AURORA | The Lotus School of Excellence boys soccer team has made it to the championship game of the Class 2A state playoffs for each of the past two seasons, so it knows all about deep postseason runs.
The Meteors — runners-up to Vail Mountain last season and Crested Butte in 2021 — have a chance to extend that run as they have earned a spot in the 2A playoffs in the 16-team bracket issued Monday by the Colorado High School Activities Association.
Coach Christopher Nguyen’s Lotus team finish 2-2-1 in its last five games (and 8-4-3 for the season) and ended up as the No. 10 overall seed. That will send the Meteors against seventh-seeded Denver Christian (11-3-1) in a game scheduled to be played Oct. 27 at the Thomas MacLaren School in Colorado Springs.
The winner will play in the quarterfinals Oct. 28 at the same venue against the winner of the first round game between Thomas MacLaren, the No. 2 seed, and No. 15 Jefferson. The 2A semifinals are scheduled for Nov. 4 at All-City Stadium in Denver and the state championship will again be decided at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs on Nov. 11.
Early in the season, the Meteors earned a 2-1 win over Vail Mountain, which ended up as the No. 1 seed in the 2A bracket. They played only one other team in the 2A postseason — Thomas MacLaren — and lost 1-0, while they went 1-2-3 against teams in the 3A playoffs (James Irwin, DSST College View, Aurora West College Prep, Rocky Mountain Prep SMART, Middle Park and DSST Conservatory Green).
Lotus School For Excellence is paced offensively by sophomore Mikiyas Regassa, who has racked up 18 goals and also has three assists to give him 39 total points. Senior Fredy Peraza scored 13 goals in the team’s first four games, but has not played since Sept. 13.
Junior Abderazik Seid has five goals and is one of six players tied for the team lead in assists with four.
Junior Danny Ariaza has taken over in the goal for the Meteors after the graduation of Fernando Alcantar-Barajas, who started both of the 2A state championship game appearances. He has allowed 20 goals against in 1,123 minutes in the net.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
