As usual, it was another strong season on the pitch for Aurora girls soccer teams, even though the postseason representation didn’t last beyond the quarterfinals of the Class 5A state playoffs.
The 2024 Aurora Sentinel All-Aurora Girls Soccer Team — chosen by the Sentinel in conjunction with balloting of area coaches — came from a deep pool that saw 19 players earn first-team accolades between the Centennial, City, Continental and Colorado Leagues (with three outright or co-players of the year) plus 25 second-team picks and nine who earned themselves honorable mention nods.
Grandview earned its way into the 5A quarterfinals, where coach Brian Wood’s team saw a 10-win season end with a loss to Ralston Valley. The Wolves lost in the first round of the playoffs last season after they won the 2022 state title and got back to the quarterfinals with a very different group that included a mix of experience with promising youth.
Grandview yielded the second-fewest goals among Aurora squads with 20 allowed (Gateway gave up just 18), and part of the season was the play of senior defender Sam Maroni, who was honored as Co-Centennial League Player of the Year, All-Centennial League first team and second team 5A All-State by the Colorado High School Activities Association. Maroni — who was one of the team’s key players on set pieces — played four years on the varsity team and was chosen as a captain in her last two before she signed with Michigan State University.
Joining Maroni on the All-Aurora defense is teammate Isis Prestwood, who contributed for Grandview on both ends of the field as a sophomore. While she helped keep the ball out of danger with her speed, Prestwood also had a knack for putting the ball on net from long distances. She scored three goals, and two of them turned out to be game-winners, including the score that held up to deliver Grandview past Arvada West in the second round of the playoffs, while the other led to a key Centennial League win over Mullen.
The Wolves’ offense was less effective after the graduation of Naomi Clark as they scored seven fewer goals in one more game than they had the previous season, though they were still able to improve in the win-loss column.
Junior Isabelle Rogers, another team captain, earned All-Centennial League first team honors as a midfielder as one of the team’s most consistent all-around contributors. She tied for Grandview’s team lead in goals with five (and had its only goal in a 3-1 loss to 5A state champion Mountain Vista) and she also shared the lead in assists with five, in games in which her team went 4-0.
Cherokee Trail won half as many games as it did in 2023 (from 10 to five), but coach Jose Rosales’ team still managed to qualify for the 5A state playoffs because of how it came on in Centennial League play.
The Cougars returned their leading scorer in senior Kiana Sparrow, who had eight goals a year ago and matched that total to again lead her squad. She scored two goals apiece in ties with rival Grandview and Rock Canyon — which went to the state championship game — and also had her team’s goal in a 3-1 first round loss to Ralston Valley.
Sparrow — the Co-Centennial League Player of the Year, repeat All-Centennial League first team selection and CHSAA 5A All-State honorable mention honoree — is headed to the University of Texas-San Antonio.
Cherokee Trail also had a strong contributor on the backline in senior defender Andi Hiatt, an All-Centennial League first team and team captain. Hiatt has been
Eaglecrest had a seven-game winning streak at one point during the season, and coach Ashley McKillips’ team keyed off versatile junior Annika Boex in a variety of ways.
Boex — who has committed to Division I Northern Arizona — was effective when deployed as a forward or as a midfielder. She tallied 10 goals and nine assists, both of which tied for the lead in the Centennial League, while her assists easily led all Aurora players. Boex (who had a five-goal game against Overland and a five-assist contest against Vista PEAK Prep) has made the All-Centennial League first team in consecutive seasons and has career total of 27 goals and 26 assists.
Regis Jesuit’s win total dipped significantly, but part of that was due to a strength of schedule — coach Will Cropper’s Raiders faced both 5A finalists and five of the eight quarterfinalists among the typically tough Continental League schedule, plus the early departure of Division I talent Lexi Meyer — but still had one of the top individual talents in senior midfielder Adeleine Walick.
The University of Michigan recruit, an accomplished club player as well, garnered Continental League Player of the Year honors after a season in which she statistically notched four assists, but controlled play when she was on the field despite constant defensive attention.
Gateway earned the distinction of the Aurora program with the most victories as coach Karen Macleish’s team piled up 12 of them, against just three defeats at one tie. The Olys — who qualified for the postseason for the first time in more than two decades, if not longer — had some young talent that filled in around some experienced seniors.
One of those was midfielder Maria Herrera, a team captain who finished with her second straight season in double digits with goals. Herrera notched 12 of them, which were spread out among eight different games, while she added seven assists. The All-Colorado League first team performer had a goal or an assist in nine games.
Smoky Hill had one of the most well-rounded midfielders around in senior captain Brooke Roth, who earned All-Centennial League first team recognition for her contributions. Roth tied for sixth among Aurora players with her eight goals (the same amount she scored in her junior season) and she had two scores apiece in three of the Buffs’ four wins. She also notched three assists on her way to 19 points.
Rangeview had Aurora’s leader in goals and points in junior forward Hazel Bonansinga, who accounted for half of the offense for coach Vic Strouse’s team. In her third varsity season, Bonansinga — an All-City League first team pick — was one of only three area players to score in double digits in goals as she piled up 14 of them. The Raiders were 4-0-1 in games that Bonansinga scored at least once and three of her goals stood up as game-winners, while she also contributed a handful of assists for 33 points.
Vista PEAK Prep gave up 58 goals — the second-most of any city program — but that number would have been significantly higher without the stellar play of senior Kaylynn Stewart in the goal. Stewart (who also played some striker in her career with the Bison) made routine and spectacular saves on a regular basis, earned All-City League first team honors for good reason as she notched a stunning 302 saves to lead Colorado in all classifications. It was more saves than the next two Aurora goalkeepers combined. Stewart recorded three shutouts and allowed one goal on two other occasions.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2024 AURORA SENTINEL ALL-AURORA GIRLS SOCCER TEAM
FIRST TEAM
Forward: Annika Boex, jr., Eaglecrest; Hazel Bonansinga, jr., Rangeview; Kiana Sparrow, sr., Cherokee Trail; Midfield: Maria Herrera, sr., Gateway; Isabelle Rogers, jr., Grandview; Brooke Roth, sr., Smoky Hill; Adeleine Walick, sr., Regis Jesuit; Defense: Andi Hiatt, sr., Cherokee Trail; Samantha Maroni, sr., Grandview; Isis Prestwood, soph., Grandview; Goalie: Kaylynn Stewart, sr., Vista PEAK Prep
Full 2024 Aurora Sentinel All-Aurora Girls Soccer Teams, here
