Cougars boot No. 1 Eagles again

By Elwood K. Shelton, For the Ledger

ENGLEWOOD — It was a different round, but the same result.

For a second year in a row, fourth-seeded Niwot figured out a way to knock off No. 1 Broomfield when it mattered most — the Class 4A tournament.

The only difference with the Cougars` 1-0 victory in Saturday night`s semifinals at Pirate Stadium was that it came a round later than the team`s win in 2008.

The victory`s tardiness made it no less exciting.

Santiago Velez set the Cougars on a path to a second-consecutive championship appearance in Wednesday`s title game at Dick`s Sporting Goods Park with a goal as exciting as the game.

“I just saw I had the chance and put it away with my left foot,” the Niwot midfielder said.

Not only did the junior put Niwot (17-2) on the board with his left foot, but he also knocked Broomfield (18-1) on its heels from nearly 30-yards out.

Velez exacted a bit of revenge for his team`s 5-1 regular-season loss to Broomfield in the 59th minute. And it only took a split second for the play to come together, with the midfielder connecting on a feed from Alex Braman.

The ball landed in front of Velez and he laid a boot on it.

It came as no surprise, with the game tightly marked on both sides, that a long shot would find its mark. And almost immediately after the score, the Cougars believed they had the game in the bag.

“Our defense has played strong all year,” Velez said. “I knew that one goal was going to put it away for us.”

Broomfield responded to the score with its strongest offensive push of the evening. But the flurry of action for the final 20 minutes provided few solid looks on the frame.

The best look the Eagles got came in the 76th minute, when Colton Lamb crashed the net. But he was met directly by the goalie, Connor Wood.

Another good look Broomfield got actually had the potential to put the team in the catbird seat, with Carlos Mendez attacking in the 50th minute. His header was right on target, but again Wood was there, deflecting the shot directly to the post.

“We wanted to end their season like they ended ours (last year),” Broomfield forward Cole Chapleski said. “But it just wasn`t in the cards.”