GOLDEN | Tuesday’s first round of the Class 5A girls soccer state tournament saw a number of upsets and Cherokee Trail tried to make it another before falling short.
The 28th-seeded Cougars battled an array of elements as well as fifth-seeded Ralston Valley to a 1-1 tie into the second half of the postseason opener at the North Area Athletic Complex before the ceding the go-ahead goal and another with an empty net in a 3-1 loss.
Junior Raleigh Greason, the leading goal-scorer in 5A, put in all three of the goals for the Mustangs (13-2-1), who advanced to a second round matchup against one of the upset winners in No. 21 Highlands Ranch, which defeated No. 12 Denver East 2-0.
Senior Kiana Sparrow scored the lone goal for coach Jose Rosales’ Cougars, who saw their season come to an end at 5-8-3.
Cherokee Trail came into the postseason on the heels of four straight outstanding tests, as it faced No. 3 Rock Canyon, No. 4 Cherry Creek, No. 8 Pine Creek and No. 11 Castle View in consecutive contests to end the regular season.
The Cougars finished 0-3-1 in those contests, but all were competitive, as was the contest with Ralston Valley.
Two minutes after Greason opened the scoring, Sparrow’s shot ricocheted off a Ralston Valley defender and got past diving Ralston Valley goalie Margot Mulhern and into the net.
The 1-1 tie remained for more than 60 minutes of game time until Greason scored her second goal on a corner kick to break the tie. She added a third on a breakaway in the final seconds with Cherokee Trail’s goal open.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2024 CLASS 5A GIRLS SOCCER PLAYOFFS (1ST ROUND)
(5) RALSTON VALLEY 3, (28) CHEROKEE TRAIL 1
Score by halves:
Cherokee Trail 1 0 — 1
Ralston Valley 1 2 — 3
SCORING
First half
Ralston Valley — Raleigh Greason, 7th minute
Cherokee Trail — Kiana Sparrow, 9th minute
Second half
Ralston Valley — Greason, 75th minute
Ralston Valley — Greason, 79th minute
