AURORA | Six Aurora teams were among the 32 in the Class 5A girls soccer state tournament field announced Sunday by the Colorado High School Activities Association, the most in at least a decade.
Centennial League winner Smoky Hill and East Metro Athletic Conference victor Rangeview, Aurora’s two league champions, received top-16 seeds, which brings a home game in the first round of the 5A playoffs, scheduled for May 8.
The Buffaloes (10-2-2) are seeded No. 6 and the Raiders (12-3) sit No. 16 in the field of qualifiers, which included 21 teams that made it through automatic berths from eight differences conferences plus 11 at-large teams determined by CHSAA’s seeding committee, which looked at league polls, head-to-head competition and the MaxPreps online rankings.
Smoky Hill makes its sixth straight appearance in the 5A playoffs and will play at home against 27th-seeded Highlands Ranch (5-9-1), while Rangeview’s third consecutive postseason begins with a visit from No. 17 Doherty (8-3-3).
Of Aurora’s four other state qualifiers, three — No. 18 Grandview, No. 22 Eaglecrest and No. 26 Cherokee Trail — are from the Centennial League, which got a total of five of the its eight teams into the postseason.
League champion Smoky Hill and runner-up Cherry Creek made the playoffs automatically, but the Wolves, Raptors and Cougars got admission with at-large bids.
Grandview is no stranger to the playoffs, as it will make its eighth straight trip to the 5A state tournament. Coach Tari Wood’s Wolves (8-4-2) go against a very familiar foe in No. 15 Rocky Mountain (10-3-1), a team they’ve played five times in the past three seasons — three times in the regular season and twice in the playoffs — with the Lobos winning every one of meetings.
On the other end of the spectrum is Eaglecrest, which will play its first girls postseason soccer game in 15 years when it travels to play No. 11 Liberty in Colorado Springs. Coach Greg Watts’ Raptors tied Smoky Hill in its finale to finish the regular season 8-3-3.
Coach Jeremy Schaller’s Cherokee Trail team got off to the hottest start of any team in Aurora at 4-0-1, but lost three one-goal games in Centennial League play and ended up 6-6-2 at the conclusion of the season.
The tough finishing stretch still couldn’t keep Cherokee Trail out of its first berth in the state playoffs since moving up to 5A in 2009. The Cougars — who play at No. 7 Pine Creek (9-4-2) — last competed in the playoffs in 4A in 2008.
The Continental League got even more respect than the Centennial League, as a total of seven teams were included in the playoff bracket.
Outside of automatic qualifiers Mountain Vista, Rock Canyon, Chaparral and Castle View, ThunderRidge and a pair of teams with records under .500 in Regis Jesuit (5-6-4) and Highlands Ranch (5-9-1) also made it.
Coach Will Cropper’s Regis Jesuit team qualified for its first state tournament appearance since 2010 when the Raiders lost to Fairview in the Sweet 16.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555
2013 CLASS 5A GIRLS SOCCER STATE TOURNAMENT
First Round (May 8, times TBD)
UPPER BRACKET
No. 32 Prairie View (8-6-1) at No. 1 Mountain Vista (14-1)
No. 17 Doherty (8-3-3) at NO. 16 RANGEVIEW (12-3)
NO. 25 REGIS JESUIT (5-6-4) at No. 8 Fort Collins (10-4)
No. 24 ThunderRidge (7-6-2) at No. 9 Ralston Valley (11-4)
No. 28 Fruita Monument (9-6-1) at No. 5 Fairview (11-3-1)
No. 21 Castle View (8-6-1) at No. 12 Denver East (9-5-1)
No. 29 Dakota Ridge (5-10) at No. 4 Fossil Ridge (11-2-2)
No. 20 Chatfield (8-5-2) at No. 13 Chaparral (8-5-2)
LOWER BRACKET
No. 30 Brighton (8-6-1) at No. 3 Rock Canyon (12-1-1)
No. 19 Boulder (7-6-2) at No. 14 Arvada West (11-2-1)
No. 27 Highlands Ranch (5-9-1) at NO. 6 SMOKY HILL (10-2-2)
NO. 22 EAGLECREST (8-3-3) at No. 11 Liberty (10-3-2)
NO. 26 CHEROKEE TRAIL (6-6-2) at No. 7 Pine Creek (9-4-2)
No. 23 Standley Lake (9-4-2) at No. 10 Cherry Creek (8-4-1)
No. 31 Adams City (9-5) at No. 2 Legacy (13-2)
NO. 18 GRANDVIEW (8-4-2) at No. 15 Rocky Mountain (10-3-1)
