Denver Post preps editor Kyle Newman previews the girls soccer quarterfinals in the Class 5A and Class 4A brackets. All games are Wednesday:
CLASS 5A
No. 11 Legacy (15-2) at No. 3 Mountain Vista (14-2-1), 1 p.m. Shea Stadium: Senior striker Katie Joella’s 14 goals pace a Mountain Vista side that’s hungry to get back to the championship match after a runner-up finish last season, while Legacy junior striker Gracie Armstrong’s 25 goals and 15 assists means Golden Eagles coach Theresa Echtermeyer is surely drawing up a game plan to limit the Lightning star.
No. 20 Cherokee Trail (9-6-2) at No. 12 Arapahoe (13-4), 4:30 p.m., Littleton Public Schools Stadium: Cherokee Trail dropped four of five matches during the middle of the season but saved its best play for the tournament, and strikers Rebekah Burton and Delaney McLelland take on a familiar Centennial League foe that has a young but athletic keeper in sophomore Grace Cadorette.
No. 7 Regis Jesuit (12-2-3) at No. 2 Grandview (13-3-1), 5 p.m., Stutler Bowl: Two-time defending state champion Grandview fell 1-0 to the Raiders in the season opener March 13, and defense again will be key between two well-coached sides that know how to keep possession and limit the opposition’s offensive chances.
No. 16 Fairview (13-4) at No. 6 Broomfield (14-2-1), 6 p.m., Elizabeth Kennedy Stadium: Fairview is coming off the most stunning upset of the tournament so far with its second-round toppling of No. 1 Cherry Creek in a 5-4 shootout, while coach Jim Davidson and Broomfield look for a repeat of a 2-0 victory over the Knights in Front Range League action April 18.
CLASS 4A
No. 5 The Classical Academy (15-1) at No. 4 D’Evelyn (13-3-1), 5 p.m. Lakewood Memorial Field: Coach Blake Galvin and The Classical Academy’s lone loss this season was to No. 1 Valor Christian, as the Titans’ balanced offense with four scorers with a dozen goals or more goes against a Jeffco League-tested D’Evelyn side headlined by sophomore striker Laryssa Hamblen.
No. 6 Windsor (16-1) at No. 3 Lewis-Palmer (15-2), 5 p.m., Don Breese Stadium: The force from up north meets the powerhouse from down south as sophomore striker Abby Gearhart and Windsor travel to face senior striker Brianna Alger and defending champion Lewis-Palmer.
No. 8 Mullen (12-5) at No. 1 Valor Christian (15-1), 7 p.m., Valor Stadium: The upstart Mustangs played a tough Centennial League schedule and feature junior Kaitlyn Harry in net, while last year’s runner-up, Valor Christian, cruised to its first Jeffco League title in program history and did not lose to a 4A team all season.
No. 7 Evergreen (11-6) at No. 2 Wheat Ridge (15-2), 7 p.m., Lakewood Memorial Field: Senior captain Sofia Weiner will need to find the net and provide crucial leadership in order to lead Evergreen to a victory over coach Dan Watkins and a deep Wheat Ridge team that defeated the Cougars 2-1 on April 13 in Jeffco League play.
