Field Hockey: Cherry Creek Prevails Again in State Championship Rematch

DENVER – For the second straight season, Cherry Creek and Kent Denver faced off in the field hockey state championship game on Wednesday night at All-City Stadium.

In a rematch of last year’s title game, defending champion Cherry Creek once again emerged the victor as the top-seeded Bruins (17-2) won 3-2 in overtime over No. 3 Kent Denver (16-3). Cherry Creek is now fourth all-time with four field hockey titles.

“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Cherry Creek head coach Tori Karsten said. “We’ve beat each other, we’ve lost to each other. Emily Hazard’s an incredible coach and they have an incredible team. I couldn’t be more proud of the girls. Winning one championship is one thing, but repeating it is a whole other thing.”

Cherry Creek’s Finley Katz opened the scoring with a goal with 4 minutes, 3 seconds left in the first quarter. With 11:34 left in the second quarter, Katz scored again to put the Bruins up 2-0.

With 33 seconds remaining in the first half, Kent Denver’s Tessa Morgan scored to send the Bruins into halftime with a 2-1 lead.

Kent Denver’s Maya Johnson scored with 8:32 remaining in regulation to tie the game at 2-2 and send the contest into overtime.

Just 25 seconds into overtime, Hazel McDonnell scored to send the Bruins home with their second first-place trophy in as many years.

“Last year was my first year coaching the team, so being in this environment and this atmosphere was very different for all of us,” Karsten said. “Coming from a position where they had lost the prior year, things were weighing heavy on us. This year, knowing that 90 percent of our team had been in this position, we knew it was going to be loud, I knew they weren’t going to be able to hear me.

“They just had to trust themselves and finish it.”

During the regular season, Cherry Creek and Kent Denver split the series with each game ending in a 2-1 result.

In Monday’s championship semifinals, top-seeded Cherry Creek snuck past No. 5 Regis Jesuit, 2-2 (2-0 in shootout). The Sun Devils advanced to this year’s championship game by once again using overtime to knock off Colorado Academy in the semifinals, as freshman Maya Johnson’s game-winner secured a 2-1 win for Kent Denver.

Cherry Creek has advanced to the final game on 10 occasions, winning the title in 2002, 2007 and 2024.

Kent Denver is the owner of the most field hockey state championships in Colorado history with 10. The Sun Devils advanced to the title game in 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.