Montrose, ranked fourth in Class 4A, was the lone top-four seed to go down in the opening two rounds of the boys soccer postseason.
That means the favorites are mostly intact as each of the classification’s brackets now shift to the quarterfinals this Saturday.
In 5A, sophomore Sawyer Lee scored late in the second half to pull No. 1 Ralston Valley past No. 16 Erie in the second round. Meanwhile, defending champ No. 2 Cherry Creek got two goals 5A scoring leader Cooper Arledge in a 4-3 win over No. 31 Fort Collins in the first round, then another from the senior a 4-0 win over No. 15 Fossil Ridge on Tuesday.
In 4A, No. 1 Mullen combined to outscore its first two opponents 8-1, while No. 2 Silver Creek followed up a six-goal win over No. 31 Pueblo County with an overtime win over No. 18 Rampart.
In 3A, six of the eight teams remaining are out of the 3A/2A Metro League, including No. 1 Colorado Academy and No. 2 Jefferson Academy.
And in 2A, all eight second-round games were decided by multiple goals. No. 1 Bruce Randolph won by six and No. 2 Salida won by four.
Three of the four 2024 champions remain, with 3A Holy Family (which lost in the first round) as the lone casualty.
Let’s take a look at each classification heading into the quarterfinals.
Class 5A
Games: No. 1 Ralston Valley vs. No. 9 Boulder; No. 4 Legacy vs. No. 12 Cherokee Trail; No. 3 Northfield vs. No. 6 Regis Jesuit; No. 2 Cherry Creek vs. No. 7 Pine Creek.
Arledge scored three times through two rounds for the second-ranked Bruins (17-0), who played their closest game to date this fall in the opening round before dominating in the second. He has a 5A-most 26 goals this season.
No. 1 Ralston Valley faces No. 9 Boulder for the second time this season after beating the Panthers 4-0 on Sept. 4. Boulder beat crosstown rival Fairview in the second round.
No. 4 Legacy and No. 12 Cherokee Trail are coming off dramatic second-round wins as the Lightning beat neighbor Broomfield in overtime, while the Cougars outlasted Denver East in a shootout.
No. 3 Northfield and No. 7 Pine Creek have been the most dominant teams to start the playoffs, with goal differentials of eight through two rounds.
No. 6 Regis Jesuit, meanwhile, shut out its first two opponents.
Class 4A
Games: No. 1 Mullen vs. No. 8 Golden; No. 12 Cheyenne Mountain vs. No. 13 Evergreen; No. 3 Battle Mountain vs. No. 6 Greeley Central; No. 2 Silver Creek vs. No. 10 Air Academy.
Three double-digit seeds remain in the 4A quarterfinals.
No. 12 Cheyenne Mountain knocked out No. 5 Lutheran, No. 13 Evergreen beat No. 29 Montbello, which beat No. 4 Montrose, and defending champ No. 10 Air Academy beat No. 7 Centaurus in a shootout.
Elsewhere, No. 6 Greeley Central’s best season in memory continues after Allyson Izaguirre netted a hat trick in a comeback, 3-2 win over No. 11 D’Evelyn.
Parker Brown won it for No. 2 Silver Creek in OT against No. 18 Rampart, while No. 3 Battle Mountain and No. 8 Golden have beaten each of their first two opponents by multiple goals.
The top-ranked Mustangs, who lost to the Kadets in last year’s state final, have a goal differential of seven through two rounds.
Class 3A
Games: No. 1 Colorado Academy vs. No. 8 The Academy; No. 4 Kent Denver vs. No. 5 Peak to Peak; No. 3 Steamboat Springs vs. No. 11 Eagle Ridge Academy; No. 2 Jefferson Academy vs. No. 7 Coal Ridge.
Colorado Academy/The Academy and Kent Denver/Peak to Peak are reruns from 3A/2A Metro League play. Then, the No. 1 Mustangs beat the Wildcats 1-0, and the No. 4 Sun Devils beat the Pumas 2-0.
No. 3 Steamboat Springs and No. 7 Coal Ridge are two outsiders, both from the 3A Western Slope League. The Sailors beat Coal Ridge to decide their league title and had impressive results in the regular season, including a win against the 4A quarterfinalist Golden and a draw versus 5A quarterfinalist Pine Creek.
Meanwhile, No. 2 JA got a hat trick in its 4-0 second-round win over Lamar from Troy Brown, who has 27 goals this season. No. 11 ERA held on to beat No. 6 Stargate School 3-2 in Round 2 after the Metro League teams tied in the regular season.
Class 2A
Games: No. 1 Bruce Randolph vs. No. 9 SkyView Academy; No. 4 Forge Christian vs. No. 21 Gunnison; No. 2 Salida vs. No. 7 Vanguard; No. 3 Crested Butte vs. No. 6 Telluride.
No. 21 Gunnison (6-8-2) is the only 20-something seed left in the playoffs.
The Cowboys beat No. 12 Campion Academy 3-0 and No. 5 Denver Christian 1-0. They get defending champ No. 4 Forge Christian in the quarterfinals.
Both Forge Christian and last year’s runner-up Salida cruised to big victories in the second round. But none were as convincing as No. 3 Crested Butte’s 8-0 win over No. 14 Dawson.
No. 9 SkyView Academy has outscored its first two opponents 7-0, while No. 2 Bruce Randolph beat No. 17 Loveland Classical 6-zip in the second round after its first-round bye.
No. 6 Telluride and No. 7 Vanguard will look to redeem earlier losses in the season in their quarterfinals. The Miners beat Crested Butte 1-0 in September, then lost 5-0 to the Titans last month. The Coursers lost to Salida 3-1 on Oct. 6.
