The quality of Division II soccer in Colorado is evident today in the NCAA semifinals, where the Metro State women and the Fort Lewis men compete in Pensacola, Fla.
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is the only conference to secure berths in the women’s and men’s Final Four.
“It says something fantastic about RMAC soccer,” Fort Lewis coach Jeremy Gunn said. “We’ve had two teams that have been dominant in Division II soccer the last few years. We’re excited that we’ve got another Colorado team to cheer for, and I’m sure they’ll be doing the same for us.”
The Roadrunners face second-ranked, undefeated West Chester (23-0-0) from Pennsylvania at 1 p.m. today. Fort Lewis takes on Lincoln Memorial of Harrogate, Tenn., at 7 p.m.
Gunn, who guided his team to the 2005 national title, is a fan of Metro State coach Danny Sanchez.
In five seasons, Sanchez is 110-7-5, including the 2004 national championship.
Twelfth-ranked Metro State (22-2-0) played its best game of the season Saturday to beat third-ranked Cal-San Diego, 2-0.
“Our defense and goalkeeping was rock solid,” Sanchez said.
Kylee Hanavan led the offense, delivering a corner kick that Vanessa Mais buried with a header. Hanavan, a senior from Northglenn, also added the insurance goal.
Tuesday, Hanavan was named midwest player of the year. Teammate Rachel Zollner, a goalkeeper from Lone Tree, was named to the all-region first team, along with defender Nicole Cito of Littleton.
In the past, teams were allotted a 10-day break between quarterfinals and semifinals. But this season, the NCAA devised the Division II national championship festival, in which 800 student-athletes from 70 teams meet in Pensacola to determine the best in six sports: men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country, women’s volleyball and field hockey.
Sanchez did not mind the rush of a four-day turnaround.
“We want to build off the momentum from Saturday,” he said from Pensacola. “We’re already here, there’s not long to think about it. You just get going.”
Gunn positioned his team (20-1-1) for consecutive crowns, despite the departure of seven seniors. Repeating is not yet in his vocabulary, however.
The Railsplitters (15-1-3) are coached by Brazilian native Helio D’Anna. Ten Brazilian players dot the 25-man roster, plus two from Scotland. Gunn, a British native, has four countrymen on his 20-man roster, plus nine Coloradans and one Brazilian.
“At the moment, we’re all about winning the semifinal,” he said. “At this point, we have one game left in the season. And if we’re successful, we’ll have another game.”
Footnotes
RMAC football champion Chadron (Neb.) State (11-0) was awarded one of eight byes Saturday for the first round of the 24-team Division II playoffs. Chadron State tailback Danny Woodhead is one of 24 candidates for the Harlon Hill Trophy, awarded to the best player in Division II. … Fort Lewis, the RMAC runner-up, plays Dixie (Utah) State in the Rotary Bowl in St. George, Utah, on Dec. 2.
