Cooper's 2 goals propel 'Stangs past Arapahoe
Junior's scores, including the 2nd in the final minute of double overtime, push Mullen to 5-1; 'Stangs respond to their first loss and without leading scorer Gamueda.
Mullen proved its resilience on a breezy, chilly Friday.
A day after the Mustangs suffered a shutout and their first loss in the new Season C, they reached down and beat Arapahoe in 2-1 in double overtime. Nolan Cooper scored both goals, the second coming with 1 minute to play in the second extra session. They are his only scores of the season.
The Centennial League victory pushed the Mustangs to 5-1 overall and in league, dead-locking them with Grandview, which won the Thursday game 3-0, at the top of the loop. Mullen can finish no lower than second place and will face Smoky Hill on Saturday. A victory could force a tie for the league title and a Grandview loss to Overland would give them the crown outright.
There will be a three-game league tournament for each team next week to cap the regular season.
All of the above matters greatly, of course. However, the best thing to come out of Friday’s victory for head coach Matthew Guglielmo was the way his experienced team responded to its first real adversity.
The Mustangs also won without senior and leading goal-scorer A.J. Gamueda, quarantined for exposure to the coronavirus (COVID-19).
“Think about that,” the coach said. “We did it without our star player and through all of that, playing a second game in two days, we win and we play tomorrow. They looked great! We talked about the psychology of it, no A.J. and we had a great game plan. The guys were just great! They were men with a capital M.”
Arapahoe (4-2-1), which also lost 3-0 to Grandview, was game throughout the match. The traditionally strong and Class 5A Warriors had pretty much owned the 4A Mustangs, going 9-1-3 against them in the previous 13 meetings.
But Cooper broke the ice in the 18th minute for a 1-0 lead. The Warriors responded on a penalty kick off a hand ball, getting one past Andrew McGrath, who turned in another top-shelf performance.
That was it for the scoring until the 99th minute, when Cooper, a junior, reached the back of the net off an assist from Andrew DeBerardinis.
Guglielmo said he talked with Cooper about production and was pleased with his key contributions.
Junior Bryce Sohayda assisted on Cooper’s first goal.
Mullen outshot the Warriors 16-13, topped by Eli Kerschen’s five.
Guglielmo also cited the play of McGrath along with Paddy Bradley and Cole Dempsey.
The Mustangs have moved the starting time of Saturday’s game to 4:30 p.m. from noon, a few more hours for them to recover.
MULLEN 2, ARAPAHOE 1 (2OT)
Arapahoe 1 0 0 0 -- 1
Mullen 1 0 0 1 -- 2
MULLEN SCORING
Nolan Cooper (Bryce Sohayda), 18th minute; Nolan Cooper (Andrew DeBerardinis), 99th minute.
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