Echtermeyer said. "But my girls team is already there and the boys are going to show everybody that we are there, too."

Mountain Vista......0 0 - 0
Arapahoe......1 1 - 2

Goals - Ryan Taylor (unassisted) 17:56, Taylor (unassisted) 64:34.

Shots-on-goal - MV, 2-1 3; A, 2-5 7. Saves - MV (Johnny Foley) 1-4 5; A (Daniel Sidder) 2-1 3. Corner kicks - MV, 2-3 5; A, 2-2 4. Yellow cards - MV, Nathan Yeogin, Josh Belfrage; A, Keegan Bast, Michael Mosley, Joe Madigan, Cole Garrison. Red card - A, Will Kingery.