(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
(1) Kent Denver 2, (5) Colorado Springs Christian 0
DENVER — Kent Denver is one win away from history and its third straight Class 3A boys soccer state championship.
“We really don’t talk about it much, but that’s our goal,” Kent Denver senior David Felman said of winning another state title. “We don’t have to talk about it. It’s just what we want.”
No boys soccer program in Colorado has ever won three consecutive state titles. The top-seeded Sun Devils moved into their fourth 3A soccer state title game in five years with a 2-0 semifinal victory over No. 5 Colorado Springs Christian on Wednesday night at All-City Stadium in Denver.
“We just focus on the next game. That is what we’ve done all season and that’s what we’ll continue to do for one more game,” Kent Denver coach Arty Smith said after the Sun Devils’ 14th straight victory. “We focus on the things we have control over and hope for the best.”
Kent Denver faces Jefferson Academy at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in the 3A championship game at Dick’s Sporting Good Park in Commerce City.
Felman scored the eventual game-winning goal in the 42nd minute for the Sun Devils. Felman volleyed the ball into the net on a centering pass from fellow senior Max Mehlman. CSC goalie Ross Norwood was able to get a hand on the pass by Mehlman, but not enough to stop the ball from getting through to Felman.
“We were really attacking and really pressing,” Felman said. “Max Mehlman put in a great ball. The goalie went for it and luckily it came to me. It felt great.”
Senior Max Sanson added an insurance goal in the 50th minute with a hard low shot to give the Sun Devils a 2-0 lead.
Two-time defending champs Kent Denver lost to Colorado Academy in the 2012 championship before winning back-to-back title in 2014 and 2015. The Sun Devils (18-0-1) have just one blemish on their record this season, a 1-1 tie against 4A state quarterfinals Evergreen. Kent Denver shut out CSC already once this season with a 2-0 victory in Colorado Springs on Sept. 8.
The Lions finished their season with a 16-3 record.
CSC actually had the first best scoring change when senior Gabe Sherwood ripped a shot off the crossbar in the 9th minute. Kent Denver dominated possession and scoring changes for the remainder of the first half. Max Hewitt, Rory Buck, Spencer Thomas, Felman and Mehlman all had scoring opportunities in the first half, but the Sun Devils weren’t able to find the back of the net.
“At halftime we just said stay patience. It’s something we’ve worked on all season,” Smith said. “We know if we continue to play our game and don’t force it, it’s going go come.”
What the Sun Devils hope comes next is another state title trophy back to Kent Denver.
Jefferson Academy is headed to its first boys soccer state championship game after a 4-2 shootout victory. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
(6) Jefferson Academy 1, (2) KIPP 1 (4-2 PKs)
It was a journey toward uncharted territory when KIPP Denver Collegiate and Jefferson Academy squared off Wednesday night at All-City Stadium.
Neither No. 2-seeded KIPP or No. 6 Jefferson Academy had ever played for a boys soccer state title. JA will get that chance thanks to a diving save by junior goalkeeper Eric Strauss.
“We prepared beforehand. My coach told me he goes right,” Strauss said of the lone save made during the shootout that had to decide the semifinal. “I went right and he went right and I saved it.”
After being tied 1-1 after 80 minutes of regulation time and 30 minutes of overtime, the Jaguars and Tigers went to a shootout. The tide turned for JA when Strauss made the diving save on KIPP’s fourth shooter, senior Roger Hernandez. The save gave the Jaguars a 3-2 lead and allowed JA senior Sherwin Kazemi to end the game on the next PK for a 4-2 shootout victory.
“This is the best our team has every done,” said Strauss as the Jaguars celebrated on the field at All-City Stadium. “I truly believe that we as a team can win this.”
Both junior goalies — KIPP’s Andrew Medina and Strauss — came up with huge second-half saves to send the game into overtime.
Medina made saves on JA’s leading scorer Lucas Almeida in the 64th minute. Strauss was able to bat a shot away from JA’s leading scorer Jhovani Gonzalez and also made saves on Jorge Gurrola and Saul Espinoza as no team scored in the second half to send it into overtime tied at 1-1.
Kazemi got the scoring going in the first half in the 9th minute. Kazemi’s initial shot hit the crossbar, but the rebound went right back to him. Kazemi knocked it past KIPP goalie Andrew Medina for a 1-0 lead.
The Tigers responded three minutes later with a hard shot from Gonzalez that found the back of the net. The goal tied things up 1-1, which was the score at halftime.