Niwot boys soccer ties Skyline in regular season finale; playoffs loom

When Niwot and Skyline get together in boys soccer, a close game typically follows. That proved true once again on Oct. 22 when the two teams settled on a 1-1 draw.

Niwot will now enter the 4A state playoffs as the No. 19 seed and will face No. 14 Regis Groff in Denver on Thursday, Oct. 28 at 6 p.m. It will mark the third consecutive season these schools have met in the playoffs-the Cougars beat the Fusion 2-1 in last season's quarterfinals matchup in April. Regis Groff finished 9-6 this year and plays in the 5A/4A Denver Prep League.

Ending its regular season with a tie wasn't exactly ideal for Niwot, but the Cougars remained confident knowing the playoffs came next. Head coach Stephen Dimit, who has reached the playoffs in each of his six seasons at Niwot, believed the regular season finale nailbiter was a helpful experience before more solid competition awaits.

"I think the game was also really good for showing us how to play in a tight game and keep our heads," Dimit said.

The tie ended Niwot's regular season with a record of 9-5-1 while Skyline closed the book at 7-7-1.

Senior Azael Marrufo had Niwot's lone goal on a free kick at the 28:32 mark of the first half. Marrufo, who recently scored a hat trick in Niwot's 4-1 win against Thompson Valley on Oct. 14, tacked on his team-leading 16th goal to give the Cougars an early 1-0 advantage.

On an afternoon when Niwot celebrated its seniors, Marrufo's goal was an appropriate way to begin the final game on his home turf. Other seniors who were celebrated after the game included Mason Wright, Kaiden Waterman, Jacob Elston, Charlie Ingraham, Julian Biscaldi and Finlay Burns.

Just months after playing a COVID-19 delayed spring season, Dimit said this group of seniors had a unique career. A big challenge for them was leading a young team back to normalcy through a pandemic.

"They had the added responsibility of bringing the normal traditions back into it and leading a really young team this year and showing them how we do it," Dimit said. "Their role goes beyond soccer. They were hugely helpful in carrying the culture of our program forward after everything kind of went squirrely."

At the 33:03 mark in the second half, Skyline sophomore Brain Heredia tied the game at one. Another goal would not be scored. Dimit said a pair of his senior defenders helped hinder the Skyline offense through regulation and through two 10-minute overtime periods.

"In terms of seniors stepping up, Mason (Wright) and Charlie (Ingraham) played almost every minute back there," Dimit said. "To have their leadership and their experience back there with kind of an inexperienced center back group that we've had this year, they've been huge."

Niwot's defense allowed just two goals in its final four games of the season.

As a team, Wright said that playing better late in games will be key for Niwot making another deep run into the playoffs. Many of the current seniors were juniors last season when Niwot fell to Windsor in the state semifinals. Wright wants to keep it simple.

"You've just got to show up and perform and we'll be good," Wright said.