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Both teams were still finding their way, and not everyone was healthy or playing at full speed. The Wolves led 2-0 in the second half before Arapahoe rallied, using a late penalty kick to force overtime. Neither team could find the back of the net the rest of the way, and the game ended in a 2-2 tie.
On Wednesday night at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, the league rivals will get the opportunity to resolve that tie when the Wolves and Warriors face off at 7 p.m. for the Class 5A state championship.
"Looking back now, I don't mind that it was a tie," Grandview coach Tari Wood told CHSAANow.com after the Wolves defeated Ralston Valley 1-0 on Saturday in the semifinals. "It's hard to beat a team two times in a row. It's an even match for us."
The two-day, four-game championship lineup at Dick's feature some familiar foes. Three of the four games are between league rivals, and while the 4A title game is the exception,
Evergreen and
Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado Springs) did meet in non-league play during the regular season.
Jefferson Academy (Broomfield) handed Colorado Academy its only loss of the regular season in 3A Metro League play, and
Dawson School (Lafayette) defeated
Denver Christian in 2A Region 5 in mid-April.
After Arapahoe defeated Rocky Mountain (Fort Collins) 3-2 on Saturday, Warriors coach Mark Hampshire was asked about the possibility of meeting up with Grandview again in the title game.
"I know Tari well, and Brian (Wood), and Grandview's an excellent side," Hampshire said. "In some ways it's a lot of fun having two Centennial groups getting after it at the end, and in some ways it's hard. We know each other so well and we don't want either to lose."
Arapahoe and Grandview's boys teams also played for the 5A title back in November. The Warriors won that game 2-1.
"You get to where there's a lot of rivalry, and it can get a little nasty in there," Wood said. "It's kind of unique, because the boys season went the exact same way."
Shalom Prince, Grandview
File photo by Matt Daniels
Grandview (5A), Jefferson Academy (3A) and Dawson (2A) are the defending state champions. The 2A title game marks the third consecutive season that Dawson and Denver Christian have played for the championship.
Here is a quick look at the title games in each of the state's four classifications headed into Tuesday's doubleheader:
Class 5A
No. 2 Grandview (16-2-1) vs. No. 12 Arapahoe (15-3-1), 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 22The game features two teams with impressive championship pedigrees. Grandview is seeking its fourth championship in five years, and while the Warriors haven't won a title since 2006, they lead the state with nine championships overall.
Grandview's two losses this spring came in overtime, to Mountain Vista and to 3A's top-seeded Colorado Academy. The Wolves have won six in a row since the loss to the Mustangs, outscoring their opponents 20-2.
That offensive success was limited against Ralston Valley (Arvada) in the semifinals, though.
Shalom Prince scored the winning goal in the second half, and the Mustangs turned away repeated chances from the Wolves.
Grandview was stout defensively, not allowing a shot on goal until midway through the second half, and goalkeeper
Madison Livingston made four saves down the stretch.
Prince leads the team with 10 goals, and
Kacy Johnston has six goals and a team-high eight assists. Livingston has allowed only nine goals this season and has posted 13 shutouts.
Arapahoe lost three consecutive games in late April, but Hampshire said his seniors came together and refused to let the season slip away. The Warriors notched back-to-back 2-1 victories in the playoffs, handing undefeated Rampart (Colorado Springs) its first defeat in the quarterfinals. The team trailed Rocky Mountain midway through the second half, but
Lauren Walter scored twice to help Arapahoe rally.
The Warriors made the 2017 title game as the No. 12 seed as well. Senior
Audrey Weiss leads the team with 18 goals, and Walter has 12.
Grace Cadorette has allowed only 10 goals this season, and has 22 saves through three playoff games.
Class 4A
No. 3 Evergreen (14-3-2) vs. No. 21 Cheyenne Mountain (10-8), 5 p.m., Wednesday, May 22It's fitting that teams from Jeffco and the Pikes Peak Athletic Conference will square off for the 4A crown. Those two leagues had combined to win nine titles in a row before Windsor ended that run last spring.
Evergreen made the title game two years ago, losing to D'Evelyn (Denver). The Cougars haven't won a championship since 1997, but are playing as well as anyone in the state. Since a 2-0 non-league loss to Cheyenne Mountain on April 19, Evergreen hasn't lost. The team won the 4A Jeffco crown, defeated a league foe in Green Mountain (Lakewood) in the quarterfinals and then upended Sand Creek (Colorado Springs) 3-1 on Saturday.
Cheyenne Mountain got off to a rough start in 2019, losing five of its first six games. The Indians finished fifth in the PPAC, but upset Mead, league champion Air Academy and No. 4 Wheat Ridge to make the semifinals.
Senior
Lisa Long scored the game-winning goal in the first half Saturday against Silver Creek (Longmont), and junior
Ashley Bertsch made four saves. Long leads the team with 16 goals.
Cheyenne Mountain won three 4A titles in a row from 2013-15.
Class 3A
No. 1 Colorado Academy (18-1) vs. No. 3 Jefferson Academy (17-1-1), 7 p.m., Tuesday, May 21For the fourth time in five years, the 3A championship will be decided by two Metro League teams.
In a rematch of the 2015 title game, Colorado Academy and Jefferson Academy will meet for the title. The
Kristen Capan, Jefferson Academy
File photo by Derek Regensburger
Jaguars won their first-ever title last May; the Mustangs haven't won the championship since going back-to-back in 2014-15.
Colorado Academy has been one of the state's most dominant teams in 2019, regardless of classification. The Mustangs defeated 5A finalist Grandview, and outscored their opponents by a combined 104-5 margin this spring. The only blemish? A 1-0 loss to Jefferson Academy on April 9.
Mari Annest and
Maya Pellegrini scored for Colorado Academy in the 2-0 victory over Prospect Ridge Academy (Broomfield) on Saturday. Annest leads the team with 37 goals to go along with 16 assists, and Pellegrini has 16 goals and 17 assists.
Juliet Cramer has been in net for the team's previous three playoff games, recording 14 saves.
Jefferson Academy's only loss this spring came to Kent Denver (Cherry Hills Village), and the Jaguars avenged the loss with a 2-0 victory on Saturday.
Sarah Spitz and
Taylor Franco scored goals, and junior
Brooklynn Kirkpatrick made eight saves.
Senior
Kristen Capan leads Jefferson Academy with 16 goals and
Denae Lamb has 10 goals and eight assists. Kirkpatrick has allowed only four goals and has 14 shutouts to her credit.
Class 2A
No. 1 Denver Christian (15-2) vs. No. 2 Dawson School (11-3), 5 p.m., Tuesday, May 21The 2A classification is in its fifth year, and come Tuesday, Dawson School will have made an appearance in each title game.
The Mustangs were the runner-up in each of the first three trips, including a 4-3 loss to Denver Christian in 2017. But Dawson ended that slide last spring with a 3-2 victory to give the school its first championship. The team's three losses this spring all came to 3A competition. Dawson's biggest victory was a 2-1 triumph over the Thunder on April 18, with
Degen Miller scoring both goals.
Miller has 31 goals and 17 assists on the season. Senior
Cameron Epstein has 20 goals and nine assists. The tandem scored two goals each in a 5-1 victory over Crested Butte in the semifinals, and
Kate Gallop finished with six saves.
Denver Christian has won seven consecutive games since the loss to the Mustangs, including a 2-0 triumph over Cornerstone Christian (Westminster) in the semifinals.
Kara Amidon and
Grace Phillipps had goals in that game, and
Eden Reece recorded three saves in the shutout. Amidon leads the team with 30 goals and freshman
Taylor McNally has 17.
