4A girls soccer: Dakota Ridge, Lutheran heading to the state championship

LAKEWOOD — The Class 4A girls soccer state champions were officially dethroned Thursday night at Trailblazer Stadium.

No. 2-seeded Dakota Ridge took down No. 6 Northfield — defending 4A champs — in a 1-0 shutout victory in the first of two semifinals in Lakewood. 

Now, Dakota Ridge has a chance to do something it hasn’t done in 20 years, capture a girls soccer state championship. The Eagles will play for the 4A championship at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 23, at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City. 

The Eagles will face No. 1 Lutheran also scored a 1-0 victory in its semifinal game played against No. 4 Mead in the nightcap at Trailblazer Stadium. The Lions will attempt to win their first girls soccer state championship when they square off against Dakota Ridge next week.

(2) Dakota Ridge 1, (6) Northfield 0

Dakota Ridge senior Kassidy Spencer made the biggest save of her short goalie career Thursday night.

“I’ve never saved a PK (penalty kick) in my life,” Spencer said after the 1-0 shutout victory over Northfield. “Last year was my first year playing goalie. It felt so good.”

It looked like the Nighthawks (15-4 record) would be tying up the game 1-1 midway through the second half. Northfield’s best scoring chance came in the 53rd minute. The 4A Jeffco League MVP — Dakota Ridge senior defender Jordan Whiteaker — was called for a foul on Northfield senior Samantha Burrows in the goal box. 

A penalty kick was awarded to Northfield, but Spencer made the save on a hard shot by junior Betza Contreras to preserve the 1-0 lead.

“She is a really good goalkeeper,” Dakota Ridge coach John Cassidy said of Spencer. “Maybe now people will believe it.”

Northfield had some good pressure midway through the first half. Spencer made a couple of solid saves to keep the game scoreless.

The Eagles (17-1) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 32nd minute with a nifty redirection from senior Bailey Pignatore off a pass from senior Hannah Arnold.

“I was just running toward the goal knowing Hannah had it, so I felt comfortable with her getting me the ball,” Pignatore said of the lone score of the game. “No matter what I was going to get something on it.”

It was Pignatore’s 17th goal and 8th assist for Arnold on the season. 

“We are on this fairy-tail ride,” Cassidy said. “I just tell them to play and one of them comes up with the win somewhere. We are just enjoying it.”

Dakota Ridge has become an instant 4A state contender after dropping down from 5A for the current 2-year cycle. The Eagles went undefeated through the 4A Jeffco League and defeated conference rival Evergreen in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals.

Dakota Ridge were the 5A state champions 20 years ago when the Eagles defeated Green Mountain in an all-Jeffco title game. The last trip to the title came was in 2011 when Mountain Vista defeated the Eagles.

“I took the job and both teams (girls and boys) hadn’t won more than two or three games in 10 years,” Cassidy said. “But there are three state championships at the school. I said if there are state championships there will be more state championships.”

It will be the sixth time in the last seven 4A girls soccer state championship games that a Jeffco League team will be represented in the final. 

(1) Lutheran 1, (4) Mead 0 – OT

Even Lutheran girls soccer coach Ashleigh Fitterer wasn’t quite sure what happened in the 4th minute of the first overtime period late Thursday night at Trailblazer Stadium.

“I guess it was a header goal,” Fitterer said while the Lions celebrated minutes into overtime. “I didn’t know what he (referee) was calling.”

On only the second corner kick of the night for the top-seeded Lions, the ball rattled off several players in what looked like a mosh pit before senior Adison Johnson used her head get the ball just across the goal-line.

“Everyone was just crashing,” Johnson said. “It went off a few of our players and the keeper saved it. It hit the my head, hit the top of the goalpost and went in. I was saying ‘That’s a goal. That’s a goal.’ We kept playing and then they called it a goal.”

The center official blew his whistle to stop play and pointed to midfield to indicate the goal to give Lutheran a 1-0 victory in overtime against No. 4 Mead.

“Mead was going to give us a battle. They are an excellent team,” Fitterer said. “It went back-and-forth the whole game. I have so much respect for that group. We just wanted it more. This has been our whole season.”

The rain picked up after the Lions (18-1 record) and Mavericks (16-3) came out of the locker room after halftime with the game scoreless.

Lutheran had the majority of the scoring chances in the driving rain in the second half, but couldn’t hit the back of the net in regulation time. Johnson was thrilled that the semifinal wouldn’t be decided on penalty kicks.

“I think it would have been a mental game if it went to PKs,” Johnson said. 

Lutheran will attempt to win its first girls soccer state title on Tuesday. The Lions advanced to the 3A semifinals last year, but lost to eventual champion Kent Denver 1-0. 

In its first season in 4A, the Lions have handled being the No. 1 seed.

“Coming up from 3A to 4A we had a lot of pressure on us being a small private school,” Fitterer said. “The girls really showed up. They worked hard and have been looking forward to this since last year. I’m so proud of my seniors, the junior class, everyone. They have worked hard since Day 1.”