CHSAANow

Category: Spring Sports

  • No. 15 Aspen ousts No. 2 Manitou Springs from 3A girls soccer tournament

    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    MANITOU SPRINGS — The Manitou Springs girls soccer team had been scored on just once all season. When Jennifer Ellis netted a goal in the first half to put Aspen up 1-0, the Skiers felt every bit of momentum.

    They rode that momentum to a a 5-1 win over the No. 2 Mustangs to advance to the quarterfinals of the Class 3A girls soccer tournament.

    Aspen basically had one general theory in mind from the start of the game. Keeping in mind that every team at this point in any postseason is a good team, that meant that Aspen stood just as much a chance to advance as Manitou did. Striking early and getting a lead proved crucial to proving that theory correct.

    “We came into the game the way we go into every game,” coach Chris Ellis said. “We knew how we wanted to play, we knew what we wanted to do and we executed the task. We’ve trained very hard all season in preparation for these kinds of occasions.”

    Controlling the tempo of the game was crucial in getting the upset win and getting the first goal was the key piece in getting that control.

    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    After both sides spent time feeling each other out, it was the Skiers (7-3-1 overall) struck first on a goal from Jennifer Ellis. Putting the Mustangs (10-1) on their heels early changed the entire feel of the game.

    “It makes them very uncomfortable,” she said. “I think it’s quite shocking for them to go down that quickly when they’ve given up just one goal all season.”

    And it was far from the last that the Mustangs would give up on the night.

    Aspen kept pressing offensively and seemingly got every bounce as Zea Anderson made it 2-0 by chipping the ball over Manitou keeper Caroline Meastas.

    It took less than two minutes into the second half for the Skiers to add a third goal and stretch out the lead. Rather than sit on a two-goal lead going into the final 40 minutes, they decided to continue pressing the attack.

    “It’s important but it’s also fun,” Anderson said. “We wanted to get more goals and keep racking it up and keep up that pressure. It’s more about the fun of the game and the beauty of the game.”

    And when the result is a win over the No. 2 team in the tournament, it can make for a fun bus ride home.

    “I’m looking forward to it,” Anderson said. “I’m excited to have fun with my teammates and to celebrate a win.”

    The Mustangs avoided the shutout as Sophie McKeown netted a goal late in the second half, but the game was well out of reach at that point.

    The Skiers won’t have long to celebrate as they’ll head to Denver on Saturday to take on Colorado Academy.

  • No. 2 Evergreen topples Northfield in opening round of 4A girls soccer state tourney

    Evergreen senior Jocelin Zimmerer (7) gets ready to fire a shot that led to the Cougars’ opening goal in the 18th minute Wednesday night at Evergreen High School. The Cougars defeated Northfield 2-0 to advance to the Class 4A state quarterfinals. The Cougars will host Steamboat Springs on Saturday back at Evergreen High School. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    EVERGREEN — Two first-half goals is all Evergreen needed offensively Wednesday night to advance to the Class 4A girls soccer state quarterfinals.

    The No. 2-seeded Cougars (11-0 record) got goals from senior Jocelin Zimmerer (18th minute) and junior Catherine Rapp (27th minute) on the way to a 2-0 shutout victory against No. 15 Northfield.

    Evergreen senior Myla Stewart (21) assisted on the second Cougar goal Wednesday before finishing up playing goalie for the second part of the second half against Northfield. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “My teammate (Lily Maus) played me a great ball in the middle,” Zimmerer said. “I just made a touch forward and took the shot.”

    Zimmerer tucked her shot just under the crossbar to give the Cougars the early lead. Evergreen extended the lead to 2-0 less than 10 minutes later with a brilliant connection from senior Myla Stewart to one of the Cougars’ Rapp triplets — Catherine.

    Stewart lofted a centering pass from the right wing to Catherine Rapp, who headed the ball past Northfield senior goalie Veda Miles.

