If anything for the current state of girls soccer in Colorado, this past week has shown just how wobbly the view from the top can be.
It’s been a revolving door at the top spot in the Class 5A playoff rankings this spring, where the No. 1 seed flipped multiple times over the past week alone. First, when Boulder supplanted Castle View after its home win over the SaberCats last Tuesday. Then two days later, when Broomfield knocked down the Panthers.
On Monday night, Fossil Ridge — with five wins and four draws this season — briefly reigned atop the standings. After an update, however, Castle View retook it.
In this week’s look-in on girls soccer, let’s dive into the ranking shake-ups over the past week.
Class 5A
Top five in CHSAA’s current rankings: Castle View (7-1-1), Fossil Ridge (5-0-4), Cherry Creek (8-0-2), Boulder (6-1-2), Ralston Valley (7-0-2).
No. 13 Broomfield (5-3-2) did as much as any program to stir up the top of the rankings over the past week.
The Eagles tied then-No. 3 Ralston Valley before knocking Boulder from the top spot last week. Sophomore Marin Kotschau, the sister of former Broomfield star Reagan Kotschau, who is now at Washington State, scored the winner in Thursday’s 1-0 win over Boulder, then added two more goals in a 6-1 win over No. 39 Rocky Mountain on Saturday.
It briefly opened up the top spot for Broomfield’s former Front Range League mate, Fossil Ridge, which has won three straight since four draws in its first six games. The SaberCats are one of six undefeated teams left in the classification alongside No. 3 Cherry Creek, which tied fellow-unbeaten No. 8 Erie (5-0-2) on Saturday, as well as No. 5 Ralston Valley, No. 6 Denver East (5-0-1) and No. 15 Northfield (4-0-3).
For now, Castle View, which bounced back from last Tuesday’s loss to Boulder with a win over Douglas County, is back at No. 1.
Class 4A
Top five: Green Mountain (9-0-2), Evergreen (6-1-2), Golden (6-1-1), Windsor (7-3), Palmer Ridge (5-1-2).
Coronado (8-1-1) went from the top spot a week ago to 10th in the wake of Saturday’s 2-1 loss to now-No. 9 Air Academy (5-2-2). Meanwhile, Pueblo County (5-1-2) dropped from No. 2 to 14th after its loss to No. 7 Cheyenne Mountain (6-3-1).
For now, Jefferson County League mates Green Mountain and defending 4A champ Evergreen own the top two spots. Last month, they played to a 1-1 draw. And on Tuesday, Evergreen will host No. 3 Golden in what will likely force another shift in the standings.
Windsor, meanwhile, climbed inside the top five following wins over No. 19 Thompson Valley and 5A No. 34 Fort Collins last week. It also got a strength-of-schedule boost from its loss to 5A No. 2 Fossil Ridge last Tuesday.
Class 3A
Top five: Prospect Ridge Academy (10-0), Kent Denver (7-1), Delta (9-0), Colorado Academy (7-1-2), Alamosa (6-0).
A bit of a bore compared to 5A and 4A in terms of seeding drama, the 3A classification had only minor shifts over the past week inside its top five.
Kent Denver went from No. 4 to 2 after top-10 wins over No. 8 The Classical Academy (4-3) and No. 10 Stargate School last week. Colorado Academy jumped a spot after putting up 10 goals apiece in wins against No. 15 St. Mary’s Academy and 2A No. 3 Forge Christian.
Prospect Ridge Academy, meanwhile, became the first team in the state to reach 10-0 with wins over 3A No. 6 Peak to Peak (6-2) and No. 18 Holy Family (4-6). The Miners remain No. 1.
No. 3 Delta can become the second team in the state to get to 10-0 if it can win at No. 17 Roaring Fork on Tuesday. Jessie Black, the Panthers’ senior who led the state with 47 goals a year ago, scored four more last week to give her 24 this spring. She’s currently second in Colorado’s goals lead to Bishop Machebeuf’s Josephine Sri (26).
Class 2A
Top five: Colorado Springs Christian (5-1), Buena Vista (6-1-2), Forge Christian (3-2-2), Fountain Valley (4-0), Frontier Academy (6-2).
Windsor Charter Academy (3-1-1) and Dawson (5-1-1) were inside the top five a week ago, but they’ve both dropped outside of the top 10. Gilpin County, meanwhile, went from third to eighth. The rankings’ focus on strength of schedule hurt each of them last week.
WCA, then-No. 2, dipped despite beating 3A No. 49 Wellington, then fell further in a loss to 3A No. 13 Longmont. Dawson, which was fourth, fell all the way to 15th after winning all three of its games last week — beating No. 41 Estes Park, No. 46 Union Colony Prep and No. 36 Campion Academy. And Gilpin County went down five spots even though it moved to a perfect 8-0 on the season.
There were big jumps, too. Among the most eye-catching was Fountain Valley, which stood outside the top 10 a week ago, but is now fourth. The Danes added wins over No. 25 Lotus School for Excellence and 21 Banning Lewis Academy to their 4-0 start.
Buena Vista, last year’s 2A runner-up, moved from fifth to second thanks to wins over No. 22 James Irwin and No. 31 Thomas MacLaren. Colorado Springs Christian remains No. 1 after beating No. 9 Denver Christian, 1-0, on Saturday.
