Boulder went on the road to Prairie View on Tuesday night and came home with a vital 3–0 win, capped by a highlight long shot from senior captain Zac Sheinbaum at the horn. Short-handed due to injuries, Coach Hardy Kalisher kept tweaking his lineup in a must-win stretch for state tournament positioning. The changes paid off in the final 20 minutes.

Cagey first half, clean sheet foundation

Boulder controlled long spells early but could not crack the Thunderhawks' back line. Several looks flashed wide, and a couple of dangerous counters the other way forced sharp work from goalkeeper Joey Schwab. The match went to halftime 0–0.

Second half surge

The stalemate lingered through the first 20 minutes after the restart, including a close-range miss and a shot off the post. Kalisher then revisited one more adjustment, sliding Hayden Neale from the 9 into a central midfield role to face upfield and link play. The switch lifted the tempo along with several other player changes.

• 1–0, Marco Castro. Moments after stepping onto the field in the second half and with roughly 20 minutes left, Castro found a window and lifted a high finish over the keeper's right hand to finally put Boulder in front.

• 2–0, Hayden Neale. Minutes later, a long ball sprung Neale into a one-on-one. He stayed composed and slipped a low shot inside the left post.

• 3–0, Zac Sheinbaum. Boulder kept the press on to the end. With seconds remaining, the Prairie View keeper's short punt fell to Sheinbaum near midfield. From about 55 yards, he struck a driven ball with the keeper off his line. It sailed and dropped into the net as the clock hit zero for his first goal of the season and a true web gem.

Defensive stand and Player of the Game

Schwab and the back four authored the clean sheet, cutting out late counters and managing crosses. Sheinbaum was named Player of the Game for marshaling the back line all night and sealing it with the long-range dagger.

Final: Boulder 3, Prairie View 0

Next up: Boulder hosts Riverdale Ridge on Thursday, October 16 at 7:00 PM at Recht Field.

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