DENVER | The Smoky Hill field hockey team finished the season as the first winner of the sport’s new consolation title.
The Buffaloes rebounded from a first round loss in the championship portion of the bracket with three straight wins — capped by a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory over Pine Creek Monday evening at All-City Stadium — to finish the season 12-6-1.
Freshman Carmella Trujillo finished off a pass from senior Elyse Bailey for the golden goal for Smoky Hill, which got its other goal in regulation from senior Henley Whitehead.
“It felt amazing and I’m glad to give the seniors a win they could take home,” said Trujillo, who had one goal in the regular season, but scored three times in the consolation playoffs.
It was a wild postseason for coach Lisa Griffiths’ team — a co-op of players from Smoky Hill as well as Cherokee Trail and Eaglecrest — which dropped a 1-0 contest to St. Mary’s Academy in the first round. But instead of the end of the season, Smoky Hill moved into the consolation bracket in a new format created when the sport reached 16 teams statewide.
Once there, the Buffaloes notched a 7-0 win over Grandview, followed by a 3-1 consolation semifinal win over Cheyenne Mountain Nov. 5. The game was called with Smoky Hill ahead 3-1 after three quarters — which included goals from seniors Bailey, Ella Ambruso and Julia Kaiser — due to whiteout conditions.
“We weren’t sure we wanted to be there, but after that Grandview game, they were hyped to play,” Griffiths said. “It’s a fairytale ending for all these seniors who didn’t win a single game their first year.”
Griffith said the program doubled in size and finished with 51 players.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
