Mustangs handle Eaglecrest 2-1

Two matches into the Centennial League and against district teams that account for the largest enrollments in Colorado, Mullen is showing resiliency.

On a late Thursday afternoon that continued to highlight the Denver area’s gorgeous conditions and hint that winter isn’t too far away for the Rocky Mountains, the Mustangs displayed toughness. They wiped out an earlier deficit and took down Eaglecrest 2-1.

It improved Mullen’s overall mark to 6-2-1, 1-0-1 in the Centennial, and came after it had fought to a draw against Cherry Creek, the state’s largest school, eight days ago. Eaglecrest is 7-3, 0-2, and had come in with a solid RPI qualifying in big schools.

“They’re good,” Mustangs head coach Matthew Guglielmo said. “And, yeah, you always want your team to show grit internally, to show fortitude, and that comes out when you’re losing and you come back sometimes to just draw or get a win.”

The match was clean, offered assorted chances and included some sound defense.

The game-winner came in the 57^th minute off the feet of Eli Kerschen and A.J. Gamueda. Gamueda had come in from the right wing and his shot rebounded to Kerschen, who was there to deposit it for his team-leading 12^th goal.

“A.J. went to cross it and it hit the post, and it popped out,” Kerschen said. “I was pretty close and just put it in.”

Mullen’s overall protection the rest of the way was effective. The Mustangs also hit the crossbar a couple of times among other chances.

Eaglecrest had grabbed a 1-0 lead midway into the first half, but when the Raptors took down a Mustang in the box in the 39^th minute, a penalty shot was awarded and senior Kyle Cooper came through, getting one past the Raptors keeper to his left – he actually got a hand on it -- and just inside the right post.

“I try to practice them and it’s usually best when I keep my head clear,” Cooper said. “It was close and he almost had a good save on it.”

Said Guglielmo: “This was great against a top-15 team in 5A in the RPI.”

Mullen won is 4-0-1 in its past five matches.

Next will be a late league match (7:30 p.m.) on Monday against another upper-enrollment team, Cherokee Trail, at Legacy Stadium in Aurora.

Mullen goals – Kyle Cooper, Eli Kerschen.

Mullen assists – A.J. Gamueda.