Note: For more photos from David Harvey, click here.
Another week, another round of chaos when it comes to the landscape of Colorado boys soccer in 2022. Highly-ranked teams are falling and there are some feel good stories out there that are resulting in some teams having a rebound season.
That said, here is the Colorado Preps weekly boys soccer report.
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Class 3A
Englewood senior Adrian Cano has been a feel-good story through the first couple weeks of the fall.
The star of a program that hasn’t had a winning season in more than a decade, Cano currently leads the classification in points with 16 (seven goals and two assists).
Last Wednesday, he helped the Pirates improve to 2-2 on the season with five goals and two helpers in an 11-1 win over Arvada. The team’s two wins are already more than it had in five different seasons dating back to 2011.
This week, take a look at Wednesday’s game between undefeated teams in KIPP Denver Collegiate and Colorado Academy.
The White Tigers have outscored teams 10-1 through their 4-0 start. The Mustangs have gotten five goals from Simeon Woldeyohannes in three games and are beating teams 15-1.
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Class 5A
The Weekly Jumble. That’s the game coaches with a vote in the weekly CHSAA poll have been playing through the first month of the season.
One week’s No. 1 is next week’s fallen.
That’s balance in the world of the sport.
Fairview, which was No. 1 in the classification last weekend, got another astounding performance from its goalkeeper Shane Williams on Tuesday against 4A-rising Silver Creek. Two penalty kick denials, though, weren’t enough in a 1-0 loss.
The week before, the best team in the 5A rankings was crosstown rival Boulder. The Panthers then lost to Valor Christian and drew with Regis Jesuit before coming back this week with an overtime victory over the Raptors.
Among the teams who should also have top-placing votes sooner rather than later are Broomfield, Valor Christian and Legacy.
Broomfield is at the start of a new era with the departure of longtime coach Jim Davidson and the promotion of his former assistant Zach Hindman.
The Eagles have three quality wins to start the fall. After beating 4A-ranked Cheyenne Mountain and Ralston Valley, the Eagles were third in the classification when they faced a Castle View program which started the season as 5A’s No. 2. Down 2-0, they rallied with two goals in the final seven minutes of regulation and added the winner in overtime. Elijah Smith, Cooper Johnson and Marcus Von all scored in the win.
Meanwhile, Valor Christian, which was last week’s No. 2, tied with unranked ThunderRidge last week to drop to 2-0-1.
Legacy stayed unbeaten, getting past 3A No. 9 Faith Christian 4-0. The Lightning haven’t allowed a goal in their 3-0 start.
For a game to monitor this week, check out Fort Collins at Boulder Tuesday. The Lambkins, part of that juggernaut Front Range League, drew 4-4 with defending champ Grandview last week.
Class 4A
Defending champ Northfield’s 22-game winning streak ended last week in a 1-all draw against Skyview.
2021 runner-up Mullen moved to 2-0 on the season with a 3-0 shutout against 3A Prospect Ridge Academy.
That’s where we are as the top two 4A teams from last year meet again Friday night at Northfield.
Last fall, the Nighthawks capped off a 20-0 season when they beat the Mustangs in the 4A final. Before that, the Mustangs beat Northfield in the previous two meetings, winning in 2018 and ’19.
Ethan Lehman, who had 11 goals and 11 assists last year for Mullen, has two goals and an assist in two games this season.
Elsewhere, Mesa Ridge’s 26 team goals in five games has meant plenty of its players are currently atop the stats leaderboard.
Senior Kadin Reese is way ahead in the season goal chase as he netted his 13th in an 8-2 loss to Lewis-Palmer last week. He is also nearing the 50-goal milestone for his career, currently with 44.
Tied for second in goals is Grizzlies teammate Kainoa Apatang, who has seven along with Conifer’s Maddox Rife. Other Grizzlies junior Tanner Widic leads the class in assists with nine.
Class 2A
In a top-five matchup last week, Vail Mountain got four goals from four different players as it beat 2021 runner-up Lotus School for Excellence 4-0.
Next, it gets defending champ Crested Butte. The two meet at Vail Mountain Tuesday, both sporting 3-1 records (their lone losses coming to 3A competition).
After a 4-2 loss to Basalt to start the year, the Titans have outscored their next three opponents 26-1. Reigning 2A player of the year Jacob Bernholtz scored his 50th career goal in a 10-0 win against Caprock Academy Saturday. He has eight goals this season.
Nolan Kim has scored in three of the Gore Rangers’ four games.
Elsewhere, Luciano Camarena has 11 goals for The Vanguard School, which is 3-1. Anton Reznikov has 10 for SkyView Academy, which is 2-1.