When the prep girls soccer playoffs get underway this evening for Class 5A and 2A, the 100-team pursuit for four state championships will officially begin.
Cheyenne Mountain standout Hannah Gerdin (white jersey) has scored 19 goals and tallied 16 assists this season. The Indians are after their third consecutive Class 4A state title as the postseason begins.
File photo by Ray Chen
There are plenty of interesting storylines to keep an eye on, from
Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado Springs) pursuing a third consecutive 4A state title, to
Columbine (Littleton) (5A) and
Colorado Academy (Denver) (3A) going after two in a row.
A pair of 2014 runner-ups moved up a classification and enjoyed tremendous regular-season success.
Broomfield was second in 4A a year ago and is the current No. 4 seed in the 5A field;
The Classical Academy (Colorado Springs) is No. 2 in 4A this season after advancing to the 3A finale a year ago.
Finally, for the first time, a champion will be crowned in the 2A classification.
The 2A and 3A title games will take place May 19 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, with 4A and 5A following May 20 at the same site.
Here is a quick look at the fields in all four classifications headed into this week's first round of play:
Class 5A
Defending state champion: Columbine
Top Seed: Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch) (13-2)
Potential Bracket Busters: There are some lower seeds that could make some noise, starting with No. 8 Columbine (10-5). The defending state champion lost three of its final six games, but the Rebels entered the 2014 playoffs with the exact same seed they have now. Junior
Tatum Barton has 15 goals on the season, and the Rebels could be in line for a rematch of last year's semis against Mountain Vista, would could take place in the third round should both teams get that far.
Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) (11-4) is the No. 11 seed, but since losing four of their first six, the Bruins have won 10 in a row. Creek knocked off four of the bracket's top 17 seeds in that span.
Notes: Hinkley (Aurora), the No. 31 seed, had two of 5A's top four scorers this season in sophomore
Teaggan Ilela (26 goals) and junior
Raquel Isaac (20) … Mountain Vista's duo of
Mallory Pugh (24) and
Megan Massey (19) was just behind at 45 combined goals … The Front Range League, which has eight teams in the 5A bracket, had four of those squads finish with at least 10 wins this spring … The Continental League, which had six qualifiers, had three teams win at least 12 games and accounted for three of the top seven seeds overall …
Grandview (Aurora) has the distinction of defeating two No. 1 seeds this season. The Wolves opened 2015 with a victory against Mountain Vista and defeated 3A's Colorado Academy 3-1 in the regular-season finale.
Class 4A
Defending state champion: Cheyenne Mountain
Top Seed: Evergreen (14-1)
Potential Bracket Busters: Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch) (12-1-2) is the No. 7 seed, but the Eagles are perennially one of the toughest teams in the state. Valor owns victories over two of the top three seeds in 4A, topping Evergreen and Cheyenne Mountain. Junior
Dakota Spencer has 11 goals on the year, and freshman goalkeeper
Alexandra Daws has allowed only eight goals all season.
A year ago,
Littleton was only 5-9-1, but the Lions have been on fire this season. The No. 6 seed, playing in the same 4A Jeffco League as Valor, owns a victory over the Eagles. Since a 3-0 loss to Evergreen on April 3, the Lions have won seven in a row and have not allowed a goal. Senior
Shayna Watkins has allowed only six goals all season and has 11 shutouts.
Notes: The Classical Academy is one of only two undefeated teams in the entire state and is 4A's highest scoring team with 96 goals. The Titans have only allowed five scores in 15 games …
Battle Mountain (Edwards) has scored 70 goals this season, led by 28 from senior
Logan Nash. The Huskies' only two losses came to top-seeded Evergreen and No. 11
Silver Creek (Longmont) … No. 14
Eagle Valley (Gypsum) has the classification's leading scorer in senior
Mariel Gutierrez, who has 35 goals and nine assists … Evergreen has a two-headed keeper monster in
Natalie Ulfig and
Allie Seracuse, with Ulfig allowing only one goal all season ... Cheyenne Mountain senior
Hannah Gerdin had 19 goals and 16 assists in the regular season.
Class 3A
Defending state champion: Colorado Academy
Top Seed: Colorado Academy (13-2)
Potential Bracket Busters: Being the No. 5 overall seed may not exactly be underdog status, but
Peak to Peak (Lafayette) (9-5-1) still has some tough competition in its path. The Pumas, the 2013 champions, finished fourth in the ultra-competitive Region 6 but two losses came by a combined three goals. The team won its final five regular-season games, four of which came against playoff teams.
After reaching the semifinals a year ago,
St. Mary's (Colorado Springs) (12-3) is the No. 9 seed. Two of the team's three losses came in overtime, and the team has a triple threat of freshman
Scooter Ross (25 goals), senior
Kylie Cleary (21 goals, 19 assists) and senior
Maleia Lark (16 goals). The biggest hurdle is a potential quarterfinal matchup with No. 1 Colorado Academy.
Notes: Three of the top four seeds come from 3A Region 6, which had eight state qualifiers … The state's overall leading point-scorer is
Liberty Common (Fort Collins) senior
Liz Yeh, who finished the regular season with 32 goals and 19 assists for 83 points. Senior
Sarah Schaffer added 27 and junior
Olivia Bachelet had 20 for the No. 7 seed …
The Academy (Westminster) went undefeated this season, and the Wildcats have four players with at least 10 goals. Junior
Emily Bunch allowed only four goals in 900 minutes of play … Colorado Academy's two losses came to 5A programs. Senior Marin McCoy has 29 goals this season and 84 over her last three combined.
Class 2A
Defending state champion: None (first year of classification)
Top Seed: Vail Mountain (13-1)
Potential Bracket Busters: In a 12-team field, No. 4
Denver Christian may be among the toughest outs. The Crusaders handed Vail Mountain its only defeat this season, and have played the bracket's top three seeds this season. The No. 23 seed a year ago in 3A, Denver Christian has a freshman in
Miranda Kortenhoeven leading the team with 19 goals. Senior
Nicole Landhuis added 17.
Colorado Rocky Mountain (Carbondale) (6-4-1) saw two of its losses come to 3A playoff qualifiers, and the seventh-seeded Oysters played top-seeded Vail Mountain tough in a 2-1 loss back on April 4.
Notes: Vail Mountain has a pair of victories this spring over 3A playoff teams (Aspen and Coal Ridge) and four of the eight goals the squad allowed this season came in the loss to Denver Christian …
Front Range Christian (Littleton) also made the 3A field a year ago. Senior
Jalissa Dehaan has 29 of the team's 78 goals …
Dawson School (Lafayette) has a pair of freshmen (
Liv Cramer and
Sage Roshko) who have combined for 22 goals …
Cornerstone Christian Academy (Westminster) junior
Addison Kanon had more than half of her team's goals this spring with 24 in 12 games.
