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No sooner had the postseason brackets been released for boys soccer Monday when an early winter season already began wreaking havoc with the state tournament.
Due to consecutive snowstorms rolling into the state Monday and then again Tuesday into Wednesday, the decision was made to push the first round for all four classifications back. Instead of Class 4A and 2A opening up Wednesday evening, those classifications will play first-round contests Saturday.
The 5A and 3A fields, which were going to open on Halloween, moved back one day to Friday.
While schools had to do a little bit of scrambling with the change, and teams had to delay kicking off the postseason, the hope is everything else will fall according to plan. The four championship games are set for Nov. 15-16 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, with the 5A title game running that Friday evening and the remaining three championship contests going Saturday.
Legacy (5A), Battle Mountain (4A), Salida (3A) and Colorado Rocky Mountain (2A) are the top seeds headed into this weekend's play.
Here is a quick look at all four classifications, with a quadrant to watch in each bracket:
Class 5A
Defending Champion: Arapahoe (Centennial)
Overview: Last fall, Legacy won 13 games and was the No. 5 seed in the postseason, but fell to league rival Broomfield in the quarterfinals. This season the Lightning (14-1) have outscored opponents 60-11 and won the brutal Front Range League. Three players have at least 12 goals, led by
Blake Hansen's 16 goals and 11 assists. … Cherry Creek (11-2-2) emerged atop the 5A/4A Centennial League. The Bruins scored only 28 goals but gave up just 10, winning a number of close games along the way. Cherry Creek hasn't won state since 2010. … Rampart (14-0-1) was unbeaten and nearly undefeated, save for a 1-1 tie earlier this month with Pine Creek. The Rams have their most victories since 2015, and senior
Oboyo Kuot scored a team-high 22 goals. … Arvada West (13-2) swept through 5A Jeffco, with
Judah Johnston scoring 15 goals to go with 10 assists. The Wildcats are in a tough quadrant that includes No. 5 Boulder, defending champion Arapahoe and Rocky Mountain. … Rangeview's
Rashid Seidu-Aroza led 5A with 40 goals and 90 points.
Quadrant to Watch: Quadrant 1. The teams in the Front Range League routinely beat up on each other, and that will likely be the case in this quadrant as well. Four teams from the FRL are in the eight-team group, including three of the top nine seeds: Legacy, No. 8 Fairview and No. 9 Broomfield. The Eagles, who have three of the past five 5A titles, could match up with Fairview in the second round (Broomfield won the regular-season meeting in two overtimes). Legacy's only loss came to the Knights, but the Lightning defeated area rival Broomfield in two OTs.
Class 4A
Defending Champion: Air Academy (US Air Force Academy)
Overview: Air Academy has dominated 4A of late, winning the previous two state titles and three out of the past five. The Kadets (11-4) are still dangerous as the No. 5 seed, with 25-goal scorer
Thaddaeus Dewing sitting in fourth in 4A in points with 63. … Battle Mountain, which hasn't won a state title since 2012, last made the championship in 2016. The Huskies (14-0-1) were unbeaten in the regular season, and the team's only blemish was a 1-1 tie in Glenwood Springs on Sept. 26. Four players scored at least 10 goals, led by 19 from
Danny Barajas. … Golden hit 13 victories for the second year in a row. The Demons (13-1-1) recovered from an early loss to Alameda and finished the season with 10 consecutive victories. The scoring offense has great balance, with
Josh Colin leading the team with 11 goals. … One year removed from a shootout loss to The Classical Academy in the quarterfinals, Skyview (13-0-2) is having another great season.
Jared Ramos and
Luis Reyes have combined for 91 points between them. … Montrose has two players in the top 10 in 4A in scoring in seniors
Sean Alex (56 points) and
Bryan Delgado (51).
Quadrant to Watch: Quadrant 3. Skyview may be the early favorite of the eight teams, but there are plenty of challengers to reach the semifinals. No. 6 Alameda (14-1) defeated No. 2 Golden earlier this year, and the Pirates' only loss came 2-1 to Skyview. The Pirates have to contend with a Mullen team in the first round that competes in the 5A/4A Centennial League against some heavyweights. No. 11 Denver North made the state title game a year ago, and the Vikings (11-3-1) are paced by Bryan Fuentes and his 21 goals.
Class 3A
Overview: The team to beat in 3A continues to beat Kent Denver, which has claimed four of the past five state titles. The Sun Devils (15-0) are undefeated and have allowed a ridiculous three goals all season. Senior goalkeeper
Joey Waldbaum has given up two of those and has a GAA (goals allowed average) of 0.189. Senior
Rawson Welch leads the team with 14 goals and 12 assists. … Salida (14-0-1) earned the No. 1 overall seed, and the only thing keeping the team from a perfect regular season was a scoreless tie with Atlas Prep. Sophomore
Quinn Phillips allowed only eight goals this season, and three players scored at least 10 goals. … Speaking of Atlas Prep, the Gryphons (14-0-1) were also nearly perfect, save for the tie with Salida. Atlas Prep outscored opponents 112-6, and senior
Lamario Nisbeth led the state with 41 goals and 94 points. … Aurora West's
Briallan Santiago is tied for second in the state with 40 goals and third in points with 89. Lamar's
Cristian Gameros scored 38 goals, and Delta's
Martin Corral had 30.
Quadrant to Watch: Quadrant 3. Not only is high-scoring Atlas Prep sitting atop this eight-team group as the No. 3 seed, but No. 6 Delta, No. 11 Lutheran and No. 14 Liberty Common are also there. Liberty Common is two years removed from a state title and the Eagles took second last fall. The team's only loss to a 3A squad came in the regular-season finale to Faith Christian. Delta's two 3A losses came to Salida in two overtimes and to No. 5 Roaring Fork, and Lutheran was fifth in the Metro League.
Class 2A
Defending Champion: Crested Butte
Overview: Colorado Rocky Mountain is in its first postseason. Although the Oysters (7-3-1) played only 11 games, it played a tough schedule that include 3A's Roaring Fork (twice) and Delta. Colorado Rocky Mountain played the Rams, 3A's No. 5 seed, to a 4-4 tie earlier this season. … Defending champion Crested Butte (10-3-2) is the No. 2 seed in 2A, with losses coming to 3A's Salida and Delta. Junior
Gabi Marmolejo leads a balanced offense with 10 goals. … Fountain Valley was the No. 2 seed a year ago but was upset by Telluride in the semifinals. The Danes (12-3) are paced by junior
Chance MacCagnan (14 goals). … Ridgway's
Robert Baserra leads 2A with 31 goals.
Quadrant to Watch: Quadrant 2. While there are only three teams in each grouping, No. 4 Dawson School and No. 5 Telluride could meet for a spot in the semifinals, should Telluride get past Thomas McLaren. Both the Mustangs and Miners won 10 games in the regular season.
