AURORA | A brief look at each of the first round games involving Aurora teams in the 2017 Class 5A boys state soccer playoffs, which open Oct. 26, 2017:
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
2017 AURORA CLASS 5A 1ST ROUND STATE SOCCER
NO. 31 EAGLECREST VS. NO. 2 FAR NORTHEAST WARRIORS
3:30 p.m. at Evie Dennis Campus
Breakdown: Eaglecrest had the same 8-7 regular season record as it had in 2016, but this time it was good enough to put the Raptors into the postseason, where it hasn’t been since 2013. Eaglecrest’s last trip to the postseason saw it advance to the quarterfinals before losing to Cherry Creek, with the then 17th-seeded Raptors pulling off the stunner of the tournament with a 6-0 win on the road against top-seeded Adams City. First-year coach Matt Best’s team comes into the playoffs this season with losses in four of its last five games, however the Raptors played fifth-seeded Grandview and ninth-seeded Arapahoe to overtime before losing. Junior Willy Rodriguez leads Eaglecrest both in goals scored (12) and assists (5), while senior Sammy Eskariyat and junior Aymon Bushara have nine goals apiece….The Far Northeast Warriors (11-2-2) have suffered just one loss in their last nine games, a 2-1 defeat against top-seeded Denver East. Sophomore Alex Ortiz leads the Warriors with 17 goals on the season….Winner gets: The Eaglecrest-FNE Warriors winner moves into a Nov. 1 second round matchup against the winner of the game between No. 18 Aurora Central and No. 15 Legacy, slated for 6 p.m. Oct. 26 at North Stadium.
NO. 28 FRUITA MONUMENT VS. NO. 5 GRANDVIEW
4 p.m. at Legacy Stadium
Breakdown: Grandview finished the regular season 13-2 won the Centennial League championship on tiebreaking criteria against Cherry Creek and Arapahoe. The Wolves are no stranger to postseason play as they’ve appeared in the playoff in 13 of the past 14 seasons, missing out only in 2015. Last season, coach Brian Wood’s Grandview team won twice — including a 9-0 victory over the same Fruita Monument opponent it will face in this season opening round — in the playoffs and made it to the quarterfinals before suffering a 2-0 loss to second-seeded Boulder. The Wolves’ “No Fly Zone” defense has allowed just eight goals all season — fourth-fewest in 5A — while a diverse offense that has seen 15 players tally at least one goal is one of the tops in the classification. Junior Angelo Mujica is the team leader with 13 goals scored, followed closely by junior Jaime Luna, while senior Raymond Jackson and junior Ian Oltman each have dished out seven assists. Senior goalie Eddie St. Martin has been in the nets for eight shutouts….Fruita Monument lost two of its last three to enter the playoffs at 7-8 on a schedule that included just one 5A playoff team in Grand Junction, which it lost to twice. Freshman Sayer Frontella paces the Wildcats with eight goals and senior Sam Pflug has a team-best six assists…Winner gets: The Fruita Monument-Grandview winner moves into a Nov. 1 second round matchup against the winner of the game between No. 21 Pine Creek and No. 12 Regis Jesuit, slated for 7 p.m. Oct. 26 at Lou Kellogg Stadium.
