DENVER >> After a first half that rained goals for No. 10 Broomfield and No. 6 Castle View girls soccer at DU’s CIBER Field on Thursday night, neither team could buy a score through the 30 minutes of overtime that ensued.

They needed seven rounds of penalty kicks to decide the winner of the 3-3, Class 5A state semifinal, and Castle View keeper Elly Bowers handed her team the honors with one last save that bounced straight off of her palms. The Sabercats outshot the Eagles in the PKs, 6-5.

It was only fitting that Broomfield coach Jim Davidson’s storied career ended with the highest excitement possible, only one step short of a possible 11th state championship. His message in the immediate aftermath was nothing but love.

“I told them that it was the blessing of a lifetime to do this job, and that I’m incredibly lucky that my last team was my favorite team. The spirit among this group is unrivaled of any team that I’ve ever coached. So I have no regrets,” Davidson said. “I’ve never coached a team with the spirit that this team has, so it was a magical way to go out.”

There was plenty of magic in the air for the Eagles throughout regulation, but it had to simmer for a while before bursting to the forefront.

The Sabercats asserted their presence early on with a goal in the first minute, then only added to the pressure on Broomfield’s offense by netting a second just six minutes later. The Eagles allowed the tension to build until the 20th minute, when senior midfielder Cianna Sexton connected off of the bobble from a free kick.

Senior forward Chloe Tien, not to be outdone, netted the 2-2 equalizer in the final seconds of the first half. Three of her teammates drew Bowers out of the goal box with three straight whiffs, but Tien ensured she wouldn’t be denied. Bowers didn’t have time to react to stop her perfect shot. Tien later sunk one of the Eagles’ successful penalty kicks.

“Kohyn (Pottorff) made a really good cross, and then Marin (Kotschau) had a fantastic drive, and then Vicky (Choren) drew the defender,” Tien explained. “I was just able to finish it there, right on the keeper.”

The two squads maintained the suspense throughout the second half. The Sabercats once again earned the first advantage with an Adyson Kissinger score in the 56th minute, only to see Choren take the wind out of their sails with her own goal from the right side of the field just two minutes later.

And there was plenty of wind to go around.

Everything else that came after will only add to the legend of Davidson, who won two titles with the girls and eight with the boys at Broomfield over his 28 seasons. He said that this team faced plenty of challenges after graduating a large senior class last year, and that it all came together for this band of Eagles at the end of March. They finished their season with a 12-5-2 record.

“We purposely scheduled a very difficult group of teams at the beginning of the season because we knew that we had a lot of players that were going to need to grow up quickly,” Davidson said. “I think that they took that experience and they did a remarkable job with it.

“I couldn’t be more proud of this team. I think what we accomplished … what we put together after spring break was really special, and then the playoff run was just incredible.”

Elsewhere, Class 3A’s fifth-seeded Jefferson Academy fell to No. 1 Colorado Academy with a 3-0 final in their semifinal contest at the North Area Athletic Complex. The Jaguars ended their season with a 13-6 mark.