COLORADO SPRINGS — A funny thought danced across Lyla Kocher’s mind as the Colorado Academy senior shuffled back for a penalty kick, not 2 minutes after she had just found the net.
“I was like, ‘How awesome would this be to score?'” Kocher chuckled.
Locked in a tie with Kent Denver early in the second half of Tuesday’s Class 3A title match, Kocher drew a foul and set up just outside the penalty area. The Sun Devils assigned a defender to shade towards the far post. Kocher noticed. She pedaled and swung her leg, aiming for the interior post, slicing a try just over the heads of the Kent Denver players in front of her.
The kick curved and popped the back corner of the net, and Kocher ran away with arms outstretched and mouth agape, in slight disbelief of a goal that clinched a 2-1 win — and the third straight girls’ 3A state title for Colorado Academy.
“Surprised myself,” Kocher said postgame, recounting the kick. “But, was also so excited. I love this school and the program, and what it’s done for me, so I’m glad I got to give back to it and score for them.”
She gave back twice this day, in a thrilling final at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs. Colorado Academy’s captain and leading scorer deposited two goals within the span of 2 second-half minutes to completely flip the momentum. Kent Denver put considerably more pressure on Colorado Academy’s goal in the opening period, as second-year head coach Jeb Brovsky bellowed for his Sun Devils to “hunt.” They went into halftime knotted 0-0, with Kocher and the Mustangs only able to threaten the net a handful of times before the break.
More than just a state title, ultimately, hung in that scoreless balance. More than a three-peat, even, for a Colorado Academy program that has become a 3A powerhouse under long-tenured head coach Sean Stedeford. On Tuesday, at their final practice of the year, Stedeford gathered his players and gave them a point-blank reminder of the stakes.
Colorado Academy is set to leap up to 5A next season, and Kent Denver will move to 4A. This would be the final game — ever — for both programs at their current levels, Stedeford pointed. And both programs, he added, sat at seven career state championships in 3A.
Tuesday brought the race to eight.
“He just kind of hyped it up,” junior goalkeeper Hannah Hyatt recounted. “And was like, ‘It’s on you guys now.'”
The Mustangs delivered. And to make matters sweeter, they did so against Kent Denver, a bitter rival who got the best of the Mustangs 1-0 in mid-April.
“It was mostly revenge,” senior captain Jenna Westfall said. “I mean, we wanted to come out here and beat them so much. We all wanted it. And we all bonded over the fact that we wanted it.”
Kent Denver finally broke the seal early in the second half, as freshman Josie Solot collected a shot that bounced off Hyatt and kicked a rebound home. Colorado Academy countered right back a minute later, though, as Kocher kicked home her first goal off a pretty assist from senior Layne Ballenger. The second brought pandemonium, as Kocher’s teammates gleefully pranced beside her across the pitch.
Hard-nosed defense, across the last 32:50, brought a three-peat to Colorado Academy. It was a “last hurrah” of sorts, as Hyatt said. Next year’s leap to 5A will be tough and bring a necessary program rebuild.
The Mustangs will rebuild, at least, knowing they left a sterling foundation in 3A.
“The stars on their sleeves,” Stedeford said, noting the program’s state-title tally on players’ uniforms, “(are) a constant reminder of the legacy they’re playing for.”
