Holy Family remained the No. 1 team in this week’s 3A girls soccer ranking. (Pam Wagner)

Columbine, off to a 6-1-0 start, has joined this week’s Class 5A girls soccer ranking.

The Rebels were 2-0-0 last week with wins over Liberty and Dakota Ridge. They are No. 9 in CHSAANow.com’s poll this week.

Elsewhere, the 4A poll added Windsor (No. 10), and 3A added Faith Christian (No. 6).

The three No. 1 teams stayed the same this week. Those are Mountain Vista (5A), Cheyenne Mountain (4A) and Colorado Academy (3A).

The next new rankings will be out on April 7, due to the relatively light in-state schedule caused by spring break.

Complete polls for all classes are below.

[divider]

CHSAANow.com Girls Soccer Polls

Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.

Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.

Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A

BROOMFIELD — Matt Erb and Devlin Granberg both went 2-for-3 with two RBIs as No. 1 Holy Family baseball beat Peak to Peak 13-3 on Saturday morning.

HIGHLANDS RANCH — The Montrose baseball team’s victory over Valor Christian on Friday couldn’t really be called vindication.

The better term would be validation.

The Indians, behind a yeoman’s effort on the mound by staff ace Tyrus Lopez, held off the Eagles 2-1.

It was at a similar point last season when Valor Christian knocked Montrose from the unbeaten ranks with a 4-3 win. Lopez was on the mound for that one as well. As a result, from the first pitch Friday, “I was amped up,” the senior righthander said. “I’ve never been so pumped up for a game.”

His work on the mound showed as he retired the first seven batters he faced, three by strikeout.

The Indians broke open a pitchers’ duel with a run in the top of the third, using small ball as Josue Perez reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second and scored on an error.

The Eagles tied it with their only run in the fourth in similar fashion when Justin Falls reached on a throwing error, stole second and scored on Marco Castilla’s ground-ball single to right.

Lopez, who bats cleanup for the Indians, had a chance to help his cause in the sixth but lined out to short on the hardest hit ball of the day with a runner in scoring position. Indians catcher Jake Bradburn immediately followed, however, with a bounder up the middle to score Josh Robertson.

“Jake’s base hit – that was senior leadership,” Montrose coach Landon Wareham said.

From there, it was up to Lopez, who improved to 3-0 with the victory. He retired six of the last seven batters, including the final four by strikeout as finished with 11 punch-outs.

“He missed lots of bats today,” Wareham said of Lopez’s two-hit performance against a team that was unbeaten entering the game.

With the victory over a quality opponent, “It gives this team confidence,” Lopez said.

The 5-0 Indians will need it when they play Mead and Thompson Valley to close out their Front Range road trip on Saturday.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Wareham said.

But he and Lopez would both agree, they relish the challenge.

(Frank McKiel)

MANITOU SPRINGS — When Manitou Springs midfielder Kaity Vogel lines up to take a penalty kick, she becomes a creature of habit. Prior to taking her shot, she takes aim the back-left corner of the goal, which is exactly how she gave the Mustangs a 1-0 lead over St. Mary’s.

The score would hold up and Vogel, a sophomore, gave her senior teammates something they had yet to experience in their time with the Mustangs, a win over the rival Pirates.

(Frank McKiel)

The cross-town rivals battled through a scoreless first half that saw St. Mary’s get several chances to get the ball into the net. Forward Emily Loof had the best chance for the Pirates as she gained possession of the ball in front of the net off a corner kick. Her shot attempt couldn’t clear traffic in front of the Manitou goal and was eventually cleared.

In the second half, the Mustangs grew tired of allowing the Pirates to control the ball and took the attack, which helped lead to a much-needed win. The Mustangs were the victims of a 6-0 beat down at the hands of Holy Family on Wednesday and they knew that a win before a week off during spring break could drastically change the outlook on their season.

“I was telling (St. Mary’s coach) Greg (Braha) that I think we needed this more than they did and that they’re going to be fine,” Manitou coach Mike Fox. “This is great momentum for us after struggling a little bit early.”

The see-saw battle prevented either team from taking a clear advantage through most of the contest. A break finally came with 19:56 remaining in the game when Vogel was fouled within the goal box, allowing the Mustangs to take the penalty shot, which led to the only goal scored in the game and the biggest win of the Mustangs’ young season.

“I think we finally worked together,” Vogel said. “Holy Family was a really good game for us to learn from and we just came out as a team and really wanted it. They’re our rivals. It felt amazing.”

The loss for the Pirates is the first on the year. Through the first two games of their season they had been outscoring their opponents 20-0. Braha said that Manitou was a tough team to face, but the Pirates were without five players for various reasons which saw them bring only nine varsity players to the game.