NO. 22 CHEROKEE TRAIL VS. NO. 11 RANGEVIEW
4:30 p.m. at Rangeview High School
Breakdown: Rangeview draws a home game in the only all-Aurora first round matchup of the Class 5A state playoffs. Coach Vic Strouse’s Raiders (11-3-1) saw their long streak of EMAC championships come to an end when Hinkley took the title with an undefeated run through the conference, but qualified for the postseason for the 13th consecutive season with the league’s second automatic qualifying spot. Rangeview comes into the playoffs with the same No. 11 seed it had in 2016 when it lost in the second round on penalty kicks to then sixth-seeded Arapahoe. The Raiders opened the season 0-2 with tough losses to ninth-seeded Arapahoe and No. 1 Denver East, but has only one blemish since then, an overtime loss to fierce rival Gateway. Dynamic junior Alexis Flores leads Rangeview with 21 goals, while sophomore Rashid Seidu-Aroza has tallied 17 and senior Luis Cervantes is a the team-leader in assists with 13….Cherokee Trail ended a long playoff drought last season and made the most of its trip with a first-round upset victory over Rock Canyon followed by a loss to then top-seeded Denver East in the second round. Coach Jeremy Schaller’s 6-8-1 team is seeded five spots lower this season, but has played a schedule loaded with 5A state qualifiers. The Cougars entered the playoffs with three wins in their last four games, with the only loss coming by a goal to ninth-seeded Arapahoe. Twelve different players have scored at least one goal for Cherokee Trail, with junior Oliver Mercado leading the way with six….Winner gets: The Cherokee Trail-Rangeview winner moves into a Nov. 1 second round matchup against the winner of the game between No. 27 Rocky Mountain and No. 6 Hinkley, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Aurora Public Schools Stadium.
NO. 18 AURORA CENTRAL VS. NO. 15 LEGACY
6 p.m. at North Stadium
Breakdown: Aurora Central qualified for the Class 5A state playoffs for the seventh straight season, but is looking to go deeper into it after first-round losses if five of the six previous trips, with the exception a second-round appearance in 2015. Coach Ramiro Loera’s Trojans (10-5) had a chance to win the EMAC championship before back-to-back losses to Hinkley and Rangeview put them third in the final standings and needing an at-large bid to the postseason. The losses to the Thunderbirds and Raiders mark Aurora Central’s lone defeats in its last 12 games stretching back to early September. Senior Alexis De La Vega paces the Trojans’ offense with eight goal scored, while freshman Jose Omar Mejia has seven and junior Saugat Rai has dished out eight assists. Senior Esteban Tavira-Ramirez has seen the majority of the time in the net for Aurora Central and yielded nine goals in 14 games….Legacy (10-4-1) finished fourth out of the super competitive Front Range League, with the three teams above the Lightning holding the No. 3 (Fort Collins), No. 4 (Boulder) and No. 7 (Broomfield) positions. Legacy lost to eventual finalist Broomfield in last season’s second round. The Lightning’s potent offense features seven players with five or more goals to their credit, led by sophomore Joey Joiner with nine. Joiner also heads the team with 10 assists, while senior Stephen Goth has nine….Winner gets: The Aurora Central-Legacy winner moves into a Nov. 1 second round matchup against the winner of the first round game between No. 31 Eaglecrest and No. 2 Far Northeast Warriors, scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Oct. 26 at the Evie Dennis Campus.
NO. 30 GATEWAY VS. NO. 3 FORT COLLINS
6:30 p.m. at Fossil Ridge High School
Breakdown: Gateway finished fourth in a very competitive EMAC conference and helped itself get into the postseason with a 3-2 overtime win against Northglenn in the regular season finale. Coach Olaf Siverson’s 8-4-3 team made it into the playoffs for a third straight season and faces a similar set of circumstances as the last two times, when the Olys entered the playoffs as the No. 32 (2015) and No. 29 (2016) and lost two tight contests against much higher-seeded opponents. Gateway is in search of its first playoff victory since a first round upset win over Arvada West in 2012, with a run that ended in the second round. The Olys enter the playoffs with two wins in their last three games, including a 2-1 double overtime win over 11th-seeded Rangeview. Speedy junior Josh Guzman has a team-high eight goals for Gateway, one more than senior Juan Simental, while Guzman also paces the team in assists with nine. Senior keeper Erick Torres — who has stopped two of the five PK tries against him this season — has made nearly 100 saves in 14 games worth of work….Fort Collins finished atop the loaded Front Range League, which produced both the state champion (Boulder) and runner-up (Broomfield) from last season. The Lambkins’ only loss of the season came to the Eagles on Oct. 5. Fort Collins features a pair of double-digit goal scorers in junior Anthony Priest (14) and Alec Fronapel (13), while Fronapel the duo has also combined for 18 assists. Fort Collins has allowed just seven goals all season, second-fewest in 5A….Winner gets: The Gateway-Fort Collins winner moves into a Nov. 1 second round matchup against the winner of the first round game between No. 19 Castle View and No. 14 Rampart, scheduled for 6 p.m. Oct. 26 at District 20 Stadium.
