Castle Rock – Lisa Singleton was seeing things before Tuesday’s game against Rock Canyon.
The Denver Christian freshman forward saw her team winning and, more important, visualized herself scoring a goal.
“It didn’t matter that I did, but I decided I would,” Singleton said.
Singleton’s clairvoyance proved accurate as she poked a ball past Jaguars goalie G.T. Schaedig six minutes before halftime to propel the fifth-seeded Crusaders into the Class 3A state semifinals with a 1-0 victory at Douglas County Stadium.
The Crusaders (11-5-2), state champions in 2004, won their sixth straight and notched their eighth shutout behind five saves from senior goalie Kiley Gill to snap Rock Canyon’s eight-game unbeaten streak. The win was also a small measure of revenge for a 1-0 loss suffered to the Jaguars at the start of the season.
Defensively, the Crusaders were poised and polished, disrupting Rock Canyon’s offensive flow and limiting the Jaguars to just one good scoring chance.
“It was all about being smart,” Gill said. “Last time we lost (to Rock Canyon), we lost in the last 1:48. We really emphasized talking in the back.”
Denver Christian will face Metropolitan League rival and top-seeded Faith Christian (15-0-2) at noon Saturday in a rematch of the 2005 state title game won by the Eagles. The fourth-seeded Jaguars (10-3-3) will play next season as a 4A team in the 5A Continental League.
Denver Christian 1 0 – 1
Rock Canyon 0 0 – 0
Goal – Singleton (Roland), 34th minute. Shots on goal – Denver Christian 3-3 – 6; Rock Canyon 0-3 – 3. Saves – Denver Christian (Gill) 0-3 – 3; Rock Canyon (Schaedig) 2-3 – 5.
Corner kicks – Denver Christian 1-0 – 1; Rock Canyon 0-1 – 1. Offsides – Denver Christian 2-0 – 2; Rock Canyon 1-1 – 2. Fouls – Denver Christian 6-10 – 16; Rock Canyon 8-8 – 16. Yellow card – Landhuis, DC, 78th minute.
