It was certainly a grand birthday for Janelle Murphy.

And it was one her teammates on the Mountain Vista High School co-operative girls field hockey team had no problem sharing with her Nov. 1 at Sports Authority Stadium in Parker.

Murphy, a sophomore at ThunderRidge High School, scored the game winning goal in what became a 1-0 final over field hockey powerhouse Kent Denver to earn the Golden Eagles the state championship.

“I was just on the post at the right position,” Murphy said. “I was just lucky to have it go in.”

The Golden Eagles went on to preserve the one-point lead and keep the multiple-state championship winning, and defending title holding, Sun Devils. It’s the first state championship title for the Golden Eagles’ field hockey program, which pools players from several Douglas County schools and even some from Littleton.

After the championship trophy was presented to the team and massive celebration ensued with parents and other students taking the field with the Eagles, Murphy was honored with a round of “Happy Birthday” sung by her teammates and frosted treats.

“I’m still in shock,” Murphy said after the win. “Everyone on the team all played great. We showed up and kicked some butt. I’m so proud of everyone.”

Not only did Mountain Vista, the No. 3 seed in the tournament, keep No. 1 Kent Denver from scoring in the championship finale, the Eagles did not give up a single goal in the entire tournament. Vista posted a 1-0 win over No. 6 Palmer Ridge in the first round of the playoffs. They followed up with a 2-0 victory over No. 2 Colorado Academy.

In goal for Vista through the tournament were Emily Hazard, a sophomore, and Emily Thompson, a junior. Hazard was in goal when the Eagles were crowned the new title holders. She said the team’s defense was on high alert through the bracket, especially between the pipes.

“Neither of us wanted to be the goalie who got scored on,” Hazard said laughing. “We were fully focused and wanted to do this.”

Kent Denver spent much of the final minutes in the Eagles’ end, looking for the tying goal. Hazard came up with a couple of big saves to dowse the Devils’ hopes of another banner in the gymnasium.

Despite being the No. 3 seed in an eight-team playoff bracket, Vista wasn’t expected to make it out of the quarterfinals, let alone make the championship finals for the first time ever, Hazard said.

“Everyone loves an underdog story,” Murphy said. “We love each other so much, even though we’re from different schools.”

Hazard said the perfect ending to a strong season and flawless playoff run couldn’t have been better for her personally.

“I have the best team, the best coaches and the best friends,” she said. “I couldn’t have asked for better.”

Coach Brian Nutter, who started the co-op program at Mountain Vista, said every girl contributed in the title win against a very solid Kent Denver team.

“It doesn’t matter if they saw the field much or not. They had to be there to push the other players to keep their own positions on the field. They earned it,” Nutter said. “It’s one of those nights where we played good enough defense and got a goal in to make a difference.

“I would have never thought one goal would hold up against a team like Kent Denver. Never would I have thought that. They are just such a well-rounded, talented team. My girls just stepped up and played hard.”

The success of the field hockey program highlights the pool of athletic talent available in Highlands Ranch and surrounding neighborhood even more. Nutter hopes to see the program grow and even splinter at some point.

“We need more of that talent,” the coach said. “Eventually, we would like to see a couple of programs in Douglas County. We just need to get those numbers and keep developing the program and spreading it to other schools, like with other sports like lacrosse.

“It’s a wonderful sport. And for the community, they should be proud, cause it was a community effort that won [that] night.”

Mountain Vista field hockey graduates six seniors this season in Akane Strader, Valerie Buccio, Katie Koch, Nicole Lewis, Logan Smith and Maddie Landis.