ENGLEWOOD | Five weeks from the time the Grandview and Cherry Creek boys soccer teams met on the pitch, the Wolves were certainly a much better team when they play again Wednesday in the Class 5A state semifinals.
But the Bruins — who won the first contest between the Centennial League rivals at the opening of the pandemic-shortened season — also have improved by leaps and bounds, which they demonstrated at Englewood High School in a 2-0 victory to extend their upset-filled run to the state championship game.
Two goals in a seven-minute span late in the first half put Grandview in a tough spot and despite flurries of pressure, coach Brian Wood’s fourth-seeded Wolves were shut out for the first time and finished the season 11-2, with both both losses to 16th-seeded Cherry Creek.
The Bruins — who have knocked off two Aurora teams in three postseason contests, starting with a 1-0 victory over top-seeded Regis Jesuit in the opening round — will face second-seeded Fairview at 3 p.m. Saturday at Downtown Stadium in Colorado Springs, home of the Colorado Springs Switchbacks. The Knights bested No. 3 Liberty 2-1 in overtime.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
(16) CHERRY CREEK 2, (4) GRANDVIEW 0
Score by halves:
Cherry Creek 2 0 — 2
Grandview 0 0 — 0
SCORING
First half
Cherry Creek — Carsten Jones, 22nd minute
Cherry Creek — Macklin Riley (Cyrus Gulati), 29th minute