Colorado high school boys soccer teams have high hopes as state tournaments begin

With the calendar back to normal after last year's tweaks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it's good to see a full slate of boys soccer games getting ready to be played over the next few weeks. All four state tournaments will begin play this week, with championship games scheduled for Nov. 12 and 13 at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs.


Class 5A // Bracket
Boulder was one of the many teams to fall to Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) as the Bruins made a Cinderella run to the 5A title game last season. But the Panthers are a more polished team this fall than they were in the spring. Calvin Pielke is having a stellar senior season as he leads the team with 20 goals. He has scored multiple goals in seven games this season. A loss to Castle View (Castle Rock) and a tie to Fort Collins is a good indicator that the 5A bracket likely has the most parity this year.

Speaking of Fort Collins, the Lambkins have their own championship ambitions after putting together a great turnaround season. Just two years ago, they were 6-9-1 and are now the No. 3 seed in the state tournament. Senior Oliver Ramirez and junior Zac Rademacher have combined to score 25 goals, and sophomore keeper Brody Smith has totaled 154 saves in net. The Lambkins have losses to Broomfield and Arapahoe (Centennial), but they also have wins over Grandview (Aurora) and Legacy (Broomfield) and they tied Boulder on Oct. 12.

A 3-1 loss to Boulder to start the season does not represent where Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch) is as a team right now. The Eagles have rattled off 14 straight wins, and eight of those wins were against teams that are in the 5A playoffs. Zac Brooks emerged as the leading goal-scorer, but the Eagles maintained a balanced scoring effort across its lineup throughout the season. They have a tough road to get to the semifinals, but riding the momentum of their winning streak is something that will surely help.

Arapahoe is another team that could fly under the radar on this bracket, and it comes in as the No. 4 seed. They came one game shy of finishing the regular season with an unbeaten record as they lost to Mullen (Denver) 2-1 on Oct. 19. The Warriors aren't putting up some of the high-scoring numbers as some teams, but they don't need to with Alex Bissett guarding the goal. The senior has allowed just eight goals while making 44 saves this season. Caleb Ballard leads the team in scoring with 13 goals. If both Ballard and Bisset are playing at their best over the next few weeks, Arapahoe could be a tough team to beat.

Class 4A // Bracket
Northfield (Denver) has staked an early claim as the favorite to win the 4A crown. The Nighthawks rolled through the regular season and even fended off a few tough opponents in Denver East and Denver North. Moises Inda leads the team with 18 goals, while Max Garfield has 12. Their constant push on offense has alleviated a ton of pressure from a talented back row. It also helps to have a keeper like Alex Witzel, who has turned away 39 shots and allowed just seven goals. The Nighthawks had a respectable 7-3 record last year, but when they play Thursday, it will mark the first boys soccer playoff game in program history.

Perhaps the key for Battle Mountain (Edwards) to advance through the playoffs is to not be the No. 1 overall seed. In recent years, the Huskies have not been able to protect that top spot, but this time they can embrace the role of underdog. They come in as the No. 6 seed and will have a chance at retribution should they meet up with The Classical Academy (Colorado Springs) in the quarterfinals. The Titans won their Oct. 23 clash 1-0. Battle Mountain has seem more adversity this year than in recent seasons, but it has strong senior leadership in Bryant Ramirez and Samuel Koontz, who have each scored about one goal per game.

Considering the only blemishes on Mullen's record belong to 5A teams, the Mustangs have to be considered a 4A favorite. They have beaten their fair share of 4A playoff teams already and managed to compete in a very tough Centennial League. Eli Kerschen leads the team in both goals (20) and assists (10) ,which have been huge in helping Mullen outscore opponents 68-6. If they can advance to the title game as the No. 2 seed and face Northfield, it would make for a fun heavyweight showdown.

Durango has a chance to do some damage as the No. 5 seed on the bracket. The Demons dropped just one game, to Grand Junction late in the regular season. They've gotten good scoring output from Sam Carozza (12 goals) and Cedar Newman (10), but they have also shown they can get goals from across the lineup. The team has scored 71 goals,  meaning 49 have come players outside of their two leading scorers.

