Colorado boys soccer playoffs full of surprises

If there was one thing to take away from the first round of the Class 5A boys state soccer playoffs, it was that the seedings didn't mean much.

Seven of the 16 first-round games were won by the lower-seeded teams. Just don't call them upsets.

"It's interesting because there's so much parity these days," said Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch) coach Theresa Echtermeyer, who's 23rd-seeded Golden Eagles knocked off 10th-seeded Montbello (Denver) 3-2 last Thursday. "You have the top three or four teams that are pretty good and locked in. After that, everyone has talent and the teams are pretty equal. Everyone can beat everyone else."

That played out in the first round, as 11 of the first-round games were decided by a single goal or by penalty kicks
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"What you don't see as much is the 6-0, 5-0 blowouts," said Echtermeyer, who led the Golden Eagles' girls team to the state title last spring. "There are a lot of 2-1 or 1-0 games, or games that go into overtime and are decided by shootout. It's kind of fun."

Mountain Vista (9-5-2) and Echtermeyer, who said that Montbello was the best team her squad has played all season, will face a familiar foe in Wednesday's second-round – 26th-seeded Heritage (Littleton). The Eagles (9-5-2) edged No. 7 Fairview (Boulder) 1-0 in the opening round, getting a goal from Mattia Cominelli with 3 minutes, 52 seconds remaining in the first extra session. Of note, Heritage beat Mountain Vista 1-0 on Oct. 3.

Heritage was the fourth team to qualify from the Continental League this season, finishing just behind the Golden Eagles
in the conference. League champion Rock Canyon (Highlands Ranch) is also in the same quadrant of the bracket and looms as a possible quarterfinal foe if the No. 2 seeded Jaguars get by No. 18 Arapahoe (Centennial).

"It's kind of unfortunate for our league to have three teams on the same side of the bracket," Echtermeyer said. "You don't like to see a familiar opponent like that this early in the playoffs. But it's what we have to deal with."

In terms of seeding, the biggest upset in the first round came from 27th-seeded Poudre (Fort Collins), which knocked off No. 6 Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) 2-1 in overtime. The Impalas (12-4) were down to their final seconds of the season, trailing the high-powered Bruins (11-4-1) with less than a minute remaining in regulation. But then Hector Rodriguez struck, getting the equalizer with 30 seconds left to force overtime.

Rodriguez netted the game-winner eight minutes into the extra period off a pass from Preston Roche to send Cherry Creek, a team considered a legitimate threat to win it all, home for the season.

Next up for Poudre is 22nd-seeded Liberty (Colorado Springs) (9-6-1), which scored a victory against No. 11 Arvada West on penalty kicks in the first round. The Lancers suffered through a two-game losing streak to start October, but have reeled off four consecutive victories in their march to the second round.

Other lower-seeded winners in the first round of the 5A playoffs included No. 17 Fort Collins, No. 19 Denver East and No. 21 Standley Lake (Westminster).

Class 5A MaxPreps Colorado state brackets

There weren't as many upsets in the opening round of the 4A playoffs, but there were significant ones. Wheat Ridge (10-5-1), a perennial power and the sixth seed in this year's tournament, fell to Denver South 2-1. The Rebels will  face 22nd-seed Centaurus (Lafayette), which scored a 2-1 victory against No. 11 Lewis-Palmer (Monument), in the second round Tuesday night.

Summit (Frisco), the 21st seed, also pulled off an unexpected victory, knocking off No. 12 Pueblo Centennial 1-0.

Class 4A MaxPreps Colorado state brackets

Class 3A has already made its way to the quarterfinals, and the top four seeds (Colorado Academy (Denver), Salida, The Classical Academy (Colorado Springs) and Frontier Academy (Greeley), respectively) are all still alive in the chase for the championship.

But that's not to say the tournament has been without its surprises, too, as 25th-seeded Fountain Valley (Colorado Springs) is still alive after scoring victories against No. 8 Roaring Fork (Carbondale) and No. 9 Faith Christian (Arvada).

If the Danes (10-6-1) want to continue their run through the 3A tournament, they willl have to get by No. 1 Colorado Academy in the next round. The defending state champion Mustangs (16-0-1) survived a major scare in the second round, needing double-overtime to get by 16th-seeded Fort Lupton 1-0.

Class 3A MaxPreps Colorado state brackets