Colorado Academy dominates upstart Timnath to repeat as Class 3A girls soccer champions

COLORADO SPRINGS A group of Colorado Academy players shouted for their coach to come take a photo with particular Mustangs fans in the first row at Switchbacks Stadium Sean Stedeford knew it was a setup but he was ready to play his part It was time for the ice water bath a punctuation on back-to-back Class A state championships for the Mustangs girls soccer squad Colorado Academy overcame one fleeting moment of hope for the upstart Timnath Cubs in a - supremacy in Tuesday night s title event cementing its place as the dominant A squad in the state It s just the fight in our initiative revealed junior forward Lyla Kocher who set up the first two goals and scored on a highlight-reel strike It s our ability to work as a unit We just get after it each and every day It translates in the games The Mustangs dropped their first match of the year to A Arapahoe before finishing the season on a - - run Timnath s goal with remaining in the second half was the only goal Colorado Academy allowed over four state tournament matches After more than minutes of one-way traffic freshman Adelyn Clemmer scored on Timnath s first threatening move of the night The th-seeded Cubs knocked off the other two top-three teams in A during a Cinderella run to their first state final appearance Before anyone had time to contemplate a anticipated upset Kocher set up senior Loghan Meisner for her second goal of the night seconds later to restore the lead These girls have been really good this year about not getting too high or too low Stedeford revealed It was just a moment for them to reset As a coach you can t ask for a better response Colorado Academy s ability to both keep the ball on the turf pass through the Timnath defense and also win the ball back in the midfield meant the Mustangs were constantly pressuring the Cubs defense Timnath junior goalkeeper Sara Swenson made double-digit saves for the third straight battle doing what she could to keep her club in the match The Cubs led by first-year coach Tyler Arko have only two seniors on the roster and may not be the plucky underdogs next season Oh my gosh Swenson is so good Kocher declared We watched certain film on her and I was getting nervous I went out and shot a little bit more before this contest because she s incredible Sara Swenson of the Timnath Cubs makes a save on a shot by Lyla Kocher of the Colorado Academy Mustangs during the second half of the Mustangs - win at Switchbacks Weidner Field in Colorado Springs on Tuesday May Photo by AAron Ontiveroz The Denver Post Related Articles Niwot girls storm to sixth straight A state track title Our heavy hitters really hit hard Keeler Meet Colorado state track champion who refused championship medal Golden View Classical s Bobby Kiesewetter overcomes breathing disorder to set state meet record Resurrection Christian s Jackson Fagerlin brother Lincoln continue family legacy at Colorado state track finals Colorado state track notes Heritage s Zona Welling lays claim to title fastest girl in Colorado Kocher led the group in goals and assists coming into this contest When senior Celina Frenz wasn t dancing through defenders to create pressure Kocher s ability to find Meisner darting in from the left wing was the codebreaker against a valiant effort from Timnath And that extra shooting paid off After Kocher collected her st and nd assists of the year her th goal to give Colorado Academy a - cushion with was a wonder strike with her off foot from nearly yards out I don t know I didn t think it was going in but it sunk in there Kocher disclosed Nothing but happiness While Timnath is a relative newcomer at this stage Colorado Academy is now - - in the past two seasons The Mustangs have seven state titles tied for the second-most in any division and five since They re going to need new jerseys again next year to add a seventh star on the sleeve It s not ever about one band Stedeford mentioned It s really focused on what it means to be a effort A scheme has a set of standards and expectations We coach to how people set the standard before them and it s your job to maintain it and set it for the next group Ella Merwin-Olk of the Colorado Academy Mustangs runs to the ball as Justice Emery of the Timnath Cubs trails during the first half at Switchbacks Weidner Field in Colorado Springs on Tuesday May Photo by AAron Ontiveroz The Denver Post Want more sports news Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver s teams