AURORA | The Regis Jesuit field hockey team was held off the scoreboard in its regular season finale, but goal came often Monday night in its postseason opener.
The Raiders — seeded No. 4 in the 16-team playoff field — scored goals in each of the first two quarters and kept adding on in the second half of a 6-0 victory over No. 13 Poudre School District at Lou Kellogg Stadium.
Sophomore Izzy Nichols and senior Macie Parsons got the scoring going early for coach Spencer Wagner’s Regis Jesuit team, which finished with its second-highest goal total of the season behind a seven-goal performance against Pine Creek Aug. 31.
The victory moved the Raiders along in the championship portion of the state playoff bracket into the quarterfinals, where they await the winner of Tuesday’s first round game between No. 5 Kent Denver and No. 12 Cheyenne Mountain. Regis Jesuit (10-5-1) will play host to the winner as the higher remaining seed.
In the playoff opener, Regis Jesuit got on the scoreboard first when it was awarded a penalty corner opportunity. Parsons initiated the play to the right of the Poudre School District goal and fed it out to the top of the circle to Nichols, who fired a shot that made it through the defense and into the back of the cage.
The Raiders added to the lead in the second period when Parsons ran onto a lead pass, navigated past a pair of Stars’ defenders and slipped a shot between the pads of PSD goalie Rachel Lentz as she moved to kick the ball away.
Seniors Hailey Cornell, Jane Rumpf and Claire Snelling and sophomore Katie Rasure got into the scoring column in the second half as Regis Jesuit pulled away. With a goal apiece, Parsons and Rasure share the team lead with seven on the season.
Junior Izzie Golding got a shutout in the goal for the Raiders, though she faced no official shots on goal.
Four more goals followed in the second half for Regis Jesuit, which returns to the quarterfinals, where it lost to Denver East last season after making it to the state championship game in each of the previous five seasons.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
