Mother Nature could be forgiven for wreaking a little havoc on the opening round of the postseason.
After all, it is May in Colorado.
But teams still found themselves on the short end of the proverbial stick thanks to Wednesday’s stormy weather. Only four Class 5A first-round contests were played as scheduled, forcing the remaining games to Thursday. The field will complete second-round play Saturday, with the quarterfinals set for May 17. The state semifinals are May 20, and the state championship game is May 22 at the University of Denver.
The 4A second round is Friday, with quarterfinal play set for May 16. The semis and championship align with the 5A bracket.
While upsets were minimal in the first round, teams will be ramping up their play in the hopes locking up on of the final eight spots going into next week.
Here is a quick look back at the first round, and a peek at what’s ahead in the postseason:
Class 5A
Monarch took advantage of a second quarter surge to break open a close game, with the No. 9 Coyotes defeating No. 24 Pine Creek 16-10 on Wednesday.
Monarch led just 5-4 after the first quarter, but outscored the Eagles 5-1 in the second to open up a four-goal lead at halftime. The Coyotes will face No. 8 Denver South on Saturday night at All-City Stadium.
Arapahoe also moved into the second round by virtue of its 10-4 victory over Fairview. The Warriors are just 9-7 on the season, but three of those losses have come by just one goal. Arapahoe plays No. 7 Colorado Academy, which it defeated 7-5 back on April 7, on Saturday.
Poudre School District advanced with a 14-7 victory over Lewis-Palmer. The No. 11 Stars have won 10 of their past 11 games, and match up with No. 6 Kent Denver in the second round.
Denver East was the final team Wednesday to win a first-round game, as the No. 15 Angels routed Mountain Range 20-5. East plays at No. 2 Valor Christian on Saturday.
The other four first-round games will be played Thursday. In the second round, Cherry Creek, Valor, Regis Jesuit and Legend are the top four seeds.
Class 4A
Battle Mountain was the only lower seed to pull an upset in Tuesday’s first round. The 20th-seeded Huskies, tied with No. 13 Ponderosa at halftime, just did enough in the second half to eke out a 13-11 victory. That earned Battle Mountain a trip to 4A Western League rival and fourth-seeded Steamboat Springs on Friday. The Sailors defeated Battle Mountain twice during the regular season.
Two other Western teams advanced to the second round as well. No. 9 Vail Mountain received three goals and an assist from sophomore Charlie Vidal in a 10-4 victory over No. 24 Middle Park. Mason Gellar had two goals and three assists and Alex Krupka stopped six shots.
The Gore Rangers travel to face No. 8 Air Academy on Friday.
Aspen, the 12th seed, rolled past Littleton 12-2, with Aiden Flynn and Wyatt Eaton each scoring three goals. The Skiers are at No. 3 Dakota Ridge on Friday at Trailblazer Stadium in Lakewood.
The Eagles are one of four Foothills League teams still standing. No. 5 Evergreen draws No. 12 Golden in the second round after the Demons held off Resurrection Christian 8-6. Evergreen downed Golden 14-2 on April 28.
No. 15 Green Mountain rallied in the fourth quarter to edge Holy Family 13-12. The Tigers scored seven times in the third quarter to take a 9-8 lead before the Rams battled back. Kole Stratman and Jacob Draper each scored three goals for Green Mountain, which now travels to No. 2 Erie. Landon Peters and Browen Willis had three goals each for Holy Family.
Erie is one of three squads from the Northern League in the second round. No. 11 Dawson ran its winning streak to five games after surviving Conifer 13-12 thanks to 11 second-half scores. Holden Walker’s five goals for Dawson were matched by Conifer’s Sean Butler. The Mustangs take on No. 6 Northfield next.
No. 16 Windsor topped Fruita Monument 13-9 to earn a showdown with No. 1 Cheyenne Mountain.
The final second-round contest is between seventh-seeded Lutheran and No. 10 Telluride, which took down Eagle Valley 15-8 thanks to five goals from Cash Livermore.