    “I actually watched the Italy game during Euro 2020 today. The guys play like that,” Stewart said of sending the aerial pass to Catherine Rapp. “I know the (triplets) love header crosses. We are taught to play it on the ground, but this one had to go in the air. It was incredible.”

    Evergreen controlled the majority of play holding onto a 2-0 lead before halftime, but couldn’t get a third goal.

    Unfortunately for the Cougars the most noticeable news of the scoreless second half was Evergreen junior goalie Aubrey Huerta receiving a red card for handling a ball outside the goal box in the 56th minute.

    “It’s a mandatory red card,” Evergreen coach Peter Jeans said of Huerta grabbing the ball outside the goal box. “It is what it is. The player learns a lesson on how to handle that a little differently, but the good news is we made adjustments and we were still carry the game.”

    Jeans actually turned to Evergreen’s leading scorer — Stewart — to finish the final 24 minutes in goal for the Cougars. It wasn’t a total surprise to Stewart, who said that she had practiced in goal earlier this year when Huerta was injured.

    Evergreen junior Elizabeth Rapp (11) fends off Northfield junior Bailey Williams (13) and sophomore Isabel Bauer (8) during the first half Wednesday night at Evergreen High School. The Cougars took a 2-0 victory in the first-round Class 4A state playoff game. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “I was actually running over the to the referee to have her explain the call,” Stewart said after Huerta’s red card. “Peter (Jeans) looked at me and told me to put the gloves on. I’ll do whatever it takes to get the team where we need to be.”

    Stewart faced one legit scoring chance for Northfield, but the Nighthawks put a direct free kick over the net following the red card.

    “Everyone knew their first job was the clear the ball,” Zimmerer said of the team’s mindset after the red card. “We did that the entire time and they didn’t get any chances on goal.”

    Evergreen continued to put pressure on Miles despite Stewart not able to lead the offensive charge up top for the Cougars. The Nighthawks (8-3) were able to keep the Cougars from scoring in the second half mainly due to a handful of great saves to Miles.

    “Hats off to (Northfield),” Jeans said. “They really made us have to play a full 80-minute game and I felt like our girls did that.”

    The dilemma Evergreen has now is playing its state quarterfinal match Saturday against No. 10 Steamboat Springs without Huerta in net. A one-game suspension comes with the red card.

    “It’s a huge challenge,” Jeans said of playing without Huerta. “We’ll have our work cutout for us. We are going to have to figure out a game-plan and shift some players around.”

    Stewart believes there is a good chance she will be back in net against Steamboat Springs, who defeated No. 7 Durango 2-1 on Wednesday night, but the senior captain said all options will be poured over.

    “I’m confident we can keep the ball away from our defensive half,” Zimmerer said of the Cougars, who have given up just four goals in 11 games this season. “We’ll be fine. Hopefully we’ll have Aubrey back for the semis.”

    Evergreen junior Rami Rapp (10) is tripped up by Northfield sophomore Isabel Bauer, right, during the first-round playoff game Wednesday night at Evergreen High School. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • Photos: Jefferson Academy runs by DSST Byers in 3A girls soccer tournament

    Class 3A No. 4 Jefferson Academy earned a trip to the girls soccer quarterfinals with a 9-0 win over DSST Byers on Wednesday.

  • Photos: Kent Denver shuts out Alamosa in first round of 3A girls soccer tournament

    Top-seeded Kent Denver is rolling into the quarterfinals of the Class 3A girls soccer tournament after beating No. 16 Alamosa 10-0.

  • Photos: Holy Family stuns Thompson Valley in 4A girls soccer tournament

    It’s onto the second round of the Class 4A girls soccer tournament for No. 12 Holy Family after it beat No. 5 Thompson Valley 3-0.

  • Photos: Windsor tops Niwot to advance to 4A girls soccer quarterfinals

    There was plenty of offense for No. 4 Windsor as it got a 7-0 win over No. 13 Niwot in the first round of the Class 4A girls soccer tournament.

