Lotus School For Excellence boys soccer beats Vanguard 2-0 to reach state quarterfinals
The Meteors defeated The Vanguard School 2-0 to secure a spot against Skyview Academy.
By James Anderson ·
High school soccer players in Colorado’s Class 2A bracket returned to action on Wednesday after a two-week break.
The Lotus School For Excellence boys soccer team used that time off to maintain form, winning 2-0 against The Vanguard School. The victory sends the Meteors to the quarterfinals.
Lotus School For Excellence, seeded seventh, hosted the match at its home field. The Vanguard School, the 10th seed, entered the game after beating No. 23 Nederland 2-1 in the opening round. The Meteors had not played since their regular season ended on Oct. 23.
Senior Erick Ochoa and sophomore Hezekiah Yankson-Duah scored both goals in the first half. Ochoa found the net for his seventh goal of the season following a pass from junior Ricardo Garcia. Yankson-Duah added his second goal of the season, his first since Sept. 29.
Senior goalkeeper Diego Escoto made seven saves to preserve the shutout. Coach Christopher Nguyen’s team has reached at least the quarterfinals in four of the last six seasons. That record includes trips to the state title game in 2021 and 2022, where they lost to Crested Butte and Vail Mountain, respectively.
The Meteors, with a regular season record of 8-3-5, face second-seeded Skyview Academy on Saturday. The game starts at 11 a.m. on the road. Skyview Academy has a 12-0-3 record. The two teams drew 0-0 on Oct. 20 this season. A win for the Meteors would advance them to the Nov. 11 semifinals at North Stadium in Westminster.
In other Aurora area results, eighth-seeded Vanguard Classical East beat No. 9 Loveland Classical Academy 3-2 in the second round.
