AURORA | Weather and availability of officials pushed back the end of the boys soccer regular season to Monday, though only one Aurora teams is scheduled to play.
Aurora Central — looking to rebound from its only loss of the season — is scheduled to play a 4 p.m. road contest at Skyview with its chance to qualify for the Class 5A state playoffs likely on the line.
The Trojans are unable to qualify for the postseason automatically from the Colorado League since it contains teams in multiple classifications, so its way into the 16-team field is an at-large. Aurora Central (7-1) ranked No. 13 in 5A RPI, which is part of the three-factor seeding formula used to decide the postseason.
The Colorado High School Activities Association will issue the postseason brackets Tuesday with opening round games set to be played Wednesday or Thursday.
Much of the playoff field is largely decided, however.
Grandview will represent Aurora in the postseason from the Centennial League. Coach Brian Wood’s Wolves won a tiebreaker with Mullen to claim the league’s regular season title and one of the automatic state berths, while they topped Mullen 2-0 Saturday to win the league-ending tournament as well. Grandview is 9-1.
Weather played a role in the cancellation of Regis Jesuit’s regular season finale Saturday against Castle View, but the 7-0 Raiders will represent the Continental League as its champion in the postseason field.
Rangeview’s back-to-back wins against Hinkley (4-0 Friday) and Westminster (7-0) Saturday brought coach Vic Strouse’s Raiders (9-0-1) into a tie with Adams City for the EMAC championship. The teams tied 1-1 earlier in the season and both finished with 7-0-1 records in league play and will qualify for the postseason.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at [email protected] Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2021 BOYS STATE SOCCER POSTSEASON SCHEDULE
April 19: Regular season ends; April 20: State tournament bracket posted; April 21-22: Opening round games; April 23-24: Quarterfinals; April 28: Semifinals; May 1: State championship games
AURORA RECORDS (THROUGH GAMES OF APRIL 17)
Rangeview 9-0-1*, Regis Jesuit 7-0*, Grandview 9-1*, Aurora Central 7-1 (April 19 games remaining), Hinkley 6-3, Gateway 4-4-1, Overland 4-6, Vista PEAK 3-6-1, Eaglecrest 2-6-1, Cherokee Trail 2-8, Smoky Hill 1-8
* — 5A state qualifier from its league