(Frank McKiel)

“It’s all a process for us. We’ve played a league game very early but you want your non-league opponents to get you ready for your league and your league opponents to help you build for the playoffs,” Braha said. “In our case, we use our non-league opponents to help us get ready for state playoffs and you want to play these tough teams.”

The Pirates came into the season as one of the favorites to contend for a state title, but in their desire to succeed down the stretch, they have to go through a schedule that will force them to overcome adversity.

“They felt like their backs were against the wall, I think we haven’t been stressed yet,” Braha said. “Our team doesn’t know what it feels like to be in this kind of game yet, but now they do.”

Both teams will return to action Apr. 1 when each school returns from their spring break vacation.

Wheat Ridge senior Tyler Knott, left, congratulates sophomore Dan O’Connor after a Wheat Ridge goal in the first quarter Friday at Pennington Field. Knott led the Farmers with three goal in the 11-0 victory against Air Academy. (Dennis Pleuss)

WHEAT RIDGE — Even a shorthanded Wheat Ridge boys’ lacrosse team is pretty darn good.

The defending Class 4A state champion Farmers played without leading goal scorers junior Dima Makarov and senior John Roach late Friday afternoon against Air Academy. Wheat Ridge’s starting goalie Jensen Makarov also missed the game because he was in California looking at colleges.

Wheat Ridge senior Max Marcum (3) fires a shot past Air Academy senior Spencer Dodder during the first quarter Friday at Pennington Field in Wheat Ridge. The Farmers won the Class 4A championship rematch from last year with a dominating 11-0 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)

The absence of key players didn’t show on the scoreboard as 4A’s top-ranked Farmers blanked the No. 6-ranked Kadets 11-0.

“I’m really pleased with the way it went down,” Wheat Ridge coach Chris Knott said. “We had a bunch of young guys step up and fill those shoes. That is all we could really ask for. Our back-up goalie went in and pitched a shutout. What more can you ask?”

A few nagging injuries caused Knott to sit a few players. Knott said he should have everyone back when Wheat Ridge begins its three-game stretch of games during its spring break trip to California next week.

Seven different Farmers found the back of the net against Air Academy. Senior Tyler Knott, son of Wheat Ridge’s head coach, led the way with three goals. The senior captain’s first goal came on the Farmers’ first offensive possession.

“Right off the bat it was definitely good,” Tyler Knott said of the Farmers taking command early. “We got a good lead. It got our team pumped and set the mood for the rest of the game.”

Wheat Ridge scored on its first three offensive possessions. Junior Regan Devine scored on an assist from sophomore Dan O’Connor for the Farmers’ second goal. Junior Bennie Pachello gave the Farmers a 3-0 lead after winning a faceoff and racing down the field before putting a hard shot past Air Academy senior goalie Mikey Smith.

“I think it’s a really good thing,” said Tyler Knott of getting some experience for its younger players. “It lets us expand our team and expands our depth. It gives the younger kids a chance to step up and see what they are made of.”

Devine and freshman Zach Hall each finished with a pair of goals in the bounce-back victory for Wheat Ridge. Class 5A powerhouse Cherry Creek, No. 3 in this week’s CHSAANow.com poll, defeated the Farmers 11-4 earlier in the week.

“We really practiced hard for this week coming in,” Wheat Ridge senior defender Caleb Cerf said. “We brought it out hard and did well.”

Led by Cerf, the Farmers’ defense was able to shut down Air Academy’s leading goal scoring tandem of senior Mitchell Miller (19 goals) and sophomore Jake Thornally (12 goals). Senior Chris Tuuk picked up the victory in goal for the Farmers.

Friday was a rematch of last year’s 4A state championship game. Wheat Ridge won its first lacrosse state title, along with the first boys or girls lacrosse championship for Jeffco, with a dominating 14-2 win against Air Academy.

Air Academy sophomore Jake Thornally, right, and Wheat Ridge senior Cody Bartusiak battle for a loose ball Friday afternoon. (Dennis Pleuss)

The Farmers cruised through the 4A tournament last season outscoring their four opponents 61-10.

Wheat Ridge will head to California for during next week’s spring break. The Farmers play a trio of California teams before kicking off its 4A Foothills League play April 2 against rival Evergreen.

“It’s the best thing for us, to go out and challenge our team,” coach Knott said of facing out-of-state teams and playing top 5A programs in Colorado. “The worse thing that can happen is they get better. When you player higher competition it’s going to make your guys play better. That is what has happened for us in the past and that is what we are going to count on going to California and everything else.”

