COMMERCE CITY — Evergreen girls soccer was a No. 14 seed entering the state tournament and had not won a championship in 27 years.
But the Cougars clearly didn’t care about either of those factors, running the table to the 2024 Class 4A title that finished with a 2-0 victory over Lutheran on Tuesday night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
“Early in the year we had a lot of difficult, testing games that showed us what we weren’t good enough at,” Evergreen head coach Peter Jeans said. “But every game we got better, and to win this last one, it shows how far we’ve come.”
Star sophomore Nadia Leunig scored first and then senior Gretchen Lynch added another tally in the second half, lifting Evergreen to its third title overall on a night where the Cougars’ defense also shined in limiting No. 12 Lutheran’s chances.
The Cougars’ victory was a breakthrough for the program considering Jeans’ teams had fallen by one goal in the championship in 2017, ’19 and ’21. That third defeat came in soul-crushing fashion when Holy Family scored with 12 seconds left for a 2-1 win.
“In past years, we’ve had some superstar players, but this year we’re more evenly matched on our roster with our talent,” senior Gretchen Lynch said. “We worked really well together and we built that chemistry as a team throughout the season. This is so sweet to go out with a bang, and just dominate a game from start to finish, especially because of how we lost at state when I was a freshman.”
Both defenses stood tall for most of the first half, with sparing shots on goal.
Lutheran freshman Sydney Murphy kicked a high, bending shot off the post at the 10:13 mark, the first true scoring opportunity for either side. About five minutes later, Evergreen had a good look on a corner kick, but junior Nuala Hart’s kick from the middle of the box sailed high over the crossbar.
But with less than a minute to play in the opening half, Evergreen found the net in a goal that permanently changed the momentum of the match.
Senior Mallory Ellington dribbled down the right side of the pitch, penetrating the Lutheran defense. Her perfectly placed pass found Leunig in the middle of the box. Leunig corralled the cross, got around the defender draped on her and then booted it home with a perfect strike to the top left corner of the net.
“That’s a play we’ve practiced all season,” said Leunig, who was named MVP of the game.“She had a great feed into me, then I rolled off the defender’s shoulder and then took a touch (to score).”
With a 1-0 lead in the second half, Evergreen continued to push forward on offense and held strong on defense, consistently dispossessing Lutheran of the ball when they pressed into the Cougars’ half of the pitch.
Evergreen nearly scored again off a corner kick at the 15:57 mark, but the Lutheran defense stood firm as the Cougars’ chance sailed over the crossbar. A minute later, Evergreen freshman keeper Ollie Mahnken beat a surging Lutheran striker to a ball just outside the box, booting it out of bounds to avert a potential chance for the Lions’ offense.
Lutheran had another chance soon after that, when Evergreen was whistled for a penalty just outside the left end of the box. But Murphy’s free kick was too high to find any heads or feet, and sailed out of bounds.
“We realized it was only 1-0, and we couldn’t back off,” Leunig said. “We didn’t let them go forward, and then once the 10 minute mark rolled around, we went into lockdown mode.”
With 7:45 left on the clock, Lynch gave the Cougars insurance when she was in the perfect place for a rebounded shot in front of the goal. Lynch scored past Lutheran keeper Bethany Espinoza, who dove as the ball rocketed under her and into the net.
“At the end of the game, the second and pivotal goal, that was a great cross and a great run-through-the-ball finish,” Jeans said. “We’ve worked tirelessly at that.”
To cap off Evergreen’s title, Mahnken made a diving save to her right with 92 seconds left to preserve the shutout. The Cougars finished 14-5-1 while the Lions finished 14-4.
Mustangs claim Class 3A:The only way to top a state championship? Perfection.
Colorado Academy achieved both on a wet, gray afternoon at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, beating defending champion Jefferson Academy, 3-1, in the Class 3A title game for the Mustangs’ first state championship since 2019.
Senior captainNaomi Wolff gave the Mustangs (18-0) an early lead with a goal in the 14th minute, and sophomore Lyla Kocher netted what ended up being the game-winner on a rebound in the 62nd minute.
Colorado Academy came within minutes of submitting its fifth consecutive clean sheet in the 3A bracket, but after Jefferson Academy got one back, the Mustangs had to settle for simply outscoring their playoff opponents 38-1. Colorado Academy tacked on a third goal later in the game to give themselves cushion en route to the win.
The Mustangs allowed just eight goals all season to claim the program’s sixth state championship.
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