2A girls soccer: Dawson, Crested Butte to play for title

The Dawson School girls soccer team will play for the state championship once again.

On Monday afternoon at Western Colorado University, the fifth-seeded Mustangs won 3-2 against recent postseason rival and No. 1 seed Denver Christian to secure a berth into the state championship game on Wednesday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. The Mustangs will face the No. 10 Crested Butte Titans, who won 4-0 over No. 3 Lamar on Monday.

In the first of two semifinals, Dawson (12-5-1) led 1-0 at halftime and got goals from Madison Shaw, Kanoe Bihag and Helen Leon. In the championship game later this week, the Mustangs will look to retain the title they won by way of a 15-4 win over Telluride last season.

It was a postseason matchup that had plenty of recent history.

In 2019, Denver Christian defeated the Mustangs in the championship game, winning in penalty kicks. The previous season, the Mustangs won 3-2 over Denver Christian to claim the 2A title. In 2017, Denver Christian bested Dawson, 4-3, to win Colorado first 2A championship.

For Crested Butte, Maddie Bogard scored to give the Titans (11-5) a 1-0 halftime lead and Sofia Righetto, Leigh Harpel and Bogard scored in the second half to seal the victory. The Titans will be playing for their school’s first girls soccer state title on Wednesday.

The 2A state championship game will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.