Niwot Boys Soccer grounds the Falcons 1-0

After taking down two top-10-ranked teams in two weeks, the Niwot Cougars took on cross-town rival Skyline, and came away with a hard-fought 1-0 victory.

Niwot entered the game against 6th-ranked Skyline as the No. 10 team in Class 4A, finally breaking into the top 10 rankings after beating then Top-10-ranked Silver Creek (6th) and Northridge (5th) in successive weeks. The Cougars went on to beat Severance, 7-0, on Sept. 27, before taking on Skyline Sept. 29.

The Falcons entered the game with a 7-1 record, while the Cougars were 5-3. "We always look forward to this game," Niwot Coach Stephen Dimit said. "There are a lot of guys who have known each other since they were little kids."

Eric Walker scored the only goal of the game, but Dimit described the play as involving "three of our most productive players, Josh Rodriguez, Josh Ary and Eric." Ary was credited with an assist, and Walker put the ball in the net, but it was a team effort. "They're usually setting each other up," Dimit noted. "We're starting to gel as a team."

With a 1-0 lead at the half, Dimit said his team "had to play a lot more defensively to lock it down" in the second period.

Goalkeeper Matt Hansen was solid in preventing the Falcons from scoring. "He made an incredible save in the second half on a ball that was over his head," Dimit said.

Dimit's back line of Usiel Franco Cruz and Aldo Lopez, with help from Montana Heather, who came off the bench, shut down the Falcons. "Montana Heather has been coming in off the bench, and he's been outstanding in terms of defense," Dimit said. "He's coming back from an injury, He gets a chance to look it over and adjust. He's such a smart player. He's the ultimate team player."

Against Severance, several Cougars got into the scoring column with Rodriguez leading the way with two goals and an assist. Others scoring included Bo Gardner, Miles Verbeck, Veer Gandhakwala, Javier Alvira and Walker. Gardner, Verbeck and Alvira each added assists, as did Jett Feiner, Cristian Perez and Ary. Hansen and Javier Amaya, who split time as keepers, shared the shutout.

Next up for the Cougars are games against Thompson Valley and Mountain View. "I'm feeling pretty good about this week," Dimit said.