Broomfield’s goal in the first half was the difference as the Eagles beat Cherry Creek 1-0 in the Class 5A girls soccer semifinals.

A quick lead only grew as No. 2 Dawson toppled No. 7 Front Range Christian to advance to the Class 2A girls soccer semifinals.

Lauren Clingman’s golden goal gave No. 12 Holy Family a thrilling 2-1 win over No. 4 Windsor in the Class 4A girls soccer quarterfinals.

A goal in the first half was padded by two in the second as Evergreen beat Steamboat Springs 3-0 in the Class 4A girls soccer quarterfinals.

The back line held up as No. 10 Colorado Academy beat No. 15 Aspen 5-0 to reach the Class 3A girls soccer semifinals.

Top-seeded Northridge survived a challenge from No. 9 Air Academy and won the game in penalty kicks to advance to the Class 4A girls soccer semis.

No. 4 Jefferson Academy got a 7-0 win over No. Colorado Springs Christian to advance to the Class 3A girls soccer semifinals.

(Benjamin Parris/Cherry Creek High School)

GREENWOOD VILLAGE — Any coach can admit that the key to winning any game is often a quick start, and in the playoffs, a quick start is even more important. Cherry Creek girls soccer got off to a quicker than quick start on its way to a 5-2 win over Arapahoe in the Class 5A girls soccer quarterfinals.

Just 53 seconds into the game at the Stutler Bowl, Senior forward Kelly Francis got on the scoresheet. Less than 5 minutes later, Cherry Creek extended their lead over Arapahoe to 3-0 after Junior Alyssa Glover put a shot into the back of the Warriors’ net, followed by a pass off her foot directly onto the head of Masen Frey, giving Glover an assist. By the time the first half was halfway over, Cherry Creek had a commanding 5-1 lead.

BRUINS GOAL!!

This header from Addie Follet came right to Kelly Francis, over the head of the Arapahoe goalkeeper to give Cherry Creek the 1-0 lead #copreps pic.twitter.com/nB8oAdsRfw

— Ben Parris (@BenParris04) June 19, 2021

“We talked about coming out quick, we talked about that all week long,” Cherry Creek coach David Gamelin said. “You never expect to score five goals in 20 minutes; that’s not what I expected, but I did expect us to come out hard.”

At halftime, the score was 5-2 after Arapahoe’s Paige Foa scored with under 10 minutes to go in the half, but as the teams came out for second, there was no more goals to be found as that score was the game’s final.

For Cherry Creek, Friday’s win advances them to their first semifinal game since 2012. Ending the 9-year drought, “Was really a team effort,” Alyssa Glover said. “We all worked so hard all season… It’s a great feeling to be able to push for a State Championship.”

Next up for No. 3 Cherry Creek is No. 2 Broomfield who scored late against Mountain Vista on Friday night to win their quarterfinal match 2-1. The Bruins and Eagles will meet at Englewood High School on Wednesday, June 23rd, for the opportunity to play in the state championship next weekend.

(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.

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)