Air Academy will also head to California for spring break next week. The Kadets will play Cathedral Catholic and Carlsbad.

Wheat Ridge senior Rocco Conca gains control of the ball during the first half Friday during the Farmers’ 11-0 victory against Air Academy at Pennington Field in Wheat Ridge. (Dennis Pleuss)

GREENWOOD VILLAGE — Rachael Walker had six goals and two assists, Emily McMinimee made nine saves and Chatfield girls lacrosse beat Cherry Creek 14-9 on Friday.

(Brock Laue)

LAFAYETTE — The Cherry Creek girls have been the Roman Empire of Colorado lacrosse for years with 10 state titles.

The Bruins have reached every single state final since CHSAA sanctioned the sport in 1998. They are the No. 1 ranked team in this week’s CHSAANow poll, and are the defending state champions.

Centaurus, which reached the title game for the first time last year, has been a rising power looking to unseat Cherry Creek.

The Warriors took a step in the right direction Thursday with a 9-6 victory over the Bruins, giving Cherry Creek its first loss this season at Spangenberg Field at Centaurus High School.

“It feels fantastic,” said Centaurus’ Sarah Brown, a midfielder and a University of Colorado signee. “They’re an amazing team and we just wanted to prove to them that we are meant to be here. At practice, we just went through and set all of our weaknesses into strengths and put that into a game. We did exactly that. We proved to them that we’re in the run to win and that we are a good team.”

In a state championship rematch, Centaurus turned the tables from a 20-10 Cherry Creek win last year to an impressive defensive performance Thursday. Goalkeeper Kayli Weiss held the Bruins to only three goals each half and the Warriors utiltized their speed in a defensive smothering. They held a 6-3 halftime lead.

“We practice a lot on defense, because you always hear attack wins games, defense wins championships,” Brown said.

“Two teams with strong attacks and strong defenses, so they shut us down at certain times and we shut them down at certain times,” Centaurus coach Genny Horning said. “For us, more than anything, we were really patient and really deliberate and made sure that every possession counted.”

Brown’s six goals provided enough firepower offensively for the Warriors to secure the win.

“Sarah is such a strong player,” Horning said about her leading scorer this season. “She’s quick, she has great stick skills, she’s smart, she has great field sense, and she is really good at reading the defense.

“She’s somebody that a lot of other teams are watching and trying to stop. She shares the ball, she’s not a selfish player at all, so it just makes us stronger. She brings the level of our play up.”

Centaurus was elated after its first victory over Cherry Creek in program history. Brown said the team has made great strides this season.

“Creek is a team that doesn’t have a bad mental game ever and being able to play against them in state was great,” Brown said about last year’s championship game. “It was really just a bummer how we played and we let that mental game get to us, so it was great to see how we didn’t let it get to us now, how we’ve grown in that way.”

The Bruins have been the Warriors’ kryptonite and ended several playoff runs in recent years.

“The year before we played against Creek, lost to them by 10 again, and I think the year before that it was also Creek, lost to them,” Brown said. “Going into the season, we wanted to prove to everyone that it wasn’t the refs, we weren’t just lucky, we are good players.”

Horning is pleased with the continued development of her Centaurus program with steady progress during her eight years as coach.

“Our history is we’ve been pretty bad,” Horning admitted. “We used to be out of Boulder High and now were at Centaurus. We’ve just slowly worked our way up the ranks. We were in the state championship game last year and the two years prior to that we were in the semifinals and the year before that we were fifth. The year before that we were lucky to be in the playoffs losing to Creek 20-0.”

“We have a lot of strong players this year,” Horning noted. “I would say that this year we have more height than we’ve had in the past and better stick skills. As we’ve grown as a program, we’ve had a couple players and now it’s kind of from below. We have a lot of just really good players. They can all handle the ball, they can all handle the pressure that they showed today, and they’re able to score. We have a lot of depth.”

That depth was on display Thursday with Weiss’ goalkeeping and the offensive help of Olivia Holmes (two goals) and Ellie Meyer (one goal).

Brown also pointed to Centaurus’ depth and all-around talent as a strength this season.

“We’re fast and I know so many girls have stepped it up,” Brown said. “Even our defense is great at shooting and our defense is so fast too. We’ve been hustling more this year for groundballs. We’ve gotten better at draw. Anybody on the team, I would say, could play defense or attack. I don’t think that they are just one dimensional.”

Centaurus, now 4-0 and ranked third in the current CHSAANow poll, have several tough games ahead.

The Warriors travel to Florida next week to take on Poly Prep Country Day (N.Y.) and Flint Hill (Va.) before clashing with No. 2 Air Academy in another monumental matchup.

