Field Hockey: Cherry Creek Crowned State Champion
By Brad Cochi/CHSAAnow.com
DENVER – Five times since 2013, including last season, the Cherry Creek field hockey team has reached the Colorado state championship game only to finish runner-up.
On Monday at DPS All-City Stadium, the second-seeded Bruins played in yet another state title game. Only this time, the Bruins won 1-0 over No. 5 Kent Denver to take home the first-place trophy.
For the first time since 2007, the Bruins are state champions.
“I’ve been on the team for the past four years and we’ve been trying to get it so hard,” Cherry Creek senior Neilly Watts said. “Last year was a really rough year with our defeat and I’m so happy that this year we could pull through.”
Monday’s game between Cherry Creek (17-2) and Kent Denver (12-7) was a scoreless stalemate through the first half. It wasn’t until 6 minutes, 3 seconds remained in the third period that Watts broke the tie with a goal.
“To see this happen is incredible. I’m so happy for them,” Cherry Creek head coach Tori Karsten said. “For Neilly to score the goal, that had to happen. I saw it for three weeks straight – Neilly winning the game with her goal and she did.”
The Kent Denver Sun Devils, who made their first title game appearance since 2017 on Monday, still have the most field hockey state championships in Colorado history with 10.
The Sun Devils advanced to the title game eight of nine years from 1998-2006, winning seven of those games. Kent Denver won its eighth and ninth state titles in 2009 and 2011, respectively, with its most recent championship coming in 2016.
Prior to this season, the Bruins had played in the title game nine times, winning titles in both 2002 and 2007.
This was the third time Kent Denver and Cherry Creek have met in the final game of the season, with Kent Denver coming away with wins both times; a 1-0 win in overtime in 2000 and a 1-0 victory in 2003.
The Sun Devils advanced to the championship game by knocking off top-seeded Colorado Academy, 3-2 in overtime, in the semifinal round. Cherry Creek reached the final by defeating No. 3 Arapahoe, 1-0, in the semifinals.
Cherry Creek won both regular-season meetings between the two teams; a 3-1 win on Oct. 8 and a 3-2 victory on Oct. 17.
Cherry Creek suffered only two losses during the regular season, both coming at the hands of two-time defending state champions and No. 1 postseason-seeded Colorado Academy.
