Cherry Hills Village – One of the best parts about the playoffs is the shroud of mystery that surrounds unknown mountain teams.
Consider the Colorado Rocky Mountain School Oysters. Other than its humorous nickname – the girls teams are the Pearls – the Carbondale-based boarding school is more famous for producing skiers and mountain climbers than soccer players.
Still, the Oysters put up a valiant fight in the first round of the Class 3A state playoffs, falling 3-0 to top-seeded Kent Denver at Justin DeSorrento Memorial Field on Wednesday.
The Sun Devils (14-1-1) will play the winner of Friday’s match between No. 9 Fountain Valley and No. 8 Crested Butte in the quarterfinals.
“I think our guys knew better than to take these guys for granted,” Kent Denver coach Arty Smith said. “You never know what to expect from a team up there, they come down and they are always hungry, and this is the playoffs, so its going to be a tough battle.”
Kent Denver, after giving the Oysters (6-6-0) several chances on net in the early going, finally got a chance on its own end and produced. A perfect corner kick to the far post off the foot of James Franz connected with 6-foot-4 fullback Luke Cunningham, and the junior headed it home past Oysters keeper Reid Johns.
“I’ve got to use my height to my advantage, and all of my goals this season have come that way,” Cunningham said. “A game like this puts our heads in the right place; now, we are in playoff mode.”
Defensive lapses led to the Sun Devils’ next two goals. Grant Kraus stole the ball away from three CRMS defenders and went in 1-on-1 with Johns for a 2-0 lead in the 24th minute. Skyler Patrick added a goal in the 73rd minute.
Colorado Rocky Mountain School 0 0 – 0
Kent Denver 2 1 – 3
Goals – Cunningham (Franz), 12th minute; Kraus (unassisted), 24th; Patrick (unassisted), 73rd.
Shots on goal – CRMS 3-0 – 3; Kent Denver 4-2 – 6; Saves – CRMS (R. Johns) 2-1 – 3; Kent Denver (Bernstein) 3-0 – 3. Corner kicks – CRMS 2-2 – 4; Kent Denver 6-2 – 8. Offsides – CRMS 0-0 – 0; Kent Denver 0-1 – 1. Fouls – CRMS 4-2 – 6; Kent Denver 10-6 – 16. Yellow cards – Siegel, KD, 67th; Strazza, KD, 70th.
Jon E. Yunt can be reached at 303-820-5446 or jyunt@denverpost.com.
