Niwot boys soccer plays strong during a tough week

The Niwot High School boys soccer team finally lost its undefeated record, tying Centaurus High School 0-0 before losing 3-1 to rival Silver Creek High School. The Cougars are now 3-1-2 on the season with their Thursday loss against Silver Creek being their first loss of the season. Both Centaurus (#1) and Silver Creek (#4) were top teams in the league and ranked in the CHSAA top 10, so Niwot playing close with them is a good sign for the season.

Niwot's first game last week was on Tuesday where they took on the Centaurus Warriors at home. Centaurus was 6-0 prior to the game and was ranked as the top team in the state. Niwot might not have been able to knock in any goals of their own this game, but they were able to shut out Centaurus as junior Malachi Gilmore put the team on his back with six saves in 80 minutes to keep Niwot alive. Niwot got through the game with fierce competition cementing their place as a team to be reckoned with this season.

Niwot's next game wasn't as favorable as they took on their school rival, the Silver Creek Raptors at Silver Creek. Niwot struggled for the first half, going down by two goals. Gilmore was in goal for the first half and allowed two goals on five attempts, saving three of them.

The performance wasn't bad, but it didn't live up to the games played previously. Junior Lucas Willard stepped in for Gilmore at the half, saving five of six shots during the second period, letting one sneak by. Niwot was also able to net a goal of their own as senior Josh Rodriguez continued to cement himself as the leading scorer for Niwot, scoring off of an assist from senior Noah Beltran. Niwot did go on to lose the game 3-1, but fought throughout continuing to show their strengths.

Rodriguez was the only one to net a goal this week, getting a team-leading fifth goal of the season in just six games. Beltran got the only assist, bringing his assist total up to two on the season. Gilmore had a great week, stopping eight of 11 shots bringing his save percentage on the year to a staggering 85% while Willard has bumped his rate to an above-average 40%.

Niwot has games against the 3-2-1 Roosevelt High School team on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Niwot, which will be followed by the 2-1-3 Northridge High School team on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Greeley.