Englewood – Freshman Camille Solarte scored twice and assisted on Erin McGonagle’s first-half goal Thursday as Kent Denver rallied from a goal down to defeat Denver Christian 3-1 and advance to its second straight Class 3A state championship game.
Solarte drilled a 25-yard shot to the far post to make it 2-1 in the 50th minute before roofing a drive from the top of the penalty area with five minutes remaining at Pirate Stadium.
“I try to take those shots in practice and I miss 99 out of 100,” Solarte said. “I put them up and they happened to go in tonight.”
The ninth-seeded Sun Devils (12-3-2) will face No. 3 St. Mary’s on Saturday and try to become just the second team to repeat as champions in the state’s smallest classification since Lewis-Palmer won back-to-back titles in 1993-1994.
“I think we do what we always do. Every game is just another game in the playoffs,” said McGonagle, who had a shot deflect off the post in the 76th minute.
The 13th-seeded Crusaders (12-5-1), who lost 5-0 to Kent Denver on April 26, scored the game’s first goal (by Lindsay Landhuis) in the 19th minute but could not withstand the Sun Devils’ unrelenting pressure.
The depleted Crusaders were outshot 6-1 in the second half and needed several diving saves by goalie Leanne Draayer to prevent a rout.
“You can write it down on paper, they’re way better than we are,” Crusaders coach Brad Homan said. “We have overachieved with the injuries we’ve had.”
Both teams converted well-placed long balls in the first half.
The Crusaders drew first blood in the 19th minute when Alexis Peterson looped a ball forward for Landhuis. The junior forward raced into the penalty area and volleyed a shot off the bounce that went high into the net.
The Sun Devils pressed for the remainder of the first half and were rewarded eight minutes before halftime when Solarte sprung McGonagle with a ball from inside midfield. McGonagle outran a defender and punched a shot just inside the right post to make it 1-1.
Denver Christian 1 0 – 1
Kent Denver 1 2 – 3
Goals – DC: Landhuis (Peterson), 19th minute; KD: McGonagle (Solarte), 32nd; Solarte (unassisted), 50th; Solarte (unassisted), 75th.
Shots on goal – Denver Christian 3-1 – 4; Kent Denver 1-6 – 7. Saves – Denver Christian (Draayer) 0-4 – 4; Kent Denver (Dix) 2-1 – 3. Offsides – Denver Christian 0-0 – 0; Kent Denver 0-0 – 0. Corner kicks – Denver Christian 1-1 – 2; Kent Denver 2-2 – 4. Fouls – Denver Christian 0-2 – 2; Kent Denver 2-4 – 6. Yellow cards – None.
