A thrilling season for the Broomfield Boys soccer team ended just a few weeks ago, bringing home the ninth state title for the Eagles. Although the Eagles made it look easy, it was not a simple task defeating five playoff teams to make it to the end.
The Eagles had a simple strategy when entering playoffs: “This year we were way more defensive than we have been in the past. We really tried to focus on keeping shutouts and having the strongest backline possible so that we could put ourselves in a good place to win,” said Head Coach, Zachary Hindman.
In the first round, Broomfield (7) faced Chaparral (26) and dominated on the field to win 5-0.
Six days later, Broomfield (7) played a tight match against Fossil Ridge (10) which fell into overtime at 1-1. This allowed the Eagles their first overtime experience, which was just enough time to get their minds right and move onto the elite eight.
Looking for an upset in the quarterfinals, Broomfield (7) faced Ralston Valley (2), but they once again fell short of victory in the 80 minutes of regular time. However, they fought hard and won 2-1 in overtime to secure the spot in the semi-finals.
In the semi-finals, the Eagles came in strong and confident; however, they may have underestimated Cherokee Trail (14) who they beat 4-1 earlier in the season. This game was no different than the other playoff games for the Eagles, ending the 80 minutes of regulation in a draw. But as the situation demanded, Broomfield dominated the overtime, and again was able to steel themselves and get the win for a spot in the state championship.
As fans traveled to Colorado Spring for both Broomfield and Denver East to fill the stands of Weidner Stadium, Broomfield was preparing: “Just before the game I was pretty nervous… [during] the warm-up I was trying to stay locked in,” said senior, Luis Meza-Acosta.
Before the first kick, the Eagles joined together to prepare for the state title match. Junior Evan Kulstad recalled saying, “We can’t’’ fall short…we’ve woken up earlier than everyone, we’ve stayed later than everyone, we’ve stayed after hours…we’ve done the extra work and now’s the time to use it, and now’s the time it pays off.”
Students for both Broomfield and Denver East showed up, and showed out. “The energy (from the student section) was insane,” said Meza-Acosta.
Entering the 58th minute, the match was scoreless until senior Marcus Von scored with an outstanding bicycle kick, making the match 1-0. “At halftime the coaches said any shot that you can take, go for it…I saw it up in the air and I was like, might as well shoot this shot,” said Von.
Denver East answered quickly, tying the match 1-1 just minutes after.
To no one’s surprise, the Boys 2023 State Championship was going to be decided in overtime.
“Before we even started the game, the coaching staff and I were joking that there was really only one way the game was gonna go and that would be in overtime, so we were ready,” Hindman said.
Broomfield has learned to thrive and control the game once the 80 minute clock runs out. During the huddle preparing for overtime, senior Liam Snee recapped, “I don’t think we were too worried, our last three playoff games before that also went into overtime. We knew that’s where we were going to thrive. We knew we would get the job done.”
It takes a very good team to make it to the championship and win state, but it takes a great team to be able to win every game and the championship during overtime. “We are more capable of outlasting the other teams, which is why — while we might not necessarily be able to get a win in regular time — we are always able to get it done in overtime,” Snee stated.
“The boys were ready to stay calm and do what they needed to do,” said Hindman. And after two overtime periods and a game winning penalty kick, saved by Evan Kulstad, the Eagles were able to add another championship title to their name.
“We went straight into running around with the trophy. We could just see how ecstatic everybody was…and grateful. All of the positive emotions you could think of were just flowing through the entire group,” explained Hindman.
Saying goodbye to 14 seniors, leaving only 12 underclassmen behind, will be a challenge within itself; however, the Eagles expect to come back next season stronger than ever. “I hope that the team can continue competing at a high level for years to come,” said senior Landon Clubb.
