A little humility was exactly what the
Smoky Hill (Aurora) soccer team needed, according to Buffaloes senior striker
Walter Prince.
The Buffs entered the season ranked No. 1 in the CHSAANow.com media and coaches poll, and set their sights on a state championship from opening day. But a pair of one-goal losses to
Aurora Central and
Cherokee Trail (Aurora) served as a reminder that, at the end of the day, rankings don't mean anything.
"Losing those games definitely helped us get back to reality," said Prince, who leads Smoky Hill with 12 goals. "Now we're mentally and physically ready for the playoffs. We want that state title."
Tim Hudson leads undefeated Rangeview with 10 goals.
File photo by Ray Chen
Since the loss to Cherokee Trail on Sept. 26, the Buffs (13-2) have shown why they were so highly ranked to start the season, reeling off five straight wins while outscoring their foes 20-3. Smoky Hill closed the regular season by
knocking off No. 5 Grandview (Aurora) 1-0 on Oct. 8, then edging No. 8 Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) 2-1 two nights later.
"We definitely wanted to end on a positive note, and those were big wins over Grandview and Creek," Prince said. "Beating Creek is always great and we want to build on that for the playoffs."
While that finish will probably earn Smoky Hill a high seed in the upcoming postseason (The Colorado High School Activities Association will release the state brackets Sunday) the No. 1 seed could go to
Rangeview (Aurora) and veteran coach Vic Strouse. The top-ranked Raiders (14-0) wrapped up the East Metro Athletic Conference championship with a 3-0 victory against rival Hinkley (Aurora) on Tuesday.
Despite being one of the top programs in Colorado for more than two decades under Strouse, the Raiders will be attempting to win their first state championship. They have the makeup of a team that could make a run at the title.
Rangeview has outscored its foes 35-9, and are led by seniors
Troy Hudson (10 goals) and
Kyler Iacino (7 goals). Raiders' keeper
Edward Zuniga has eight shutouts on the season.
If Rangeview doesn't earn the No. 1 seed, it may go to second-ranked
Rock Canyon (Highlands Ranch) (11-0-2), which won the Continental League. The Jaguars have a pair of eight-goal scorers in seniors
Josh Kracke and
Ben Flannery-Bartlett and have outscored opponents 42-11.
Boulder, the defending 5A state champ, is currently tied with cross-town rival
Fairview (Boulder) atop the Front Range League, but the Knights scored a 1-0 victory against Boulder on Sept. 26 and hold the tie-breaker.
Other league champions already decided include
Pine Creek (Colorado Springs) (CS Metro) and
George Washington (Denver) (Denver Prep).
In Class 4A, one team riding a wave of momentum heading into next week's postseason is
Wheat Ridge).
The Farmers (10-3-1) wrapped up the 4A Jeffco League title with a 3-1 victory against Green Mountain (Lakewood) Tuesday night, getting a pair of goals from junior
Max Sweeney. Sweeney leads the team with 11 goals, while senior
Troy Fairbanks has been a wall in goal, stopping 93 shots.
All three of Wheat Ridge's losses this season have come against 5A foes, and the Farmers should be a team to watch once the postseason gets underway. They hold victories over No. 5 Evergreen and No. 7 Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch).
Like Wheat Ridge, all of
Broomfield's losses were to 5A opponents this season. The Eagles (10-2-2) fell to Arapahoe (Centennial) and Grandview (Aurora), but have rolled over most of their 4A foes en route to the Northern League title. Broomfield has a balanced attack, with nine different players scoring goals, led by senior
Connor Metzger's 10 goals and 9 assists.
Air Academy (US Air Force Academy) (14-1-0) may grab the classification's No. 1 seed after winning the competitive Pikes Peak League crown this season. The Kadets are one of the most explosive teams in the state, having scored 70 goals. They are led by junior
Austin Dewing, who has found the back of the net 17 times and assisted on 12 other goals.
Air Academy did lose its final game of the regular season, falling to 5A Pine Creek 1-0 on Oct. 12, but the Kadets will still be one of the favorites in the upcoming playoffs.
“It’s been a good season, but we’re a little bummed about losing on Saturday,” Air Academy coach Espen Hosoien said. “I know the boys really wanted to be 15-0, but we were playing our fourth game in six days so it was a lot to ask.”
Hosoien said the loss may actually help the Kadets, who faced a similar situation four years ago before rebounding to win it all.
“It’s easy to be complacent after going 14-0,” Hosoien said. “That’s why I didn’t mind the loss on Saturday. It’s good to know how it feels to lose.”
Even with the loss, Hosoien feels Air Academy is trending in the right direction heading to the postseason.
“We’re coming along at the right time,” Hosoien said. “Staying healthy is going to be key for us. We don’t have a really deep bench so we can’t afford to have any injuries.”
Defending champion
Battle Mountain (Edwards) was again the class of the Western Slope League, and features a three-headed offensive attack of senior
Roberto Diaz (14 goals), junior
Brandon Osorio (12 goals) and senior
Alexis Robles (10 goals).
The race for the 3A crown may be the most competitive, with a handful of teams headed to the postseason with legitimate designs on raising the gold ball. Chief among that list is defending champion and top-ranked
Colorado Academy (Denver) (14-0-1), which has outscored its opponents 49-2 this season.
The Mustangs have posted 13 shutouts on the year, and the only game they didn't win was a 0-0 tie with fourth-ranked
Kent Denver (Englewood) on Oct. 12.
The Sun Devils (11-2-1) lost two of their first three games, but have been dominant since then in reeling off 10 straight wins while outscoring opponents 32-6 during that stretch.
One of Kent Denver's losses was to No. 3
The Classical Academy (Colorado Springs) (14-1-0), which is led by 26-goal scorer
Robby Jacobs. Jacobs is only a sophomore and part of a talented group of underclassmen that lead the Titans offensively.
TCA coach Blake Galvin said earlier in the season that he isn't concerned with how his young players will handle the postseason, because today's players have a ton of experience playing in big games by the time they reach high school.
"Because of club they've competed in state games and been under that kind of pressure already," Galvin said. "But anytime you're dealing with 14 to 18 year olds, you never know what will happen."
The Titans' only loss this came to No. 2
Salida, which beat TCA 3-2 on Oct. 3. The Spartans have stormed to a 14-0-0 record, outscoring their opponents 71-15. Salida also has a sophomore pacing the offense as
Nick Thayer leads the team with 17 goals.
Other teams to watch include
Frontier Academy (Greeley) (12-0-0),
Coal Ridge (New Castle) (10-2-1) and
Aurora West College Prep Academy (11-2-0).
