Field hockey semifinals: Regis Jesuit and Colorado Academy to meet in championship game
By Brad Cochi/CHSAANow.com
Photo: Brad Cochi/CHSAANow
DENVER – After a pair of thrilling semifinals at All-City Stadium on Thursday night, the team are now set for Colorado field hockey state championship game.
On Monday back at All-City, the No. 1-seeded Regis Jesuit Raiders will take on Colorado Academy for the state championship trophy.
The two teams have combined to win the last three titles and the game will be a rematch of the 2019 championship tilt. Regis Jesuit will be going for its third state title four years, having won in 2018 and 2020. Colorado Academy will be chasing its program’s seventh overall title and second in three years.
Monday’s championship game will begin at 6 p.m.
(1) Regis Jesuit 3, (5) Arapahoe 0
On Thursday night, No. 1 seed Regis Jesuit won 3-0 over No. 5 Arapahoe in the state semifinals to earn a berth into the 2021 championship game after winning it all in 2020. The Arapahoe Warriors, seeded fifth and playing the their program’s first-ever state semifinal, gave the Raiders a run for their money but unbeaten Regis Jesuit controlled the play in a calm and prepared manner befitting a defending champion.
Not only are the Raiders going for their third title in four years, they will also be playing for a chance to win a second in six months after winning the 2020 title during Season C in April.
“Our intensity was up all throughout the game and all you can control is your composure,” Raiders senior Paris Corporon said. “Tonight was amazing and we wanted it so bad. We’re just going to work hard, keep up that intensity throughout, be humble, trust in our training, trust in our coaches and do everything in our power to win it again.”
The Raiders squeezed out a 1-0 win over the Warriors when the teams met during the regular season back on Aug. 26. In Thursday’s semifinal rematch, the Raiders (16-0-1) took an early lead over the Warriors (11-3-3) when senior Katie Loftus, who is third in the state in total points, scored on a corner play just 42 seconds into the contest. Kent Denver’s second goal came via Ellie Johnson just before the end of the second quarter and gave the Raiders a 2-0 halftime lead.
Corporon scored a third goal for the Raiders with nine minutes remaining in the game and the Raiders held the Warriors scoreless until the final buzzer.
“I was pleased with that early scoring,” Regis Jesuit head coach Spencer Wagner said. “We trained those corner plays all day yesterday. That was exactly what our training was and they executed it to perfection. You can’t be any happier as a coach than getting a 42-second goal doing exactly what we practiced the day before and pulling it off in a game. I can’t ask for more than that and I thought they played with that same intensity throughout the rest of the game.”
Despite the loss on Thursday, the Warriors left All-City Stadium feeling proud of having accomplished a monumental first for their program.
“It was awesome,” Arapahoe head coach Paul Lewis said. “Our goal was to get to the playoffs and then from playoffs, get to the Final Four and work our way in. The girls worked hard all year and they really worked hard to catch up on some of the skills that some of these teams that have been around a little longer have. We built some things up this year and it showed.”
(2) Colorado Academy 3, (3) Kent Denver 2
At All-City Stadium, No. 2 Colorado Academy beat third-seeded Kent Denver, 3-2, to solidify both its return to the title match after narrowly missing out in 2020 as well as a chance to win a second championship in past three years.
“We missed it last year,” Colorado Academy head coach Veronica Scott said. “It’s a real nice feeling to be back in it because you do feel the loss when you’re not going. When you win state and then the next year, you don’t make it back, you have to go home and rethink why it didn’t happen and what you need to fix. You have to reassess as a program and find a way to get the best out of yourselves again.”
Colorado Academy (15-2) senior Barrett Trigg, who is second statewide in total points, scored to break the game’s early stalemate with 11 minutes, 19 seconds left in the second quarter. With the Mustangs leading 1-0 in the second half, Kent Denver’s Courtney Capoot deflected a hard shot on a sharp angle into the goal to tie the game for the Sun Devils (11-4-2) with 6:19 remaining in the third quarter.
Colorado Academy sophomore Zoe Martin, who has a state-leading 63 points, scored just before the end of the third quarter to send the Mustangs into the final quarter with a one-goal lead. Trigg scored again with 10:43 left in the game to briefly give the Mustangs some breathing room and before Kent Denver’s Dylan Agron cut the lead again with a breakaway goal with seven minutes left to play.
Despite Kent Denver’s late charge, the Mustangs were able to prevent the Sun Devils from punching in the equalizer.
“This is such a good matchup,” Scott said. “I love the intensity and the rivalry between these two teams. It’s so good to come out here and earn your spot by playing against a great opponent like Kent. They really brought us to it, they’re never going to say die and they’re always going to fight all the way, which I think is great. You have to earn these games and our girls were able to step up and keep their heads above water.”
Kent Denver won’t be adding another state championship trophy to its case, but the Sun Devils are still the all-time leaders in Colorado history with 10 total championships.