Class 3A // Bracket
The championship ambitions of Colorado Academy (Denver) might be a bit tougher to see through than last season. The Mustangs are not the No. 1 seed this go around and come into the state tournament as the No. 5 seed. They battled a tough stretch of the season where they dropped three out of four games, each of those losses were to the top three seeds in the 3A tournament. Colorado Academy's strength this season has been on the back end as the team has scored just 33 total goals. Fourteen of them have come from Simeon Woldeyohannes and Lee Gastis, who each have seven. In nearly 600 minutes played in net, Luke Donaldson-Reid has surrendered just six goals all season.

Jefferson Academy (Broomfield) takes the No. 1 spot on the bracket after finishing the regular season undefeated. The Jaguars battled through a tough Metro League schedule that included wins over Faith Christian (Arvada), Colorado Academy and Kent Denver (Cherry Hills Village). Chyler Ward has emerged as one of the top scoring threats in the state, netting 19 goals this season. He has also shown a knack for finding open teammates as he has assisted on 10 other goals.

Since losing its season-opener to Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado Springs), Atlas Preparatory School (Colorado Springs) has played like a genuine 3A contender. The Gryphons have outscored their opponents 75-10 and have some impressive victories on their resumé. Aron Flores has been the offensive spark, averaging two goals per game in just 10 games played. That number held up in an overtime win against Battle Mountain on Sept. 25. He scored twice as the Gryphons fought to a 3-2 win.

Liberty Common (Fort Collins) didn't finish the regular season undefeated, but the Eagles haven't lost since Sept. 2. And even that loss was a 1-0 battle where Valor Christian came away with the win. Since then, Liberty Common has done nothing but win. And in the process, it has surrendered just four goals to its opponents. Senior Joshua Salehi has been 3A's most prolific scorer with a classification-high 32 goals this fall. If he continues scoring at that pace, the Eagles have a great shot at making their way through the 3A bracket.

Class 2A // Bracket
Defending state champion Crested Butte enters the bracket as the No. 1 seed and aims to claim a second straight title. The Titans put together a 14-1 season, the only loss coming in the final regular season game against Telluride. Junior Jacob Bernholtz has maintained the 1.7 goals per game average he had last year, but with a full season being played this fall, his total goals scored is 22 compared to the 17 he scored last year. Grayson White has helped on the offensive side with his 10 goals this season.

The Titans could get their rematch against Telluride very quickly as the Miners play Loveland Classical in the first round. The winner of that game will see the winner of Crested Butte and Rocky Mountain Lutheran.

The Lotus School For Excellence (Aurora) has completely turned the program around with its play this season. The Meteors went just 3-7 last season but at 14-4 this year are the No. 2 seed in the state tournament. Seniors Nuradean Sado and Adani Hassan have combined for 26 goals, while junior Abeneazer Getachew has 11. Lotus takes on the Colorado Springs School (Colorado Springs) in the first round and should it advance, it will see the winner of Lake County (Leadville) and Denver Christian.

Last year's shortened regular season did no favors for then-defending champion Ridgway as the Demons failed to make the 2A playoffs. They're back on this bracket this year as the No. 4 seed, and the only teams they have lost to this season are Crested Butte and Telluride. Keeper Devin Sisler has recorded five shutout wins, while Cory Thomsen leads the team with 13 goals scored. Ruben Kornbluh has been nearly as good with 12. Ridgway takes on Ellicott (Calhan) in the first round with the winner getting the winner of Heritage Christian (Fort Collins) and Front Range Baptist (Fort Collins).

Thomas MacLaren School (Colorado Springs) wouldn't mind making another run to the 2A title game. The Highlanders advanced to last year's final before getting beat by Crested Butte. The only 2A loss they've suffered this year was to Lotus. They lost a couple of games to 3A opponents in St. Mary's (Colorado Springs) and Atlas Prep. Michael Brophy will be crucial to that run as he leads the team in goals (20) and assists (10).