NO. 27 ROCKY MOUNTAIN VS. NO. 6 HINKLEY
6:30 p.m. at Aurora Public Schools Stadium
Breakdown: Hinkley won the EMAC championship — its first since the 2009 season when it was in the Skyline League — but most importantly, snapped a playoff drought that stretched back to the 2013 season when it lost in the opening round to No. 5 Grandview as the No. 28 seed. The Thunderbirds’ super-heavy senior lineup has no playoff experience, but their head coach does in Marcos Madera, who played in the postseason as Hinkley’s keeper in the late 2000s. Hinkley’s lone loss of the season came to fifth-seeded and Centennial League champion Grandview by a 1-0 count and it played 11th-seeded Rangeview to a 1-1 tie. Defense has been the Thunderbirds’ calling card, as they’ve allowed just six goals on the season to rank in the top two in 5A. Senior Anandro Sinaga has racked up 17 goals on the season to lead an attack that has had 11 goal scorers and 12 players with at least an assist, topped by senior Jose Sagarnaga. Senior keeper Alexis Acevedo has allowed just four goals on the season….Rocky Mountain has a sub-.500 record at 6-9, but come out of the ultra-competitive Front Range League that produced both the state champion (Boulder) and runner-up (Broomfield) from last season. The Lobos have won three of their last four, however, including victories against No. 11 Fairview and No. 24 Horizon. Junior Aaron Biggerstaff is by far Rocky Mountain’s top scoring threat with 16 goals, while senior Mathies Duhring leads the way with five assists….Winner gets: The Rocky Mountain-Hinkley winner moves into a Nov. 1 second round matchup against the winner of the first round game between No. 22 Cherokee Trail and No. 11 Rangeview, scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Oct. 26 at Rangeview High School.
NO. 21 PINE CREEK VS. NO. 12 REGIS JESUIT
7 p.m. at Lou Kellogg Stadium
Breakdown: Regis Jesuit secured the program’s first Continental League championship in 12 seasons and enjoyed an automatic berth into the Class 5A state playoffs, which is the program’s third straight playoff trip and sixth in the past seven seasons. Coach Rick Wolf’s Raiders won a postseason game last season at home as the No. 15 seed before losing to eventual state champion and second-seeded Boulder in the second round. Regis Jesuit enters the playoffs with a 6-0-1 mark in Colorado play since returning from a difficult 0-2 stretch at the rugged annual Jesuit Classic tournament. Speedy senior Colin Giardino owns the team lead with nine goals, but senior Grayson Lombardo — who had a hat trick in a crucial win over Legend — is coming after him fast with eight goals and senior Cole Blake has six. Giardino has the team lead in assists with seventh, followed by Blake with five. Senior keeper Zach Robertson and the Raiders have yielded 25 goals in all, but 10 of those came in two games at the Jesuit Classic….Pine Creek finished as the runner-up spot in the Colorado Springs Metro League and though it has a 7-6-2 mark, it comes into the playoffs with five wins in its past six games, though just one came against a playoff team in No. 23 Liberty. Senior Jon Schroeder (seven goals) and junior Christian Seaquist (six) lead the way offensively for the Eagles….Winner gets: The Pine Creek-Regis Jesuit winner moves into a Nov. 1 second round matchup against the winner of the first round game between No. 5 and No. 28 Fruita Monument, scheduled for 4 p.m. Oct. 26 at Legacy Stadium.
