COMMERCE CITY — Neither 17th-seeded Rock Canyon nor 10th-seeded ThunderRidge entered Thursday’s Class 5A state championship game intimidated by the position they were in.
Both teams had become comfortable slaying dragons throughout the playoffs, but it was the Grizzlies who had enough left in the tank to do it once more. Following junior Reese Clem’s 27th-minute goal and 80 minutes of shutdown defense, ThunderRidge secured its first state title since 2002 with a 1-0 win over Rock Canyon at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
“It’s crazy, I really have no words for it,” Clem said. “I never thought we’d make it this far and we really won it all as a team and worked together.”
Clem’s goal wouldn’t have mattered much, however, without Becca Winton’s career-high nine saves in net. After allowing just one goal in ThunderRidge’s 2-1 first-round win over 23rd-seed Fort Collins, the junior keeper pitched her fourth straight postseason shutout. Winton credited her Grizzly defenders for doing the dirty work and staying united throughout.
“Communication (means) a lot,” Winton said. “It brings energy and made us confident. We were like, 'We have each other's backs.' I'll say that again and again. It's just about support and communication.”
ThunderRidge’s program now owns four state championships, including back-to-back 4A crowns in 1999 and 2000. Its 2023 run also featured a 0-0 second-round shootout win over seventh-seeded Mountain Vista, a 1-0 upset of second-seed Broomfield in the quarterfinals and a 2-0 defeat of 14th-seeded Fairview in the semifinals.
Seventh-year ThunderRidge head coach Mike Parsons said he leaned on an experienced group of assistants beside him that included Dave Stickland, who was an assistant to Jerry Rouse for the program's first three state titles. Parsons himself, though, had never led the Grizzlies past the second round prior to this year.
“These girls love each other,” Parsons said. “They worked their butts off for each other. There's no drama. They just want to win together, and they did it.”
Rock Canyon, which upset top-seeded Fossil Ridge in the second round, lost its third straight state title game since 2013. Despite the Jaguars’ Cinderella run coming to a close, head coach Mat Henbest’s squad left the pitch in high spirits.
“Our team did not underperform,” Henbest said. “We played really, really well. Their goalkeeper (Winton) had to make some outstanding saves to preserve that win. I'm super proud of this group. We knew we were good during the season, but we had injuries. Everything came together at the end and I'm really proud of the run that they put together. They worked so hard for each other. To get here is not easy, so I think eventually they'll look back on this fondly, but it stings tonight.”
The Jaguars produced several strong looks in the second half but were repeatedly denied by Winton.
Like Winton, Rock Canyon senior goalkeeper Jasper impressed with five saves on the night.