AURORA — It was eight years ago the last time the No. 1-ranked team in the nation played a soccer game in the Centennial State.
The 2000 version of the Horizon Hawks, with standout forward Vincent Kofa, earned that distinction.
Friday and Saturday at the the 11th Jesuit Classic at Regis, not only was the best boys team in the country on display, three other nationally ranked teams were in the mix as well. And it showed.
In the first game of the doubleheader, the host Raiders, fresh off a 4-1 thumping of Washington, D.C.’s Gonzaga on Friday night, dropped a 1-0 decision to Milwaukee’s Marquette University High.
The reigning Wisconsin state runner-up Rams, who lost 1-0 the night before to top-ranked Rockhurst of Kansas City, Mo., dominated the early possession and, before the effects of playing at altitude could set in, scored the lone tally of the match.
Senior Mike Flejsierowicz was left alone at the top of the box and beat Regis goalie Alex Goetz, who couldn’t catch up diving to his right.
“We wanted to compare ourselves with the best teams in the nation, and I think we did that,” Flejsierowicz said.
The Rams, who banged three shots off the woodwork Friday vs. Rockhurst, played with chips on their shoulders. And even when they began to wear down, they had enough left in the tank to keep Regis (6-1) off the scoreboard.
“We just came into this saying, ‘Let’s try to use the altitude, try to scrap and see what we can do,’ ” said Regis coach Chris Walsweer.
Marquette (Milwaukee) 1 0 — 1
Regis 0 0 — 0
Goal — Flejsierowicz (Wright), 23 minute.
Shots on goal — Marquette 3-6 — 9, Regis 1-1 — 2. Saves — Marquette (Donovan) 1-1 — 2, Regis (Goetz) 2-5 — 7. Corner kicks — Marquette 3-3 — 6, Regis 0-1 — 1. Offsides — Marquette 0-0 — 0, Regis 1-0 — 1. Fouls — Marquette 1-6 — 7, Regis 3-3 — 6. Yellow cards — None.
Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) 2, Rockhurst (Kansas City, Mo.) 0
Rockhurst, ranked No. 1 in the NSCAA/Adidas poll, entered the tournament having lost its last game in a shootout and realizing its time at the top was limited.
Gonzaga, ranked No. 20 in the ESPN soccer poll, made sure the Hawklets will drop even farther. Chris Perez’s first-half goal and Sean Cantarella’s goal in the second was good for a 2-0 Eagles victory in the final game of the tournament.
All four teams went 1-1.
“It was tough coming off the loss yesterday, and we just tried to focus all our energy on this game,” said Gonzaga goalie Dan Valcicak, who made 11 big-time saves. “We took our warm-up a little more seriously this game and gave it everything we had.”
Rockhurst coach Chris Lawson remained upbeat.
“This will certainly help us come November,” he said. “We were honored to be the No. 1 team in the country, certainly a distinction we are proud of, but we just want to be No. 1 in the state of Missouri, because that is the only thing we will be measured by.”
Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) 1 1 — 2
Rockhurst (Kansas City, Mo.) 0 0 — 0
Goals — Perez (unassisted), 40th minute; Cantarella (Douglas), 43rd.
Shots on goal — Gonzaga 4-1 — 5, Rockhurst 4-7 — 11. Saves — Gonzaga (Valcicak) 4-7 — 11, Rockhurst (Krueger) 3-0 — 3. Corner kicks — Gonzaga 5-0 — 5, Rockhurst 1-8 — 9. Offsides — Gonzaga 2-3 — 5, Rockhurst 2-1 — 3. Fouls — Gonzaga 6-6 — 12, Rockhurst 4-1 — 5. Yellow cards — Cunningham, G, 48th; Carroll, G, 51st; Hamilton, G, 75th; Wilkens, G, 77th.
Jon E. Yunt: 303-954-1354 or jyunt@denverpost.com