“We have all the top 10 teams right now on our schedule,” Horning said. “We have a pretty intense schedule.”

“We’re not peaking now,” Brown said after one of, if not the best, regular season win in Centaurus’ history. “We’re just going to continue to grow.”

“There’s so many good teams right now, so we just have to go in with the same mindset and be prepared,” Brown concluded.

Centaurus announced themselves as one of those good teams again. The Warriors look to be a very serious state championship contender.

Wheat Ridge senior Shelly Browne (12) gets her foot on the ball in front of Mullen junior Penelope Arnold (10) during the first half Thursday at Lakewood Memorial Field. (Dennis Pleuss)

LAKEWOOD — The final score didn’t tell the story Thursday night at Lakewood Memorial Field.

Mullen took a 4-1 victory over Wheat Ridge in girls’ soccer action, but the Mustangs (3-3) had to withstand a stretch of 25 minutes in the second half where the Farmers put constant pressure near Mullen’s net.

“Wheat Ridge is a good team,” Mullen’s first-year coach Mark Dougerty said. “They put us under pressure scoring in the first couple minutes of the second half, but I’m proud of my girls. They weathered the storm.”

Wheat Ridge freshman Alexandra Nillen (9) take a corner kick during the second half Thursday night. Nillen had a corner kick set up the Farmers’ lone goal in a 4-1 loss to Mullen. (Dennis Pleuss)

Mullen held a 2-0 lead at halftime with goals by freshman Caleigh Michael and senior Regan Weber off corner kicks. Weber was able to bend her corner kick into the goal in the 36th minute to give the Mustangs’ a two-goal lead.

The only bad news for Weber was she turned an ankle and didn’t play much after halftime.

“The poor girl has had some unfortunate luck this season,” Dougerty said of Weber. “She is a key player for us. In the short amount of time she was out there you could see what she adds.”

Wheat Ridge (3-2) quickly answered in the second half with its own goal off a corner kick. Senior Carlee Flanagan headed in a centering pass from freshman Alexandra Nillen into the back of the net to cut the Mustangs’ lead to 2-1 three minutes into the second half.

Flanagan’s goal energized the Farmers. Wheat Ridge spent the next 25 minutes of play nearly entirely in Mullen’s defensive zone looking for the equalizer.

“We felt like we could get one (goal), control possession and shift the momentum. We did that the first 25 minutes or so,” Wheat Ridge coach Dan Watkins said. “They weren’t clean looks or clean opportunities, but we were putting the pressure on.”

Mullen was finally able to generate its own scoring chance in the 69th minute. The Mustangs worked the ball in front of Wheat Ridge’s goal and junior Natalie DeBartolomieis powered home Mullen’s third goal to regain the two-goal cushion.

“I was just really relived,” DeBartolomieis said. “I knew that once we got the third goal we would have everything under our belts. We just had to focus on defending at that point.”

A minute later the Mustangs took a 4-1 lead. Sophomore Megan Delmonico buried a penalty kick past Wheat Ridge freshman goalie Abby Bausch.

Mullen junior Penelope Arnold (10) tracks down a ball during the opening half Thursday night at Lakewood Memorial Field. (Dennis Pleuss)

“We had such great momentum. I think after Mullen scored again it kind of brought us down,” Flanagan said of the Mustangs’ third goal. “We had the possession. It was just really frustrating. It was unlucky.”

Mullen junior Alexis Glogiewicz picked up the victory in net for the Mustangs. It was the second victory this week for Mullen after suffering back-to-back losses to Regis Jesuit and Castle View last week.

“I think we’ve built a lot of confidence,” DeBartolomieis said. “We are really looking forward to the rest of our season.”

Mullen won’t get back on the field until after spring break. The Mustangs next game is scheduled for April 4 when it travels to face Battle Mountain.

Wheat Ridge will also have its spring break next week. The Farmers return to action against Class 4A Jeffco League rival Green Mountain on April 2 at Lakewood Memorial Field.

“Every one of these girls wants it,” Flanagan said. “We’ll work really hard over (spring) break to go hard against Green Mountain.”

Mullen sophomore Olivia Szeliga (8) tries to clear the ball out of the Mustangs’ defensive zone as Wheat Ridge sophomore Nikki Strickler closes in Thursday night at Lakewood Memorial Field. Mullen took a 4-1 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)

DENVER — Rocky Mountain baseball beat Chaparral 8-2 at Coors Field on Wednesday.

WESTMINSTER — The Academy pulled out a victory over Bruce Randolph by a score of 5-4 on Thursday afternoon.