AURORA | A capsule look at the seven games involving Aurora teams in the first round of the 2019 Class 5A boys state soccer playoffs scheduled to be played on Nov. 1-2, 2019:
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@sentinelcolorado.com.Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2019 CLASS 5A BOYS SOCCER 1ST ROUND MATCHUPS
(20) AURORA CENTRAL (11-4) VS. (13) ROCKY MOUNTAIN (9-5-1)
3 p.m., Nov. 1, French Field (Fort Collins)
Breakdown: Rocky Mountain ended up as the fifth-place team out of the Front Range League, which also includes four of the top 10 seeds in the 5A state tournament in No. 1 Legacy, No. 5 Boulder, No. 8 Fairview and No. 9 Broomfield. …The Lobos come into the postseason carrying a four-game winning streak and have lost just once in its past six games (a 3-2 decision to Boulder). In that span, Rocky Mountain has four shutouts and allowed a total of four goals. … Senior Hadrood Webster and junior Riley Keeler pace the Lobos’ offense with six goals apiece, while Webster has a team-high seven assists. Defensively, the Lobos have yielded just 18 goals in 15 games. …Aurora Central won the EMAC championship — its first since 2015 — with a clinching 7-1 win over Hinkley Oct. 25. …Coach Dorgham Alkabi, in his first season at the helm, has led the Trojans to nine wins in their final 10 games and three straight coming into the postseason. …Junior Jose Bucio has been the tone-setter for the Aurora Central offense with 17 goals, while senior Javier Garcia has added six and senior Ling Hung has a handful. Junior Felipe Hernandez paces the Trojans with seven assists, while Bucio and sophomore Clever Sibomana have four apiece. Defensively, Aurora Central had four shutouts and yielded 22 goals in 15 games (six in the first two to defending state champion Arapahoe and visiting Salesianum from Delaware). …Winner: The Aurora Central-Rocky Mountain winner moves on in Quadrant 2 to the second round where it will face either No. 4 Arvada West or No. 29 Gateway.
(26) POUDRE (8-6-1) VS. (7) GRANDVIEW (10-2-3)
3:30 p.m., Nov. 1, Legacy Stadium
Breakdown: Poudre finished the season in the middle of the pack in the Front Range League, which includes four of the top 10 seeds in the 5A state tournament in No. 1 Legacy, No. 5 Boulder, No. 8 Fairview and No. 9 Broomfield. …The Impalas dropped their regular season finale 3-0 to Fossil Ridge Oct. 24 and lost three of their last four contests. …Junior M/F Dante Russo-Delee is Poudre’s lone double-digit goal scorer with 10 — including a hat trick against Grandview’s fellow Centennial League team Smoky Hill — while junior MF/D Jacob Bee has tallied seven goals and sophomore F/M Rowan Slater has six, while Russo-Delee shares the team lead in assists with six with junior M Alex Da Matta. In nearly 1,000 minutes over 13 games in the nets, sophomore GK Gus Conant has given up 21 goals and posted five shutouts. …Grandview, which finished as 5A’s runner-up to Arapahoe after an all-Centennial League state championship game, finished as the league’s second place team behind Cherry Creek, the No. 2 overall seed in the 5A tournament. The Centennial League also features playoff qualifiers in No. 12 Arapahoe, No. 23 Eaglecrest and No. 25 Smoky Hill, plus 4A state qualifier Mullen. …Coach Brian Wood’s Wolves have been unbeaten in their last five games, winning four and tying Overland 3-3 Oct. 25 to end the regular season. …Senior F Ivan Luna finished second in the Centennial League with 16 goals scored, while senior Kaleb Ramos has tallied five and senior F Keith Bates 4. Four players lead Grandview in assists with three apiece. Senior GK Jacob George has spent the majority of the time in the nets and is part of a defense that has registered six shutouts and allowed just 15 goals in 15 games. …Winner: The Poudre-Grandview winner moves on in Quadrant 4 to the second round where it will face either No. 10 Castle View or No. 23 Eaglecrest.
