The number of undefeated girls’ soccer teams in the state was trimmed from 27 to 24 after Thursday’s slate of games.
Rampart (7-1) opened play in the 5A Colorado Springs Metro League with a 2-1 loss to Pine Creek. Palisade (7-1-1), sixth in CHSAA’s current 4A Selection and Seeding Index, and No. 17 Standley Lake (6-1-1) also lost.
In this week’s look-in on girls’ soccer, let’s dive into a few key matchups over the next week that include at least one unbeaten team.
Class 5A
Unbeatens remaining: Doherty, Adams City, Mountain Vista, Cherry Creek, Rock Canyon, Denver East and Broomfield.
Doherty (6-0) hosts Rampart (7-1) Wednesday, 7 p.m.
The 18th-ranked Spartans have won their last four matchups by a margin of 23-0 — and they could very well add onto that before their game against No. 6 Rampart as they face one-win Sand Creek (1-9) on Monday.
Senior Zayna Brennecke leads Doherty this spring with 20 points (seven goals, six assists). She combined for 13 points (five goals and three assists) in games against Elizabeth and James Irwin earlier this month.
Mountain Vista (7-0) hosts Fairview (3-2-1) Saturday, 5:30 p.m.
The top-ranked Golden Eagles have shut out their last three opponents — scoring eight unanswered goals in wins over No. 15 Chaparral, No. 20 Highlands Ranch and 4A No. 20 Ponderosa.
Junior keeper Casey Loughran and senior Kendall Johnson helped lead the way, combining for seven saves each. Senior Lily Boydstun added her sixth goal of the season — her fourth straight game with at least one goal — in Thursday’s 3-0 win over the crosstown-rival Falcons.
Against the Knights, they’ll meet up with a team that started the season strong — with two blowout wins and a draw — before dropping games against Valor Christian and Boulder earlier this month. Lucy Ochs leads Fairview with 10 goals and six assists.
Class 4A
Unbeatens: Pueblo County, Mead, Widefield, Thompson Valley, Montrose, Gateway and Northfield.
Mead (5-0) hosts Skyline (6-1) Saturday, 12 p.m.
The top-ranked Mavericks have won four of their five games this season by at least three goals. The other was a 2-0 win over No. 23 Steamboat Springs.
Four of their players had multiple goals through four games — the last time Mead’s stats were updated on MaxPreps. Two of them — junior Katy Adler (four goals, one assist) and senior Averi Williams (three, six) — are on track to nab all-state attention.
Against No. 14 Skyline, the Mavericks will look for their fifth straight win over the Falcons, who have shut out their last three opponents.
Gateway (7-0-1) at Adams City (7-0) Tuesday, 6 p.m.
Class 4A No. 21 Gateway hasn’t had a winning season or a win over Adams City in more than a decade.
The Olympians will need more of senior Maria Herrera to change them both.
Herrera has seven goals and four assists this spring for Gateway. She’ll look to help outpace 5A No. 29 Adams City and its star scorer, Amairany Vidana, who has 24 points (eight goals, eight assists) so far this spring.
The Eagles didn’t allow a goal through their first four games this year and are outscoring teams 44-2.
Gateway hasn’t allowed a goal in its last four games and has a 25-4 margin over teams.
Class 3A
Unbeatens: Timnath, Manitou Springs, Colorado Academy, Rocky Mountain Prep SMART, Kent Denver and Stargate School.
Kent Denver (7-0) at Colorado Academy (5-0) Friday, 4:30 p.m.
The winner will also claim an all-important tiebreaker in the 3A/2A Metro League.
On Tuesday, No. 3 Kent Denver extended its shutout streak to four games, beating 4A No. 8 The Classical Academy on freshman Sophia Glauser’s second-half winner.
Last week, top-ranked CA beat 3A defending champ Jefferson Academy, 2-1, before coasting past Forge Christian, 9-0, Wednesday. Celina Frenz (eight goals, three assists) had goals in each win.
Rocky Mountain Prep SMART (6-0) hosts DSST: College View (6-1-1) Friday, 4:30 p.m.
No. 10 Rocky Mountain Prep is coming off its first shutout of the season, beating DSST: Cedar 2-0 on Wednesday.
Now, it is looking for its third straight win over the 19th-ranked Wolves.
Vianey Gonzalez Ortega scored in last season’s meeting for RM Prep and has 34 points (15 goals, four assists) this spring.
Class 2A
Unbeatens: Bruce Randolph, Lamar, Flatirons Academy and Denver Christian.
Flatirons Academy (6-0-1) at Dawson (5-1) Friday, 4:15 p.m.
The second-ranked Bison will look to slow down No. 8 Dawson, which is touting an offense that has scored 10 goals in four of its six games.
Flatirons Academy is led by sophomore Audrey Kingery, who has 35 points (17 goals and an assist) this spring.
The Mustangs are headlined by junior Kanoe Bihag, who has 18 goals and nine assists this year, and 86 and 17 in her high school career.
Denver Christian (5-0-1) at Fountain Valley (2-1) Monday, 4:15 p.m.
Top-ranked Denver Christian, a state semifinalist last year, gets another big test in last year’s runner-up.
The Thunder — with freshmen accounting for 14 of its 28 goals this season — rebounded from their draw to No. 2 Flatirons Academy last week with blowout wins over No. 4 SkyView Academy and No. 12 Bishop Machebeuf.
Newbie Lyla Scullion had 20 points (nine goals, two assists) through her first five games for them — no stats for the Thunder’s 7-2 win over SkyView Academy on Thursday — recording multiple points in each.
Fountain Valley’s lone loss of the season came on Tuesday to 3A No. 4 Manitou Springs, which is now 24-1 dating back to last season.