If she were a betting woman, Tari Wood might plunk down her money on the Class 5A girls state soccer championship game being decided by a 1-0 score.
The Grandview coach also would probably bet that her team would come out on the winning end of a result like that.
Based on how Wood’s second-seeded Wolves and fourth-seeded Broomfield played their way into the May 20 5A state finale at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, that’s quite a reasonable assumption.
“Broomfield is very good, they have four good backs and some players out wide; they play quite a bit like we do,” Wood said of the matchup between two 17-1-1 teams.
“It’s should be another low-scoring game,” she added.
Grandview’s 1-0 overtime semifinal win over No. 3 ThunderRidge on May 16 at Legacy Stadium netted the program its first berth in the 5A state title game since 2008, when the Wolves won their only title by beating Heritage.
Broomfield, on the other hand, will play for a state title for a third straight season. The Eagles lost in the 4A title game in 2013 and 2014 — both times to Cheyenne Mountain — but earned their chance for a 5A crown with 2-0 win over top-seeded Mountain Vista in the semifinals.
The semifinals turned out to be a best-case scenario for the Wolves.
Grandview played a ThunderRidge team that was without star goalkeeper Sabrina Macias, a national team goalie who was out with an injury. Grandview took advantage later in a game delayed for more than an hour by lightning, as junior Bailey Cook was credited with the game-winner early in overtime when she managed to deflect a loose ball in after a shot by freshman Natalie Beckman.
Broomfield, meanwhile, knocked off 5A’s top-scoring team in Mountain Vista, which played without junior star Mallory Pugh — Colorado’s Gatorade Player of the Year — for a second straight game while she trained with the Under-20 U.S. National Team.
“We’re definitely excited we don’t have to play Mountain Vista with Pugh,” said Wood, whose team beat Mountain Vista 1-0 without Pugh in the season opener.
The way Grandview’s defense has played recently, it may not have mattered if Pugh was the lineup. The Wolves have yielded a total of just five goals all season and just one their last 13 outings.
Senior goalkeeper Maddie Lesjak is the glue in the net, but has a defensive backline with two sophomores in Jessica Hixson and Taylor Parker and two freshman in Allie Zerr and Lindsi Jennings.
“We’re young, but we’ve played together for awhile,” said Parker, who has verbally committed to the University of Denver.
“We talk, we’re really organized and we really good out of the air, so it works,” she added.
“Communication is the biggest part.”
Broomfield is coached by Jim Davidson, who guided the school to the 5A boys soccer championship in the fall.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
2015 CLASS 5A GIRLS SOCCER STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
No. 4 Broomfield (17-1-1) vs. No. 2 Grandview (17-1-1)
May 20, 7:30 p.m. at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
Breakdown: Grandview plays in its first Class 5A state championship game since 2008, when the Wolves beat Heritage for the only girls soccer title in school history. The 2008 Grandview team had the same record — 17-1-1 — as coach Tari Wood’s team has this season going into the final. Broomfield, meanwhile, is in a state championship game for a third straight season. Coach Jim Davidson’s Eagles lost to Cheyenne Mountain in each of the previous two seasons in the 4A final before Broomfield moved up to 5A this season. Davidson coached the Broomfield boys to the 5A championship in the fall. …GRANDVIEW: The Wolves enter the game on a 15-game winning streak that stretches back to a 1-0 loss to Columbine on March 17. Defense has been a Grandview staple with only five goals allowed in 19 games so far, including just one — which came in a non-league game against Colorado Academy — in the past 12 games. …Sophomore Nicole Lyubenko leads the Wolves in goals with 12, followed closely by junior Bailey Cook (9 goals), sophomore Jessica Hixson (8 goals) and junior Mandi Duggan (7 goals). Cook had the game-winner in overtime vs. ThunderRidge in the semifinals, while Hixson had the only goal in Grandview’s win over Smoky Hill in the previous round. Freshman Natalie Beckman leads the team in assists with eight. …BROOMFIELD: Junior Michaela Stark leads the Eagles with 15 goals, while Makena Bambei is also in double figures with 10, plus a team-high 15 assists.
