Niwot blanks Thompson Valley at home

The Niwot boys soccer team extended their winning streak to four with a 3-0 victory over Thompson Valley on Oct. 3. Junior Aidan Martin scored while most of the crowd was still finding their seats, and then senior Jared Osteen struck twice in the second half to deliver the Cougars’ second Northern League win of the week.

“That’s some real good stuff,” Niwot head coach Stephen Dimit said, after noting that his team also has a four-game shutout streak. On Oct. 1, they beat Mountain View 3-0 in their league opener. “I’m proud of the guys for how hard they’ve worked for the last few wins, for facing down the adversity of not having the record we wanted four games ago, and for getting things to go a little more in the right direction.”

Despite the early score, it was not easy going for Niwot in the first half, mostly due to a steady stream of penalties and free kicks. This seemed to keep both teams off-balance early on, though Niwot was able to dominate possession for the most part. Nonetheless, it was enough of a concern to Dimit that the constant whistles got top billing in his halftime comments.

“We had to control it ourselves, and not let all of that distract us,” Dimit said. “I thought we did a really good job of it in the second half because we settled in and actually got more of the opportunities due to fouls then they got in the second half.”

It was Osteen’s second multi-goal game of the week, and the senior said afterwards that Martin’s quick score gave the team some extra confidence that helped them weather the rocky first half.

“We dominated possession and kept pushing for every attack,” he said. “And we did our best not to focus on the things that are out of our control.”

The Cougars saw limited action from senior keeper Pancho Rodriguez, who has been sidelined with an injury as of late. The team was also without the services of senior Andy Worrell on defense, but the other starters stepped up in his absence, according to Dimit.

“We miss his height and leadership back there, but Manny Soto and Carter Kruse have been leading the team really well in his absence, and I’m particularly proud of those guys.”

With the win, Niwot improved to 6-4 on the year, and is undefeated in the Northern League. Up next for the Cougars is Greeley Central on Oct. 9, followed by Centaurus on Oct. 12.

10/3--Niwot 3, Thompson Valley 0

Eagles (4-5, 0-2) 0 0 — 0

Cougars (6-4, 2-0) 1 2 — 3

Goals — Osteen (2), Martin

Assists — Dominguez, Hansen

Goalies (Min-Goals allowed-Saves) — J. Amaya (70-0-8), P. Rodriguez (10-0-0)