Kent Denver and Colorado Academy Survive the Semis to Set Up a Colorado State Final

The top two seeds held their nerve, but only one of them did it comfortably.

Kent Denver and Colorado Academy are through to the Colorado high school field hockey state final after Monday’s semi-finals at Legacy Stadium, and they got there in very different ways. Top seeds Colorado Academy survived a late scare. Third seeds Kent Denver didn’t have one.

Kent Denver’s 4-0 win over second seeds Cherry Creek was over by half-time, more or less. They led 3-0 at the break after scoring in the first quarter and twice in the second, then added a fourth in the third. Cherry Creek, the No. 2 seed, never found a way back into it. When a semi-final is settled that early, it usually means one team was simply sharper in every part of the field.

The other semi was a different animal. Colorado Academy, the No. 1 seed, led fourth seeds Regis Jesuit 1-0 at half-time and stretched it further in the third and fourth quarters, but Regis Jesuit refused to go quietly. They scored twice in the final minutes, the second with just ten seconds left on the clock, and suddenly a comfortable win was a 3-2 squeaker. Colorado Academy held on, but they’ll know the final won’t forgive that kind of late wobble.

So it’s No. 1 against No. 3 for the state title, the two teams that handled semi-final pressure best on the night. Kent Denver arrive with momentum and a clean sheet. Colorado Academy arrive with the top seed and a warning from those final ten seconds. For our money, that contrast is what makes this final worth watching.