3A girls soccer: Jefferson Academy breaks through to win first state championship since 2018

COMMERCE CITY — From the moment Matt Cassell took over the girls soccer program at Jefferson Academy, right after a 2022 state championship heartbreaker, he began building a culture of belief and the daily grind.

On Tuesday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, for the acme of the 2023 spring season, the top-seeded Jaguars completed the full circle comeback with a 3-0 victory over No. 3 Manitou Springs in the Class 3A state championship contest. 

Senior keeper Helen Stegner, who remembers the sting of last year’s runner-up finish all too well, hugged Cassell through tears after the clock hit zero. Prior to taking over the girls program, Cassell had suffered two state title game losses on the boys’ side in 2021 and 2016.

“This is our first year with this coach,” said Stegner, who enjoyed a fairly boring night thanks to stellar Jaguar defense. “I was a part of the hiring committee and he’s really been a big part of my senior year. He really has been there for me, and this is his moment too. He’s never won a state championship but God knows how many he has been to. He deserves it just as much as all the girls do on this field. I’m just super excited for everyone here. It’s a great way to go out.”

In their third trip to the state championship in five seasons, the Jaguars can finally say they’re the last team standing. Last year, they fell 3-0 to Kent Denver and lost the Colorado Academy with an identical score in 2019.

Senior forward Kate Runyon made sure they wouldn’t repeat that heartbreak again.

Eight minutes into the second half, Runyon avenged an offside goal from 30 seconds earlier to net Jefferson Academy’s first score of the game, then added her second 10 minutes later. The pair of goals ended the stalemate and excellent defensive play that defined the first half for both squads.

Senior midfielder Allie Jo Kirkpatrick, not keen on allowing the Mustangs to gain even an inch, dotted the exclamation point with her own goal from about 15 yards out with just seven minutes remaining. 

The large contingent of Jefferson Academy fans loudly erupted on each and every score, all but drowning out any fans who made the trip up from down south. 

“We were sitting in that locker room and all of our seniors looked at the team and we just said, ‘Guys, we know how awful it feels to have regrets at Dick’s. We’re not doing that again,’” Runyon said. “I think that it fueled us a lot. We wanted this bad. We wanted it for us, for our coach in his first year, for our fans.”

The Jaguars, having ended their year with a crown and an 18-2 record, have solidified themselves in Colorado high school sports history. They finally did it. 

“These girls have worked so hard and they deserve this,” Cassell said. “The cool thing is, we’ve talked a lot about this — they get to leave as a state champion, right? Nobody can ever take that from them no matter what. Talent aside, it takes a lot to get here.”