Nathan Buchanan didn’t know if he’d play his senior year.

Buchanan fractured his right ankle in the preseason and only played the third game of his final year Wednesday night. But what a match Buchanan had.

Buchanan bookended the 5A first-round playoff contest with a goal in the first half and the final strike of the night to give the No. 7-seeded Eagles a 4-1 victory against No. 26 Arvada West.

“It feels great to be back,” Buchanan said. “My team pushed me to come back, especially for my senior year. Their love and support pushed me to come back as well as my family. I’ve played soccer since I was 3 and always imagined my senior year. My dreams were crushed a little bit. But I’ve been ready this entire season to get back into the swing of things.”

The Eagles senior started the scoring run for Pine Creek after he received a corner kick from Wyatt VanHorn, who placed the ball perfectly near the right side of the net for Buchanan to put away for a 1-0 lead in the 20^th minute.

Pine Creek (11-2-3) then built a 2-0 lead after Arvada West keeper Jacob Carpenter deflected a shot, but the ricochet bounced toward Aiden VanManen who buried the goal. Arvada West attempted to keep the match interesting with a strike just four minutes into the second half to cut the lead to 2-1, but the Eagles swiftly thwarted that momentum.

“That was just a little misfortune,” Eagles coach Ben Corley said. “All year we’ve controlled a lot of possessions and those little things happen. … But we talk about how opposition isn’t the enemy, it’s the authenticator. There will always be opposition. We invite that and we want teams to bring their best product out there because then it brings the best out of us.”

The Eagles recovered from the Wildcats’ strike with another goal of their own that again came off a ricochet. In the 67^th minute, Max Kelly fired a shot to the back of the net, after the Wildcats’ keeper made a save, to give the Eagles a 3-1 cushion.

Three minutes later, Buchanan notched his second goal of the game and put the nail in the Wildcats’ coffin.

Carpenter ventured well outside of the goalie’s box to make a save, but Buchanan juked the keeper, dribbled the ball past a defender and tapped the ball toward the net. Arvada West players bolted toward the ball but had to watch as it rolled past the goal line to give the Eagles a 4-1 lead.

“I saw Max Kelly look up and I just decided to run,” Buchanan said. “The keeper made a mistake and I was able to be right there to pick up on it. Without my teammates I would not have been in those situations.”

The Eagles face No. 10 Grand Junction, which eliminated No. 23 Liberty 4-0, on Tuesday in the second round.

Buchanan said he’s grateful for the victory, but he didn’t return to only win one game and hopes to keep the Eagles in the playoffs.

“We just have to keep working as a team and embracing the conditions,” Buchanan said. “It was a bit cooler tonight, but we embraced that well. We have to keep bringing the energy and that will help us.”