A changing of the guard on the Colorado girls soccer pitch

For the first time in eight years, a team from Colorado Academy (Denver) or The Classical Academy (Colorado Springs) will not be representing Class 3A in the state championship girls soccer game.

Instead, when the 3A title game gets underway at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, the outcome will be decided by either a team making its title-game debut or a program that's been champing at the bit to get back to this point.

Fifth-seeded Peak to Peak (Lafayette) (15-2-1), making its first championship-game appearance since a three-year run from 2011-13, will take on The Academy (Westminster) (17-1), a squad that's been knocking on the door for three years and finally kicked it down.

"These ladies have earned everything they get," Wildcats coach Kevin Davis said after his team upended defending state champion Kent Denver (Greenwood Village) 1-0 last Saturday in the state semifinals. "They've been working their tails off for the last 13 weeks. They get all the credit."

The Academy had a pair of unbeaten regular seasons in 2015 and 2016, advancing to the semis on both occasions. But both times the season ended a game earlier than the Wildcats had hoped, including a loss to Colorado Academy last spring that was decided by penalty kicks.

Needless to say, the players had plenty to celebrate after senior Alexis Loera's goal from 30 yards out held up and sent the team into tonight's championship game. The last time The Academy won a state title in any sport, it was the baseball team capturing the 2A crown back in 2004.

"The life-lesson here is if you work hard enough," Davis said, "eventually good things will happen."

Peak to Peak kept the streak of a Metro League team reaching the title game going at seven consecutive years with a 2-1 victory over top-seeded Jefferson Academy (Broomfield) in the semifinals. The Pumas won championships in 2012 and 2013.

"I was there in 2011, '12 and '13 with those earlier Peak to Peak teams," said Peak to Peak coach Joe Swanson, who was an assistant during that run. "For me as the coach, I'm not too wide-eyed over it. I've been there and I've seen it before."

Sophomore Ashley Buck leads the Pumas with 15 goals this spring, and another sophomore, Emma Shepherd, has eight goals and eight assists. Keeping with that trend, a pair of sophomores – Rachel Willette and Kinzie Short– have split time in goal for a team that went 7-1-1 in the gauntlet that is the Metro League.

One of the team's two losses came to The Academy, which has won 14 games in a row since a loss to Jefferson Academy in late March.

Loera leads the state's most prolific offense with 41 goals. Eight of those have come in the postseason, and she scored twice in a 3-0 victory over Peak to Peak on April 24.

"The Academy is fantastic. That Alex Loera is a tremendous player," Swanson said. "I used to always tease the girls that we can let that 50-yard ball go or that 60-yard ball go because there's not many kids that can hit it. But boy, she can hit it and she can hit it with accuracy."

Juniors Amanda Stricker and Alexander Zelinski have 13 goals each for The Academy, and Stricker has assisted on 33 more scores. The team has outscored opponents 123-10 through 18 games.

In other title games:

Class 2A
No. 1 Denver Christian vs. No. 2 Dawson School (Lafayette), 5 p.m. Tuesday at DSG
It took Dawson (13-3) a few extra days to get back to the 2A title game for the third year in a row. Inclement weather delayed the conclusion of the team's semifinal against Front Range Christian (Littleton) three days, but Dawson still came away with a 2-0 victory.

Dawson, which fell to Vail Mountain in each of the previous two title games, has a balanced attack that is paced by senior Hannah Isenhart's 30 goals and 14 assists. Freshman Kaitlyn Day has added 21 goals and sophomore Cameron Epstein has 16.

Denver Christian (15-2) dropped both of its game in the regular season to 3A squads, and the Thunder defeated Dawson 5-0 on April 20. Denver Christian outscored its first two postseason opponents 12-1, and Miranda Kortenhoeven upped her season total to 20 goals scored with two more in a 6-1 semifinal victory over Fountain Valley (Colorado Springs).

The Thunder are playing for a championship for the first time losing to Faith Christian (Arvada) in the 3A title game in 2005.

Wednesday, May 24
Class 4A
No. 4 D'Evelyn (Denver) vs. No. 7 Evergreen, 5 p.m. at DSG
It will be an all-Jeffco affair in Wednesday's first championship game at Dick's Sporting Goods Park as the fourth-seeded Jaguars (15-3-1) – fresh off their upset of top-seeded Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch) – take on No. 7 Evergreen (13-6).

The two teams met during the regular season on April 26, with the Cougars taking a 3-2 victory thanks to a pair of scores from senior Sofia Weiner.

"We have so much respect for that school, that coach, for their players that they have," Evergreen coach Peter Jeans said to Jeffco Athletics' Dennis Pleuss after a semifinal victory over Windsor last Saturday. "It's a classy team. It's going to be a great match on Wednesday."

Evergreen last won a state championship in 1997. The team has followed a similar path as last year's No. 7 seed, Valor Christian. Just like the Eagles, Evergreen defeated a Jeffco opponent in the second round before upending No. 2 Wheat Ridge in the quarterfinals and Windsor in the semifinals.

Weiner leads the team with 15 goals. Sophomore keeper Sarah Straut has allowed only 17 goals in 18 games played.

D'Evelyn is making its first appearance in the championship game. Tianna Wright scored the game-winner in the closing minutes of regular Saturday against Valor Christian, giving the Jaguars their second consecutive 1-0 victory (the team edged The Classical Academy in the quarterfinals).

The team's three losses came by one goal each during Jeffco League play. Sophomore Laryssa Hamblen has a team-high 19 goals, and sophomore keeper Kiera Hess has allowed only 16 goals in 17 games.

Class 5A
No. 3 Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch) vs. No. 12 Arapahoe (Centennial), 7:30 p.m. at DSG
These two teams have played for the 5A title before, with Mountain Vista winning in a shootout back in 2005. Since that time, the Golden Eagles (16-2-1) have won two more state titles and fell just short last spring in a 2-1 loss to Grandview (Aurora).

Mountain Vista gained a measure of revenge for that outcome though after eliminating the two-time defending champion Wolves in a shootout Saturday. The team has won 14 consecutive games since a three-game winless stretch early in the season, including two shootout victories in the playoffs.

Senior Katie Joella leads the Golden Eagles with a team-high 16 goals and six assists, and junior Katy Harris has 13 goals. Freshman Baileigh Baker made eight saves in shutting down Grandview in the semis.

Arapahoe (15-4) is back in the title game for the first time since 2010 after blanking Broomfield 2-0 last Saturday. The Warriors have yet to allow a postseason goal.

Junior Danielle Babb's 16 goals and 11 assists lead the team in both categories, and sophomore Audrey Weiss has 11 goals. Sophomore Grace Caddorette has played the last three games, recording 27 saves in the process.