AURORA – Kent Denver field hockey coach Emily Hazard knows what it takes to reach the mountaintop. After all, she was a state championship goalkeeper for Mountain Vista in 2010 before embarking on a career at the University of Massachusetts.

Now she wants to lead her program to its first championship since 2016.

“They’re very, very hungry,” she said. “They got a taste of it. We only lost 1-0 (in 2024 title game). They want it this year.”

Kent Denver is 7-0 and is the only unbeaten field hockey team in Colorado this season. The Sun Devils, No. 1 in the CHSAA rankings, and the rest of the state are pointing towards postseason play, which begins Oct. 27 and concludes with the state championship game on Nov. 5.

Although Kent Denver has plenty of goal scorers, two stand out above the rest. Returning first team all-state player Tatum Johnson (five goals) and sensational sophomore Alden Carlson (11 goals) lead the team in scoring.

“Tatum’s one of our four captains,” Hazard said about the Georgetown University commit. “She’s super creative on the ball, loves playing on a reverse. You never know where she’s going to score from. She’s really, really talented and an incredibly hard worker.”

Her sister Maya, a freshman, is third on the team with four goals.

“Playing with my sister is the best,” Tatum Johnson said. “I have played club and other sports with her since I was five and I think we really have a strong connection in the field. I know how she plays, and she knows how I play, so it makes it easier to expect that she will be there and understand my thought process on the field.”

But, to earn the No. 1 spot in the poll the Sun Devils have also needed to be excellent defensively. Senior Emilia Wagner usually starts games as the goalkeeper, while freshman Aberlee Steiner typically closes games out.

“They’re both really talented and super invested in getting back and being the brick wall in the back,” Hazard said. “It’s also really a credit to our defense. They’ve limited shots to like 30 over the course of the season. When our goalkeepers have been called upon, they’ve been doing terrific.”

With a potent offense and a capable defense, Kent Denver hopes to add to its illustrious history. Kent Denver owns the Colorado field hockey record with 10 state championships. Rival Colorado Academy has won eight.

“I kind of feel like it’s anyone’s year,” Hazard said. “(Cherry) Creek is really good this year. Regis (Jesuit) is always kind of a wild card and the same with Arapahoe. We do our best to not take any opponent lightly.”

Nonetheless, they know this could be their first title since 2016.

“We walk on the shoulders of the women that came before us that created this culture and this program and made it so successful,” Hazard said. “That’s why every year we expect excellence and we expect to win, because so many teams before us we’re winners.”

Said Tatum Johnson: “Last season we did not start off strong. That is what sparked change and how we shifted our mindset on and off the field. We started playing as a team and having fun while playing. We started believing
we could win and this mindset carried over to this year. We have a reputation to uphold and want to keep our winning streak going.”

Hazard, in her first season as the head coach after four years as an assistant, and her team avenged last year’s championship game defeat with a 2-1 overtime win over Cherry Creek on August 28. The No. 1 ranked Sun Devils are unbeaten on the season and also took out No. 3 Colorado Academy.

“As of today, we’re 7-0 which is really cool,” she said. “I think what I’m most proud of is that we’re a really great group. What I tell my team all the time is that we’re a team of 22, not one or two individual great players. Each one has a really important role on this team and it’s been really cool to see them embrace that.”

Asked how they beat the second and third-ranked teams in the state, Hazard mentioned their mental fortitude.

“It proves how resilient this team is,” she said. “We were up 1-0 against Creek going into the second half and they scored a really fantastic goal right after the half to tie it. We took them to overtime and beat them then. It was kind of similar to CA as it was with Creek. We were down 1-0 and then scored a late goal in the fourth quarter, then won it in OT. I keep telling my girls they’re just trying to give me more gray hair.

“They’re really gritty and they really have a never-say-die attitude that I really appreciate. They know they can come from behind and win it.”

Said Johnson: “In practice our team conditions a lot so that we don’t get tired in big games. Our fitness level is one of the key differences. We watched film on CA and Creek and adjusted our press and game plan due to their techniques. But when it comes down to it, I think we wanted it more.”

Two more tests are coming up this week against No. 4 Regis Jesuit and No. 6 Arapahoe. They’ll need contributions from everyone to pass them.

“As of last week, we had 10 different goal scorers on the year,” Hazard said. “It’s really cool to watch them work together as a team, as an entire unit. That is our biggest strength, that no matter who gets into the game they know what they’re doing, and they can perform the task that’s in front of them really well. We’ve got lots of great depth on our bench.”