The Doherty boys soccer team, including Cesar Delgado (7), Marcus Krause (5) and Joel Moreno (8) have had plenty of reasons to celebrate this season. The Spartans open the Class 5A playoffs as the No. 4 seed.
File photo by Matt Daniels
The rise to prominence of Colorado Springs soccer has been an ongoing process, the progress abundantly clear to see.
But as
Doherty (Colorado Springs) coach Jon Shub alludes, it might have taken a Springs program winning the big-school title for people to finally notice. That happened last year, when
Pine Creek (Colorado Springs) captured the Class 5A crown.
Colorado Springs teams were in the other two championship games, too, with
Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado Springs) winning 4A and
The Classical Academy (Colorado Springs) falling to
Colorado Academy (Denver) in the 3A game (TCA moved up to 4A this season and kept rolling). No matter the level, soccer people are beginning to soak in the clout of the Springs.
"I think a big piece of the success here is that kids continue to play together, whether it's through high school ball or club ball," Shub said. "They don't give up on it, and we don't see a high number of kids leaving for the Academy."
As expected as the postseason kicks off this week, Colorado Springs teams have a heavy presence in the brackets. There is a surprise among them, however: Shub's Spartans.
A No. 31 seed last season, Doherty pulled a shocker last week and upended Pine Creek in Colorado Springs Metro League play, paving the way to a No. 4 seed in the 5A bracket. The Spartans (12-2-1) will open Thursday against No. 29
Aurora Central, aiming for to get past the first round for the first time in Shub's 12 seasons as an assistant and head coach.
"I think it's a chemistry thing with the boys, the difference between this year and last year," Shub said. "They saw what their potential was in the game against Rock Canyon. Obviously taking the (top seed) to a 1-0 loss opened their eyes to how good they could be if they focused the whole time."
As for Pine Creek, the defending champion Eagles check in at No. 7 and will open against No. 26
Fort Collins.
With that in mind, let's take a look at 10 things to watch as bracket play begins with 4A Wednesday, 5A Thursday and 3A on Friday.
1. In sticking with the Colorado Springs theme for a moment, it will be compelling to see if
Air Academy (US Air Force Academy) (15-0) and star
Austin Dewing can remain unbeaten on the 4A circuit. The Kadets top challengers? Well, none other than Springs-based foes The Classical Academy and Cheyenne Mountain, the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds.
2. D'Evelyn (Denver) and
Niwot are the top non-Colorado Springs seeds in the 4A bracket, and each will be trying to demonstrate that the rest of the state is just as relevant. No. 4 D'Evelyn (13-2) had won 10 straight prior to a season-closing loss to
Centaurus (Lafayette), and fifth-seeded Niwot (13-1-1) hasn't lost since Sept. 10.
3. Also in 4A, a replica matchup of last year is set to take place as No. 18
Skyline (Longmont) travels to No. 15
Pueblo West. The teams were the precise same seeds last season. For the comparison to remain congruent, the host Cyclones will have to win 2-1. Skyline, meanwhile, is out to prove that its 13-2 record and 11-1 mark in the Tri-Valley League was worthy of a higher seed.
4. Windsor's Noah McKenzie is the top goal scorer in 4A with 29, one more than Air Academy's Dewing. Will McKenzie be able to keep up that frenzied pace as his No. 15 Wizards take on No. 17
Pueblo Centennial, or will the playoffs prove to be a different animal?
5. In 5A, will
Rock Canyon (Highlands Ranch) be able to take one more step? The Jaguars narrowly missed out on their championship aspirations last season when they fell to Pine Creek 1-0 in the title game. No one enters the playoffs hotter than the Jags, who have won 12 straight after a 1-1-1 start to secure the top seed.
6. Can
Boulder make it two out of three in 5A? The Panthers won it all in 2012 as a No. 6 seed and made it to the semifinals last season as a No. 9. This season coach Hardy Kalisher's group has been bestowed the No. 3 seed.
7. Can
Warriors (Montbello) (Denver) break through? The Warriors won the Denver Prep League this year, another step in the steady rise of the city program. They have qualified for the state tourney each of the past two seasons but were bounced in the first round. The No. 16 team in the 5A bracket, Montbello and ace scorer
Bryan Manzano will attempt to avoid that fate with a first-round home game against No. 17
Arvada West.
8. Can
Kent Denver (Englewood) keep roaring in 3A? The top-seeded Sun Devils have outscored foes 67-7 and after an opening loss to
Frontier Academy (Greeley), have ripped off 14 straight wins. Senior
Greer Solarte is Kent's top overall scorer with 11 goals and 11 assists.
9. Speaking of Frontier Academy, the Greeley-based Wolverines might be the only team that doesn't fear Kent. Possessors of the No. 2 seed, the Wolverines (12-1-2) are led by senior
Daniel Buhler's 20 goals and nine assists.
10. Which mountain team will make an impact? While the Metro League always has a heavy presence in 3A, a mountain team always seems to make a prolonged run. The leading candidates are No. 3
Roaring Fork (Carbondale), No. 5
Vail Mountain and No. 7
Crested Butte. But don't count out No. 10
Salida, 12
Telluride or No. 16
Aspen, either.
