Niwot boys soccer wins first playoff game

Niwot High School boys soccer coach Stephen Dimit didn't rest easy until Javier Alvira scored what turned out to be the third and final goal of a 3-0 shutout against D'Evelyn High School in the first round of the state 4A soccer playoffs.

Niwot hosted the game under the lights on the new turf at NHS, and fans were not quite sure where to sit as both teams feature green as the school colors. Niwot entered the playoffs as the No. 7 seed, while D'Evelyn was No. 26.

"They came out pretty fired up," Dimit said, referring to D'Evelyn. "We hadn't seen a team like that. They play three in the back and we had to make a lot of adjustments. That challenged us. We had to figure out how to share responsibilities."

Dimit explained that the Cougars play four in the back on defense, then look to add players to the attack. D'Evelyn wasn't the first time Niwot had seen the three-back defense, and the Cougars had scouted their opponent well. But Dimit noted, "Teams have had to adjust to us." This time the Cougars had to make some adjustments.

Niwot's Josh Rodriguez got off a shot on goal in the opening minute, but the ball sailed wide left. The next 10 minutes saw D'Evelyn test Niwot goalkeeper Matt Hansen repeatedly, but he was up to the task.

Two minutes into the game D'Evelyn had a shot on goal that deflected off the crossbar. A minute later Hansen deflected a shot, and after Niwot's Josh Ary took a shot at the goal that was caught by the D'Evelyn goalkeeper, Hansen again had to make a play to catch a hard shot by D'Evelyn from in front of the goal.

At that point, Dimit was vocal from the sideline in telling his players, "Let's settle!" Own your space!"

From that point on, Niwot controlled the game, but was unable to convert three penalty kicks. Then, wth 17 minutes left in the half, the Cougars scored. "Josh Ary set up that first goal," Dimit said. Jett Feiner, who Dimit said had a really good game, took a shot that bounced off the right post. "Eric Walker was right there to tap it in," Dimit said.

Niwot had several other chances to score in the first half, and D'Evelyn had an opportunity as well, but Feiner was knocked to the ground and injured with four minutes left in the half. Ary took the PK, and put the ball in the net to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead.

Niwot's defense, led by Bo Gardner, prevented D'Evelyn from getting any more scoring chances before the period ended.

The cool evening sent some fans to their cars to warm up. When play resumed, the Cougars were careful not to let D'Evelyn back into the game. Hansen caught several shots by D'Evelyn and one sailed over the goal from 30 yards out.

Then, with 17 minutes left, Javier Alvira "took a shot from way outside," as Dimit described it, that was perfectly placed past the D'Evelyn goalkeeper and into the net. "Javy just saw the possibility and thought, 'Why the heck not?'" Dimit said. "It was a big goal for us. It was nice to get."

D'Evelyn took some shots in the closing minutes, but Niwot defended them well. "Usiel Franco Cruz, a junior, was cited by Dimit for his outstanding play. "He plays almost every minute, He's our leader in the back. He's one of the best defenders in the state."

Dimit noted that Cruz has also scored three goals on the season, which is unusual for a defender, though all three came on corner kicks. Dimit also lauded goalkeeper Matt Hansen who routinely gets off 70-yard kicks. "There are other kids who can match him for distance, but he can put the ball where he wants it," Dimit said. "He's unusually good."

Next up for Niwot is another home game, this time against Steamboat Springs on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 6:00 p.m. under the lights. "Coach Brett [Butrick] and I have been looking at their film," Dimit said. "There are four mountain teams left in the field of 16, and three teams in our league."