The girls’ soccer program at Rock Canyon High School is hoping to build upon last year’s run as the 17 seed that reached the Class 5A title game.
Only, this time, the Jaguars would prefer a different ending.
Rock Canyon (7-0-3) hasn’t lost since falling in the 5A championship to ThunderRidge last May.
With 13 players with at least one goal this spring, the fourth-ranked team in the CHSAA 5A Selection and Seeding Index — which dictates playoff seeding — tied No. 3 Fossil Ridge on Saturday before shutting out Douglas County and Legend a combined 13-0 this past week.
In this week’s look-in on girls’ soccer, let’s focus on the 2023 semifinalists from each classification to see how they’re faring with the 2024 postseason two weeks from now.
Class 5A
Last year’s final: ThunderRidge beat Rock Canyon 1-0.
Other semifinalists: Fairview and Heritage.
The fourth-ranked Jaguars (7-0-3) are the only 5A semifinals team from last spring currently inside CHSAA’s top 10.
Earlier this month, they beat No. 2 Castle View and No. 11 ThunderRidge, while tying No. 15 Heritage.
For the Grizzlies (5-2-1), it was their first of two losses of the month, as they went on to lose to No. 1 Mountain Vista, 1-0, on Thursday.
Good news for the defending champs: Record aside, their defense has allowed just six goals in eight games.
Meanwhile…
No. 30 Fairview (4-4-1) is looking to get back above .500 when it hosts Castle View on Saturday.
No. 15 Heritage (5-2-2), meanwhile, bounced back from a stretch of three games without a win (0-2-1), handily beating Smoky Hill and Douglas County the past two nights.
Class 4A
Last year’s final: Dakota Ridge beat Lutheran 2-0.
Other semifinalists: Mead and Northfield.
Mead, Lutheran and Northfield are No. 1, 3 and 4 in the current CHSAA rankings. Dakota Ridge is No. 18.
The top-ranked Mavericks graduated just one of 10 players who scored multiple goals for them last season. And, at least it appears, that experience has shown through as part of their perfect 8-0 start — led by junior Katy Adler (38 points in 2023; 26 so far in 2024) and senior Averi Williams (27; 21), who are both on pace to top their production from a year ago.
Meanwhile…
The fourth-ranked Nighthawks (10-0-1) haven’t allowed a goal since their second game of the season, outscoring their last nine opponents 63-0.
The Eagles (6-3-1) had their six-game unbeaten streak (5-0-1) snapped in a 3-0 loss to No. 6 Green Mountain on Monday.
Lutheran (7-2) will get a big test against 3A No. 1 Colorado Academy on Saturday.
Class 3A
Last year’s final: Jefferson Academy beat Manitou Springs 3-0.
Other semifinalists: Colorado Academy and Kent Denver.
Colorado Academy (8-0) and Kent Denver (9-2) are the top two teams in the classification, with the Mustangs having the edge after Naomi Wolff’s goal stood alone in CA’s 1-0 win over the Sun Devils a week ago.
Meanwhile…
No. 4 Manitou Springs (7-0) is 26-1 since the start of the 2023 season and has remained unbeaten since falling in last year’s 3A championship.
No. 5 JA (8-2) lost consecutive games earlier in the month — falling to CA and 5A No. 8 Ralston Valley. But the Jaguars have won all eight of their games by a 58-0 margin, including Thursday’s 1-0 win over Kent Denver.
Class 2A
Last year’s final: Colorado Springs Christian School beat Fountain Valley 3-1.
Other semifinalists: Denver Christian and SkyView Academy.
No. 1 Denver Christian (8-0-1) tied No. 2 Flatirons Academy earlier in the month, then ran off five straight wins, which included a 7-2 win over No. 4 SkyView Academy (6-2) on April 11, followed by a 2-1 win over No. 8 Fountain Valley on Monday.
Freshman Lyla Scullion had 15 goals through eight games for the Thunder.
Meanwhile…
Ella Baker had 14 goals through seven games for defending champ CSCS (4-3-1), which went on to beat St. Mary’s 10-0 on Tuesday.
