October 26, 2021
LOCAL
SPORTS
Commerce City Sentinel Express 9
Soccer: Adams City poised for another run at state 5A title BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
AURORA – Adams City’s soccer team was hanging onto a state tournament slot as of Oct. 21. The Eagles, who lost to Hinkley 2-1 in Aurora in the regular-season finale, were in 31st place in the Ratings Performance Index, one of the criteria to determine the 32 postseason qualifiers. The draw was due Oct. 25, after press time (visit twitter/com/sportsland for updates), and first-round games are Wednesday, Oct. 27. Hinkley scored the first two goals of the Oct. 19 match in the first half, then withstood a late charge from the Eagles for the win. Josue Rascon, a sophomore forward, scored Adams City’s goal with about six minutes left. The game ended as Hinkley goalkeeper Ernesto Burciaga Garcia booted the ball to safety in front of an onrushing Eagles’ player. “We always talk about it being a numbers game,” Eagles coach Kevin Davis said. “Opportunities crate chances to finish. We’ve been awesome the entire season. We’re averaging 20-plus shots per game, which is unheard of, but that’s the style we play. We have a core of technically sound players.” Suncor Air Monitoring Print Ads.pdf Eight of the Eagles’ players are wrapping up their third year of
Hinkley’s Sammy Acosta and Adams City’s Efren Vidana chase down the loose ball during the teams’ Oct. 19 match at Hinkley. The Thunderbirds won it 2-1.
Adams City’s Omar Rivera, left, and Hinkley’s Olisa Uloko jostle for the ball along the PHOTOS BY STEVE SMITH sidelines during the teams’ game at Hinkley Oct. 19.
varsity level soccer. “We have the best player in the league (Diego Flores, 19 goals, 13 assists, 51 points), and we have the best goalie in the league (Adrian Arriaga, goals-against average of 0.588 in 15 games),” Davis said. “So that 2 8/10/21 10:38 PM kind of helps.” Davis said his team didn’t execute
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the game plan. “We knew what we were coming into. They were getting some of their stronger players back,” the coach said. “We struggled in the beginning. As the game went on, we started to find our style of play. It was too much to try and come back from a two-goal deficit.”
ACHS finished 12-3, 6-2 in the Eastern Metro Athletic Conference. It’s the first time since 2012 that Adams City won as many as 12 games in a season. The Eagles won 14 contests in 2012 and advanced to the second round of the state playoffs. A state tournament berth would be the second for ACHS in as many years. “We don’t care who we play,” Davis said. “These kids have been playing soccer all their lives. Once the whistle blows, it’s who can break each other down and create opportunities to finish. It just speeds up in the playoffs. Slowly but surely, we’re turning the program back to where it used to be and into a winning tradition.”
