Lobos Take First Loss To Farmers
Junior Miles Garrison dribbles with pace into the attacking half. Garrison is currently the top goal scorer for the Conifer Boys soccer with a total of 12 goals this season, as well as 7 assists. One of these 12 goals was from the Wheat Ridge game, when he scored the second goal for Conifer off a free kick from Grant Kirklin.
The buzzer sounds, and for the first time all season the Lobo Boys Soccer team hangs their heads in defeat. The Wheat Ridge Farmers just ruined their undefeated record in a fierce battle into double overtime, which ended in a 3-2 loss.
“We played phenomenal today. I’m proud of our effort but mad about the result,” Coach Jason Wooldridge said.
The team was able to find their two goals in the first 11 minutes, the first being a ball played by Maddox Rife which was then finished by Grant Kirklin. The second was a volley into the top corner by Miles Garrison off of a free kick from Kirklin. The team’s composure was kept for only a little while after taking the lead, and Wheat Ridge began to gain momentum. The notoriously strong high press of Wheat Ridge allowed the team to have multiple chances to find the back of the net and, with 6 minutes left in the half they found their way into the box, forcing Lobo keeper Trace Avery to make a dangerous tackle to stop the shot. This resulted in a penalty kick for Wheat Ridge, which brought them onto the scoreboard. From there, Wheat Ridge continued to hold possession and dominate the field. Just as the half was wrapping up, Will McIntosh made one of his signature slide tackles to prevent an impending shot. Unluckily, this slide tackle took down the player instead of the ball, causing another penalty kick. Wheat Ridge fans erupted into cheers as the ball found the back of the net, tying the game with only 9 seconds left in the half.
“A couple stupid fouls took the match out of our hands,” Wooldridge said.
Coming back into the second half, both teams battled for a chance to take the lead. Wheat Ridge had momentum going forward, but Conifer fought to stay in the game and closed down every chance. Though there were various close opportunities, neither team succeeded in scoring a goal. This took the players into overtime to try and determine a winner. The boys had played for 80 minutes already, and now faced a sudden death; the team that scored first would be the victor.
“We were in the match the whole time,” Wooldridge said. “The game was ours.”
The buzzer sounded, ending the ten minutes of overtime, and both teams had yet again failed to score. There would be another ten minutes of play before they would have to settle for a tie. But, after fighting long and hard, Wheat Ridge managed to find glory with their third and final goal of the game. Jacob Tims of Wheat Ridge fired a shot into the bottom left corner, and smashed into the back of the net. The Farmers ran to their open-armed fans, screaming in their victory as the Lobo Boys walked off the field with heads hung in defeat.
“They got one actual goal the whole game. It should have been our win,” junior Miles Garrison said.
Despite the end of their 9-0 winning streak, Conifer still has big goals for the season.
“We still have a chance at state, that’s still our push. We still have that opportunity. It’s just, can we come back from one loss and not make it two?” Wooldridge said.
The team did just that, winning against Green Mountain 3-0 on September 30. Since then the Lobos have lost to Evergreen and beat Dakota Ridge, putting their current record at 10-2.
“We’re still just in the beginning of League competition. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season,” junior Reid Hollis said.
The loss against Wheat Ridge is still an improvement over last year’s 4-0 loss to the team. Wooldridge is proud of their improvement.
“We had our character tested tonight… but if we can bounce back like we should after Friday, I think our season is gonna be just fine,” Wooldridge said.
