Field hockey: Colorado Academy beats Regis Jesuit for second title in four years

One year after coming up just short, the Colorado Academy field hockey team flipped the script from last year’s title game result and played its way to the state championship with a 2-0 victory over Regis Jesuit on Wednesday night at Stutler Bowl Stadium.

The game was a rematch of three of the last four state title games and this year, the top-seeded Mustangs found a way to unseat two-time defending champion Regis Jesuit, the No. 2 overall seed, to take home the trophy for the first time since winning it in 2019.

“It’s just so nice to be on the other side this year,” Colorado Academy head coach Veronica Scott said. “When you’re so close, you know how the opponent feels. You know what they’re going through right now. I’ve got so much respect for them because we’ve been there. But, yeah, this is the better side to be on.”

Colorado Academy (18-1) seemed to have Regis Jesuit’s number all season. Wednesday’s title game was the third between the two teams during the 2022 campaign. Colorado Academy also won 2-1 on Sept. 17 and 2-0 on Oct. 19, accounting for two of the losses the Raiders (13-3-2) suffered in 2022.

Still, Scott admitted she was never comfortable on Wednesday night, despite not trailing and even holding a two-goal lead against the explosive Regis Jesuit squad.

Giving Colorado Academy its first lead of the evening, sophomore Addison Chandler kicked off by scoring with 5 minutes, 55 seconds left in the first half. It was her 16^th goal of the season.

“We lost in state last year, so this is just amazing and everything I could ask for,” Chandler said. “It felt amazing.”

Just a couple minutes into the third quarter, junior Zoe Martin scored to put the Mustangs up 2-0. Martin, a University of Michigan commit, finished the season with a state-leading 28 goals.

“It’s been a step-by-step process and we just kept working and working,” Martin said. “We played Regis in the regular season and knew what was coming. We just wanted to finish this and win, so that’s what we did. I literally said this is a dream come true. There’s no one else I’d rather win with.”

Colorado Academy reached the title game via a 3-2 overtime victory over No. 5 Arapahoe on Tuesday night. In its semifinals matchup, Regis Jesuit won 1-0 over Kent Denver.

Colorado Academy is now second all-time with seven field hockey state championships. Regis Jesuit is third all-time with three.