(21) RANGEVIEW (11-3-1) VS. (12) ARAPAHOE (9-5-1)
3:30 p.m., Nov. 1, Littleton Public Schools Stadium
Breakdown: Rangeview finished as the runner-up in the topsy-turvy EMAC conference, which had other state qualifiers in No. 20 Aurora Central and No. 29 Gateway. …Coach Vic Strouse’s Raiders went unbeaten in their last five games of the regular season (4-0-1), capped by an intense 2-1 victory over rival Gateway Oct. 24. …Rangeview has scored the second-most goals in 5A (68 in 15 games) with a majority coming from dynamic senior F Rashid Seidu-Aroza, who is second in Colorado regardless of classification with 40 goals. Senior F Braidon Nourse joins him in double figures with 11, while junior F Eric Cerna is next with nine. Working a great partnership with Seidu-Aroza, Nourse led the EMAC handily with 18 assists, while Seidu-Aroza has 10 and junior D Alan Martinez seven. Defensively, Rangeview as allowed 24 goals — nine of them came in two games, including five allowed in the season opener against No. 7 Grandview — with senior GK Matthew Croft owning five shutouts. …Arapahoe, the defending 5A state champion, finished finished in fourth place in the Centennial League, which had a handful of other state qualifiers in No. 2 Cherry Creek, No. 7 Grandview, No. 23 Eaglecrest, No. 25 Smoky Hill and 4A state qualifier Mullen. …Coach Mark Hampshire’s Warriors dropped their regular season finale 1-0 in overtime to Cherry Creek and have split their last six games. …Twelve Arapahoe players have scored at least one goal this season in a diverse attack led by junior M Sam Myers with six goals and five apiece for junior F Jaden Wolf and sophomore F Caleb Ballard, while senior M Zach Babbs and senior D Zach Miller share the team lead with four assists apiece. The Warriors yielded 19 goals in 15 games and sophomore GK Alex Bisset has been in the nets primarily of late. He has three shutouts and ceded six goals. …Winner: The Rangeview-Arapahoe winner moves on in Quadrant 2 to the second round where it will face either No. 28 Mountain Vista or No. 5 Boulder.
(27) BEAR CREEK (9-6) VS. (6) REGIS JESUIT (12-1-1)
4 p.m., Nov. 1, Lou Kellogg Stadium
Breakdown: Bear Creek finished right in the middle of the pack in the nine-team 5A Jefferson County League, which also has state qualifiers in No. 4 Arvada West, No. 15 Ralston Valley, No. 19 Valor Christian and No. 30 Chatfield. …Coach Owen Plyler’s Bears dropped their season finale 3-1 to Ralston Valley, which came on the heels of a two-game winning streak. …Sophomore M Eduardo Marban-Torres is Bear Creek’s leader in goals scored (12) and is second in assists (7), while freshman F Anthony Montoya has tallied eight goals and senior F Ty Griffiths five (to go with a team-high 12 assists). The Bears yielded 22 goals in 15 games with senior GK Noah Wunder owning a pair of shutouts. …Regis Jesuit won the championship of the Continental League, which also includes state qualifiers in No. 10 Castle View, No. 14 Rock Canyon, No. 24 Douglas County and No. 28 Mountain Vista, plus 4A state qualifier Ponderosa. …Coach Rick Wolf’s Raiders enter the postseason on a six-game winning streak and is unbeaten in their last eight since their only loss of the season (which came to Rockhurst out of Kansas City at the Jesuit Classic). …Senior F Casey McCloskey was one of only four Continental League players to score double-digit goals as he finished with 10, including at least three game-winners (including an overtime score in the league title game against Castle View), while he’s backed by eight other players with multiple goals, including senior M Eli Hilt with seven and junior F Brendan O’Toole with six. Junior D Tanner Scarth is the team-leader with seven assists, one ahead of O’Toole. Defensively, the Raiders have allowed just 13 goals in 14 games and haven’t given up a goal in their last five games with junior GK Trey Tomlin playing extremely well. … Winner: The Bear Creek-Regis Jesuit winner moves on in Quadrant 3 to the second round where it will face No. 22 Liberty or No. 11 Denver East.
(29) GATEWAY (10-5) VS. (4) ARVADA WEST (13-2)
4:30 p.m., Nov. 1, North Area Athletic Complex (Golden)
Breakdown: Gateway finished in third place in the topsy-turvy EMAC conference, though it could have won the championship with a victory in its finale (a 2-1 loss to rival Rangeview). The conference had other state qualifiers in No. 20 Aurora Central and No. 21 Rangeview. …Coach Alejandro Garcia, in his first season, had the Olys on a eight-game winning streak in the middle of the season after which they split their last four games. …Sophomore F Diego Ocampo has been a handful for the opposition all season as he has registered 18 goals and dished out 13 assists to lead his team in both categories. Senior Winston Franco del Cid needs one goal to reach double digits for the season and freshman Aldo Alvarez has scored four times, while juniors Milton Matute and Nicholas Saenz both have a handful of assists. Senior GK Jesus Ascencio has two shutouts to his credit and allowed just one goal on three other occasions. …Arvada West finished as champion of the nine-team 5A Jefferson County League, which also has state qualifiers in No. 15 Ralston Valley, No. 19 Valor Christian, No. 27 Bear Creek and No. 30 Chatfield. …Coach Troy Gette’s Wildcats enter the postseason on an eight-game winning streak since a 3-0 loss to Golden back on Sept. 19. …Arvada West racked up 49 goals in 15 games with a major boost from double-digit goal scorers in senior M/F Judah Johnston (15) and junior D Kyler Tate (12), while senior M Connor Bickford and junior M Noah Kanagy have tallied seven apiece. Johnston has 10 assists and Bickford nine. Junior GK Jacoby Landskov has yielded one goal or fewer 12 times (including four shutouts). …Winner: The Gateway-Arvada West winner moves on in Quadrant 2 to the second round where it will face either No. 20 Aurora Central or No. 14 Rocky Mountain.
