AURORA — Mountain Vista field hockey jumped on Smoky Hill early with seven first half goals, then added three more in the second to win 10-0 on Wednesday.
DENVER — Top-ranked Palmer Ridge’s Laurel Brewster didn’t allow a goal in 60 minutes of play on Tuesday, but neither did No. 3 Colorado Academy’s Bauer Ellie as the two teams finished their contest in a scoreless tie.
Denver East announced its return to field hockey’s top teams in a big way last season, reaching the semifinals.
What’s in store for an encore this season?
“Those seniors last year were game-changers for our program. We are really grateful to them,” said fourth-year Denver East coach Katie Morris. “But I don’t want to take away from our rising seniors this year. They are going to be able to pick up right where those kids last year left off.”
East graduated 10 seniors from its squad that went 12-2-3 in 2016, including Kate Burney (now playing at the University of Michigan). But the team returns eight new seniors this year, including first-team all-stater Eve Van Berkel, as well as captains Isobel Baker, Jaqueline McDonald and Shaina Neuwirth. And Morris is the reigning coach of the year.
Last season marked the first time since 2009 that Denver East reached double-digit wins. It was also the Angels’ furthest advancement into the postseason since that same season, when East finished runner up. (That remains the lone championship appearance for the program.)
“We lost quite a few starters,” Morris said. “It’s an opportunity for quite a few people to step up. But I think we set the standard for where we want to be and we’re hoping to just maintain and improve and get to that state championship game.”
Said McDonald: “Last year we saw such an amazing change in the way our program ran, and the way our team played together.”
Both McDonald and Morris pointed to an “amazing” team chemistry that helped spark the team to its success.
“For us as captains, we really just want to keep that team chemistry up,” McDonald said. “We had amazing chemistry last year. So at tryouts, we’re really looking to see that commitment and excitement for the team. These are people that are really just excited to play.
“We’re really excited for challenging opportunities this year, and to take them head-on.”
“Obviously, it’s nerve-wracking,” McDonald said of the ranking, “but I also think it’s something that’s exciting for us, to have that high expectation because we do want to fulfill that expectation.”
East’s rise — the Angels averaged 6.6 wins from 2011-2015 — can be attributed in large part to the staggering numbers in its program. More than 70 players participate across the school’s four teams.
“We’ve been really lucky,” Morris said. “We’ve had some consistent C-team and JV coaches, so I think collectively, we know the values of our program and the core curriculum that we like to teach. It’s nice when I get the kids from JV or the freshman team and they already know a lot, because we all agree to teach the same techniques and curriculum.”
Added McDonald: “We’re really excited. It’s really great to see all the freshmen coming (to tryouts), because eventually, when we’re leaving, they’re going to be the ones carrying the program on.”
East will have plenty of competition in 2017.
Palmer Ridge, runner-up a season ago, opened the preseason poll at No. 1. The Bears graduated three first-team all-state selections, but senior Liz Phillips, a second-team pick last season, is back.
Emma Domich. (Lance Wendt/LanceWendt.com)
Kent Denver, the defending champion, opens at No. 2. The most successful program in state history with 10 of the 20 championships, the Sun Devils are expected to be led by Emma Domich (first-team all-state), Olivia Baglieri (second team), Cam Capoot, Madeleine Hunt (honorable mention) and Portia Tieze.
But it’s a field that’s expected to be largely equalized with many of the top programs graduating talent.
Other challengers include Colorado Academy (ranked third, and winner of four-straight championships from 2012-15), Regis Jesuit (ranked fifth), as well as Cherry Creek, Grandview, St. Mary’s Academy and Mountain Vista.
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Field hockey preview
Important dates:
Regular season begins: Aug. 24
Playoffs begin: Oct. 20-21
State championship: Oct. 26, All-City Stadium (Denver)
DENVER — Shelby Schumacher knew it was a unique group of leaders on the team at the beginning of the field hockey season, but the six seniors got together and decided to make their last year fun. Maybe field hockey wasn’t everyone’s main sport, but all they could do was support each other and play as a team.
In her 20th year head coaching the Sun Devils, Coach Kathy James and her squad proved to be the ultimate definition of a team and played lights out together to win the program’s 10th state title in its 13th championship game appearance.
No. 1-seeded Kent Denver beat No. 2-seeded Palmer Ridge 2-0 in the 2016 field hockey state championship at All-City Stadium on Thursday night. The Sun Devils, who finished the year 16-0-2, have the most field hockey titles in Colorado and had not won since 2011.
“This senior class was outstanding, and none of them are field hockey players,” James said. “I had three lacrosse players and a soccer player (out of six seniors), and our goalkeeper is a primary field hockey player, but everyone else came from other sports.”
Forward Schumacher, one of the team’s senior leaders, is the soccer player of the bunch and scored an insurance goal for the Sun Devils, finishing off a straight shot on a penalty corner after time had expired in the first half.
“We all got together once we made the team and thought it was such a ragtag group and just decided we were going to have fun with it and play as a team,” Schumacher said. “Field hockey isn’t our main sport, and lining the girls up for preseason, we were like, ‘We’re just going to do this together,’ and we don’t know how, but everyone watched out for each other and we worked together as a team.”
Junior midfielder Olivia Baglieri scored the game-winning goal on a deflection for the Sun Devils with 2:38 remaining.
Schumacher and sophomore forward Madeleine Hunt were both aggressive from the get go in breaking with the ball up the sides of the field. Kent Denver was very active in front of goal with plenty of early chances to score in the first half.
“I came into this game knowing it was going to be our hardest fought game in a couple years,” James said. “I knew Palmer was going to play hard. Their goalkeeper, hands down, is one of the best and she was not going to let the easy stuff in. We were going to have to earn our goals because she’s phenomenal, and she played the game of her life.”
Palmer senior goalkeeper Keelin Broeker played very tough, but Kent Denver’s quick offensive explosion in the last three minutes of the first half sealed it. The Bears had solid coverage on defense, but couldn’t get the offensive momentum going past the Sun Devils, who were not letting Palmer Ridge get any good looks.
Palmer Ridge finished the season 13-3-2 and advanced to the program’s third championship game appearance by knocking four-time defending state champion Colorado Academy out in the semifinals 1-0. It was revenge that had been brewing after the Mustangs had repeatedly taken the Bears out of the state tournament the last five years.
“It’s always exciting to get here, but it’s never fun to lose,” 10th-year Palmer Ridge coach Paul Lewis said. “We’ve done it a few times (2012, 2014) now and it’s tough. Once the pain settles and they think back on the season, we’ll have our banquet and be able to talk about the amazing things they did this season.”
The Bears will lose eight seniors from their squad.
