If the end of the regular season is any indication, the girls soccer playoffs are going to be a wild ride over the next two weeks.
At the top of the Class 5A bracket, Ralston Valley jumped Fossil Ridge for the No. 1 seed in the 32-team field in the final days of the regular season despite both teams with a loss.
First, the SaberCats — winners of the 5A/4A Northern League — suffered their first loss of the season to No. 5 Rock Canyon on Thursday, dropping out of the No. 1 ranking. Ralston Valley, which finished second in the 5A Jeffco League, then fell to No. 10 Fairview, the 5A Granite Peaks League champion, on Saturday, but it kept the top seed anyway.
A similar shake-up occurred in 4A, where Palmer Ridge — which was edged out for the 4A Pikes Peak League title by Air Academy — claimed the overall No. 1 spot, surpassing No. 2 Rampart in the final week.
The Bears beat Holy Family and Lewis-Palmer in the closing days, finishing the season on a four-game winning streak. The Rams, meanwhile, lost to Pine Creek in their regular-season finale.
In 3A and 2A, Kent Denver and Buena Vista held onto the top spots. The Sun Devils were a 3A semifinalist a year ago, while the Demons lost in the 2A quarterfinals.
The first two rounds of the postseason in each classification are expected this week, followed by the quarterfinals and semifinals next week.
The championship games will be played at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs on May 19–20.
Class 5A
Last year’s result: Fossil Ridge beat Castle View in the finals.
Top five in the bracket: Ralston Valley, Fossil Ridge, Castle View, Pine Creek and Rock Canyon.
Sleeper: No. 10 Fairview. The Knights haven’t lost since March, winning the 5A Granite Peaks League before closing the regular season with a head-turning, 2-1 win over No. 1 Ralston Valley.
Keep an eye on junior defender Quinn Holderman — five of her six goals this season have come since April 7. She scored in each of the team’s final three games, including a draw against Horizon that clinched the league title and the win over the Mustangs.
Class 4A
Last year’s result: Evergreen beat Windsor in the finals.
Top five: Palmer Ridge, Rampart, Air Academy, Lutheran and Durango.
Sleeper: No. 10 Green Mountain. Yes, the No. 10 seeds could be a handful to deal with in the two largest girls soccer brackets.
The Rams finished second to defending champ Evergreen (the No. 6 seed) in the 4A/3A Jeffco League as the Cougars won their meeting in March.
The only other loss for Green Mountain this spring came to No. 3 Air Academy, which won the 4A Pikes Peak League.
Class 3A
Last year’s result: Colorado Academy beat Timnath in the finals.
Top five: Kent Denver, Longmont, Colorado Academy, Timnath and Jefferson Academy.
Sleeper: No. 12 Peak to Peak. The Pumas lost to No. 2 Colorado Academy and No. 5 Jefferson Academy before earning a draw with No. 1 Kent Denver late in the season in 3A/2A Metro League play.
Sadie Corbett leads the way with 19 goals and six assists. She had multiple goals in each of Peak to Peak’s seven wins this spring.
Class 2A
Last year’s result: Loveland Classical beat Flatirons Academy in the finals.
Top five: Buena Vista, Forge Christian, SkyView Academy, Crested Butte and Frontier Academy.
Sleeper: No. 7 Loveland Classical. The defending champions sit outside the top five despite a 10-3-1 record that included a 3A/2A Foothills League title.
The Lions went 8-0-1 after a loss to No. 3 Crested Butte in March before falling to 4A No. 12 Mullen in their regular-season finale. Abby Ruppert leads the team with 23 goals.