(25) SMOKY HILL (7-7-1) VS. (8) FAIRVIEW (12-3)
5 p.m., Nov. 1, Fairview H.S. (Boulder)
Breakdown: Smoky Hill finished as the sixth-place team out of the Centennial League, which also has 5A state qualifiers in No. 2 Cherry Creek, No. 7 Grandview, No. 12 Arapahoe, No. 23 Eaglecrest and 4A state qualifier Mullen. …Coach Scott Gardner’s Buffaloes come into the postseason after they dropped four of their last five games, but picked up a crucial 3-0 win over rival Eaglecrest and battled second-seeded Cherry Creek to a 1-0 defeat in their finale Oct. 25. …Senior M/F Brian Arrieta tops Smoky Hill in both goals scored (11) and assists (5), while senior M Bryant Becerra and junior F Nyasha Mpondi are next with six goals apiece and have combined for a handful of assists. Junior GK Marshall Shea posted his lone shut out of the season in the win over the Raptors and yielded just one goal to both of the league’s highest-seeded teams. …Fairview finished in fourth place in the Front Range League and is one of four league teams seeded in the top 10 along with No. 1 Legacy, No. 5 Boulder and No. 9 Broomfield, while No. 13 Rocky Mountain, No. 16 Fossil Ridge, No. 26 Poudre and No. 31 Fort Collins also qualified. …Coach Eric Schuler’s Knights enter the postseason on a three-game winning streak and have won seven of their last eight overall. …Fairview is led in goals by senior D Jake Ketchner with seven, while senior F Barclay Shove has six and junior M Tristan Hird has four. Junior M Sebastien Mazur has dished out a team-high five assists, one ahead of senior D Tom Crist and junior F Job Meuleman. Defensively, Fairview has allowed just 10 goals in 15 games, tied for fewest allowed in 5A with Cherry Creek. …Winner: The Smoky Hill-Fairview winner moves on in Quadrant 1 to the second round, where it will face either No. 24 Douglas County or No. 9 Broomfield.
(23) EAGLECREST (9-6) VS. (10) CASTLE VIEW (10-2-3)
1 p.m., Nov. 2, Douglas County Stadium
Breakdown: Eaglecrest finished as the seventh-place team out of the Centennial League, which also has 5A state qualifiers in No. 2 Cherry Creek, No. 7 Grandview, No. 12 Arapahoe, No. 25 Smoky Hill and 4A state qualifier Mullen. …Coach Matt Best’s Raptors picked up a large win over defending 5A state champion Arapahoe on Oct. 15, then dropped games to playoff qualifiers Smoky Hill and Grandview to close the regular season. …Senior Eddie Correa has tallied a team-high six goals for Eaglecrest and is followed by senior M Tyler Harshfield with four, while senior F AJ Heber has three goals to go with a team-high five assists. Harshfield and junior Ian Puller have three assists each. Junior GK JJ Farbes has made double-digit saves in seven games with a handful of shutouts. …Castle View finished as the runner-up in the Continental League, which also includes 5A state qualifiers in No. 6 Regis Jesuit, No. 14 Rock Canyon, No. 24 Douglas County and No. 28 Mountain Vista, plus 4A state qualifier Ponderosa. …Coach Mark Burfeind’s SaberCats dropped a 1-0 decision to Regis Jesuit Oct. 25 in the game that decided the league title, but were unbeaten in the 12 previous games (9-0-3). …Twelve Castle View players have found the back of the net at least one time, with senior Brady Kuzinski has the most with eight, while senior Gabriel Stephen and senior Parker Landry have seven apiece. Stephen has a team-best eight assist, while five players have racked up four apiece. Defensively, the SaberCats have allowed just 14 goals in 15 games and junior GK Jackson Temme has seven of the team’s 11 shutouts to his credit on the season. …Winner: The Eaglecrest-Castle View winner moves on in Quadrant 4 to the second round, where it will face either No. 26 Poudre or No. 7 Grandview.