(Ben Parris)
At four different sites, Colorado’s top high school girls soccer teams spent Wednesday afternoon and evening battling it out in order to decide which of them would square off for their respective classification championships on Saturday at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs. The championship matchups are now set in all four classes.
Class 2A – No. 2 Dawson vs. No. 1 Telluride – 9 a.m.
Class 4A – No. 12 Holy Family vs No. 2 Evergreen – Noon
Class 5A – No. 2 Broomfield vs. No. 4 Rock Canyon – 3 p.m.
Class 3A – No. 1 Kent Denver vs. No. 10 Colorado Academy – 6 p.m.
Class 5A
(4) Rock Canyon 1, (1) Valor Christian 0
The Rock Canyon girls soccer team has never won a state championship but the Jaguars have will have a chance to change that now that they have pushed their way into the state Season D state title game.
Getting past the No. 1 overall seed, No. 4 Rock Canyon (12-1) won 1-0 over top-seeded Valor Christian (11-1-1) in the Class 5A state semifinals on Wednesday. The Jaguars are on a 12-game win streak and will be looking to take home a trophy with lucky win No. 13 at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs on Saturday.
(2) Broomfield 1, (3) Cherry Creek 0
Sophomore Raegan Kotschau’s goal just before halftime turned out to be a big one, as it ended up being the lone score in a defensive battle against Cherry Creek that sent Broomfield into the Class 5A state championship game.
With both teams entering the semifinals without a loss, the Eagles (12-0-1) and Bruins (11-1) had allowed a combined 15 goals in 24 games before meeting up at Englewood High School on Wednesday. For the most part the constest played out as expected, with both defenses and goalkeepers stifling their opponents’ offenses until one team or the other finally put a ball in the back of the net.
That team, Broomfield, will now have the opportunity to play for its first state title since 2006.
Class 4A
(12) Holy Family 1, (1) Northridge 0
The lowest seed remaining in the Colorado high school girls soccer postseason made a big move on Wednesday night.
Twelfth-seeded Holy Family (10-2) knocked off No. 1 Northridge (12-1), 1-0, in the Class 4A state semifinals and will play for a state championship at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs on Saturday. Jaelen Giron put the stamp on the biggest upset of the Colorado semifinals with a goal in the 62nd minute to give the Tigers an opportunity to play for a state title in Season D.
On Saturday, the Holy Family girls soccer team will play for the program’s first state title.
(2) Evergreen 1, (3) The Classical Academy 0
Wednesday evening certainly wasn’t a bad one for Evergreen athletics.
While the Cougars’ girls lacrosse team was in Aurora stamping the school’s name on the first ever Class 4A girls lacrosse trophy, the Evergreen girls soccer team was at Frederick High School crafting a 1-0 semifinal victory over No. 3 The Classical Academy (12-1-2). The second-seeded Cougars (13-0) remain unbeaten in Season D and will play for the 4A title on Saturday.
Through 13 games, the Cougars have allowed just four goals this season. Wednesday’s defensive shutout dealt The Classical Academy its first loss of the campaign.
Evergreen girls soccer has won two state championships, but has not taken home a first-place trophy since 1997.
Class 3A
(1) Kent Denver 2, (4) Jefferson Academy 1
Kent Denver remains unbeaten in Season D. More importantly, that undefeated record has now earned the team an opportunity to play for a the Class 3A state championships.
In Wednesday’s semifinal round, the top-seeded Sun Devils (11-0-2) won 2-1 over No. 4 Jefferson Academy (10-2-1) and will head down to Colorado Springs for one more game on Saturday. After getting past a similarly defensively-talented Jaguars team on Wednesday, the Sun Devils will arrive at Weidner Field having outscored their Season D opponents 68-5.
(10) Colorado Academy 4, (3) Vail Mountain 0
With a pair of first-half goals and two more in the second half, No. 10 Colorado Academy (10-2-1) flew past No. 3 Vail Mountain (12-1) in the Class 3A state semifinals on Wednesday night at Stutler Bowl in Aurora.
The victory continued an impressive postseason run for the Mustangs, who have now outscored their three playoff opponents 11-1 and have not allowed a goal since the opening round. Colorado Academy girls soccer won its fifth state title in 2019 and will be looking to add a sixth when the Mustangs take the field in Colorado Springs on Saturday.
Class 2A
(1) Telluride 4, (2) Crested Butte 1
Ayla Kanow wasn’t ready to officially start her summer break just yet, so she made sure the Telluride girls soccer team stuck around for the Class 2A championship game.
The junior scored three goals in a 4-1 victory over No. 4 Crested Butte (9-3) in the state semifinals on Wednesday afternoon to help the top-seeded Miners (12-0) punch their ticket to the final match of Season D. Wednesday’s game was tied 1-1 at halftime before Telluride exploded for three goals in the second half.
In Saturday’s state championship game, the unbeaten Miners will be playing for their program’s first state title.
(2) Dawson 9, (3) Denver Christian 3
Dawson has played in every single Class 2A girls soccer championship game since the classification was introduced in 2015. That’s five in a row and the Mustangs will make it six when they take the field at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs on Saturday.
In the semifinals on Wednesday evening, No. 2 Dawson (10-1) won 9-3 over No. 3 Denver Christian (10-1), the same program they have face in each of the past three state title tilts. While that championship rivalry won’t continue in Season D, the Mustangs will have a chance to keep their own streak of championship appearances alive when they face Telluride for the trophy.
The Mustangs led 4-2 at halftime and continued to pour it on in the second half to pull away to a safe distance. The Mustangs’ only loss of the season to date came on June 10 against Northridge, the top overall seed in the 4A state tournament.
Dawson senior Degen Miller leads all of Class 2A in goals scored.