LAKEWOOD | The Cherokee Trail girls soccer team felt ready to challenge Columbine even more than it had in a two-goal loss during the regular season in Tuesday’s rematch in the opening round of the Class 5A state playoffs.
The 21st-seeded Cougars indeed gave the 12th-seeded Rebels — 2-0 winners in a March 25 non-league contest — a strong test at soggy Lakewood Memorial Field and forced overtime before falling on a golden goal by Columbine’s Gracie Waters nine minutes into the extra time.
Coach Jose Rosales’ Cherokee Trail team finished the season with a 9-4-3 record and marked the program’s fourth straight loss in the opening round of the 5A playoffs. The Cougars’ last postseason triumph came in the first round of the 2019 playoffs.
Columbine, meanwhile, improved to 10-3-3 and advanced to Friday’s second round, where it will travel to face No. 5 Fossil Ridge (11-1-4), who defeated No. 28 Arvada West 5-0.
The opening round contest went into halftime in a scoreless tie and stayed that way until the 45th minute, when the Rebels’ Brynleigh Schmitz took a long indirect free kick from near the sideline that got over the leaping hand of Cherokee Trail senior keeper Ruby Arsenault.
The Cougars responded just 12 minutes later, however, in the aftermath of a set piece of its own. An indirect kick went into the box and ended up coming to senior Isabella Cruces Alcala, who finished to even the game.
Neither team could find the go-ahead goal in regulation and it remained in a stalemate into overtime when Columbine’s Mackenzie McCoy carried the ball up the right sideline and made a long cross that somehow got all the way across the goal box, where Waters chipped it in before it got out of bounds.
Cherokee Trail joined No. 16 Regis Jesuit and No. 26 Grandview as first round victims that left the Aurora area out of the remainder of the postseason. The Raiders lost on their home field to No. 17 Fairview (story, here), while the Wolves dropped a road contest at Halftime Help Stadium to No. 2 Rock Canyon.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
(12) COLUMBINE 2, (21) CHEROKEE TRAIL 1 (OT)
Score by halves:
Cherokee Trail 0 1 0 — 1
Columbine 0 1 1 — 2
SCORING
Second half
Columbine — Brynleigh Schmitz, 45th minute
Cherokee Trail — Isabella Cruces Alcala, 57th minute
Overtime
Columbine — Gracie Waters (Mackenzie McCoy), 89th minute