  • Photos: Regis Jesuit tops Fruita Monument in 5A boys lacrosse tournament

    Eight first quarter goals set the tone as No. 6 Regis Jesuit topped No. 11 Fruita Monument 18-4 in the Class 5A boys lacrosse tournament.

  • Photos: Evergreen blanks Northfield in 4A girls soccer tournament

    No. 1 Evergreen advanced to the second round of the Class 4A girls soccer tournament with a 10-0 win over No. 16 Northfield.

  • Golden boys lacrosse impressive in playoff opening win versus Northfield

    ARVADA — Golden reminded the rest of the Class 4A boys lacrosse state tournament field on Tuesday night that the Demons are still the defending state champions.

    No. 5-seeded Golden dominated No. 12 Northfield 13-1 in the first playoff game for the Demons since claiming the Class 4A boys lacrosse state title 757 days ago.

    Golden senior Chance MacCagnon strolls past the goal after scoring in the first quarter for the Demons on Tuesday night at the NAAC. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “It seems like ages ago. Last playoff game I was a sophomore,” Golden senior Ben Kirschner said. “Now I’m a senior and a captain on the team.”

    The Demons pulled off one of the most dramatic come-from-behind victories in history of the state boys lacrosse tournament back on May 20, 2019 at All-City Stadium in Denver. Golden trailed Cheyenne Mountain 7-2 late in the second quarter, but the Demons rallied for an eventual 10-9 overtime victory.

    Golden looked primed for a run at a repeat in 2020, but COVID cancelled the spring season a year ago, preventing the Demons’ chance to win back-to-back state titles.

    “It’s been a long strange journey as they say,” Golden coach Mike Thumim said.

    Golden looked to be on a mission to get back to that title game again Tuesday night at the NAAC. The Demons jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead four and a half minutes in the first quarter. Seniors Chance MacCagnon and Kirschner both found the back of the net and sophomore Chase Marini added an early goal.

    The Demons kept it going in the second quarter. Golden sophomore Locky Rogers scored three straight goals over the span of 5 minutes to open out an 8-0 lead for the Demons.

    “It was really nice to see Locky Rogers to breakout today and get that hat-trick,” Thumim said. “I assume Erie was here and that gives them something else to think about.”

    Golden sophomore Chase Marini (12) attempts to get off a shot before Northfield junior Connor Smithburger (23) closes in. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    No. 4 Erie received a first-round bye in the 12-team state tournament. Erie hosts Golden at 7 p.m. Thursday night at Tiger Stadium. The Demons and Tigers actually met up in the state quarterfinals two years ago with Golden pulling off a 5-4 victory.

    “We are getting everyone’s best shot,” Thumim said. “Erie is not going to overlook us like they did in 2019. I’m going to be working my butt off tomorrow to get our boys ready to go.”

    The veteran leadership for Golden is also doing its part to get the younger Demons ready for the state quarterfinal game Thursday.

    “We tried to outline the importance of this game,” Kirschner said of what was told to the young Demons who weren’t even in high school two years ago. “We wanted to focus on this game and know get them mentally focused for Erie on Thursday.”

    Northfield sophomore Asher Poppleton ended the shutout bid by the Demons with a goal at the 7:29 mark in the third quarter. Golden senior goalie Kyle desGarennes was attempting to get is first shutout win in net this season.

    “Kyle saves us all the time,” Kirschner said. “To allow just one goal through the whole game today is great. He is going to come up big for us in the playoffs.”

    The 4A state semifinals are scheduled to be played Saturday, June 19, at Englewood High School. The title game will be Tuesday, June 22, back at Englewood High School.

    Golden junior Louie Ficco, left, delivers a hit on Northfield junior Eli Rosenberg during the first half Tuesday night at the NAAC. The Demons dominated the Nighthawks 13-1 in the first-round Class 4A playoff game. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • Photos: No. 4 Valor Christian girls lacrosse edges No. 3 Cherry Creek

    The girls lacrosse regular season came to a thrilling end as Class 5A No. 4 Valor Christian edged No. 3 Cherry Creek 13-12.