The Denver Post has awarded the Gold Helmet to the state’s top high school senior football player, scholar and citizen since 1951, but the honor was teetering on extinction a couple years ago. Amid cutbacks, the newspaper decided to no longer fund the award — which consists of a gold-dipped trophy, plus a banquet for the winner — and that’s when , then The Post’s sports editor, knew we needed a preservation plan.

So Schubert and I looked at what we had recently done to start the Roy Halladay Award, which uses the same parameters to honor a baseball player each year. The Roy Halladay Award is backed by a nonprofit, the Colorado High School Baseball Player Award Corporation, so we copied that model to get funding for the Gold Helmet to make the legacy football award sustainable.

That blueprint has since been duplicated twice this year to fund honors for girls sports. In the spring, we launched the April Heinrichs Award for girls soccer. And this weekend, we announced the creation of the Colorado Gold Softball Award to honor a standout in that sport.

You might be wondering why The Denver Post is partnering with nonprofits that honor excellence in four different CHSAA sports. The reason is I believe it’s critically important that these young adults, who are stars on the field, in the classroom and in their community, get their due. The winners of these awards — plus the finalists, whom we also do a story on — are student-athlete standard-setters, and we should hold them up as examples of everything that is right about Colorado high school sports.

Consider the accomplishments of the three most recent winners of the Gold Helmet, Roy Halladay and April Heinrichs Awards, and how these individuals were north stars for others in the hallways of their school in addition to dominating on the field of play:

• Northfield linebacker/safety Elian Oliva had a 5.02 GPA, co-founded the Nighthawks’ UNICEF chapter, was a math tutor for peers, a youth flag football coach and spent four years as a summer-camp counselor. He is currently at the University of Miami, where he’ll do track and field.

• Montezuma-Cortez shortstop Cory Dean Carver had a 4.26 GPA, and volunteered as a youth baseball coach, at a feeder elementary school, and at an assisted living facility where he played piano for residents, did yard work and cleaned the exterior of the building. He just started at the United States Naval Academy, where he’ll play baseball.

• Denver North winger Lea Gentry had a 4.98 GPA and a long list of community service including volunteering at soup-and-sandwich lines for the homeless and helping coordinate a food and shelter relief project for Venezuelan migrants. She is currently playing at Oregon State, where she’s emerged as a starter as a freshman and is already .

I have no doubt that the winner of our inaugural Colorado Gold Softball Award, to be announced in November following the conclusion of the high school season in late October, will have a similarly impressive resume to the above three individuals.

Our ability to honor an elite female student-athlete in soccer and now softball is because of the tenacity of a Colorado girls sports trailblazer, which then led to the primary donor behind the awards in both sports.

After we announced the launch of the Roy Halladay Award last year, Mary Kvamme emailed me asking why we didn’t have any such awards for girls sports. At the advent of Title IX, launched an array of girls sports programs, and was a longtime volleyball coach who led Arvada West to the 1977 state title. Kvamme also helped establish feeder programs in Jefferson County and pushed for statistics to validate the achievements of female athletes.

My response to Kvamme’s initial email explained that it was a matter of cost — these awards average about $6,000 a year to put on — and that we simply didn’t have the funding to support a girls sports award.

Undeterred, Kvamme wrote a letter to the editor about the topic. That letter was read by Arvada resident Adam Stevinson, who wanted to get involved with the effort to honor girls sports. Schubert and I met with him last summer, and early this year, Stevinson contributed a sizable donation to give us many years of runway for the April Heinrichs Award. This August, Stevinson stepped up again, pledging an initial donation to fund the Colorado Gold Softball Award.

His donations, as well as an annual contribution from towards the April Heinrichs Award, enabled us to create much-needed gender equity in our awards. We now have a boys and girls award in the fall, as well as a boys and girls award in the spring. (The Denver Post has also given out Mr. and Ms. Colorado Basketball each winter since 1993, but those awards aren’t currently backed by a nonprofit and thus don’t come with a trophy, banquet or scholarship.)

The last thing I want to do is start one of these awards and have it fizzle out after a few years. With the way the nonprofits are set up, I am confident that we will be giving out these four awards in perpetuity.

The Gold Helmet, a beacon in Colorado high school football for 75 years, has new life largely thanks to the fraternity of successful past winners who have put their money behind the award. The Roy Halladay Award has an array of sponsors, including the Rockies, former Jeffco stadium operations manager Byron Hanson, and the . As for the girls awards, we are just getting off the ground and are looking for additional sponsors to ensure we can properly honor elite girls soccer and softball players for many years to come.

Looking down the road, the bigger picture for all these awards is to increase the amount of impact points on the Colorado high school sports community.

For example, the Colorado High School Baseball Player Award Corporation is starting a Roy Halladay Legacy Program that is giving $1,000 to an in-need CHSAA baseball program each year so that the team can buy necessities such as balls and equipment. And there is already discussion within the board of the Colorado High School Girls Soccer Player Award Corporation to expand the nonprofit’s scholarship program to include its award’s finalists.

As a board member for all four of these awards, I encourage fans of Colorado high school sports to consider donating to these nonprofits. Even a small annual tax-deductible donation can go a long way to expanding each award’s reach and longevity.

As evidenced by the list of past Gold Helmet selections, the winners of these awards are future leaders in our society. Honoring them gives young athletes across Colorado something to aspire to, and you, reader, can help us in continuing to set that standard of excellence.

Colorado high school sports awards at-a-glance

Gold Helmet Award

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Most recent winner: Elian Oliva, Northfield

Winner gets: Feature story, trophy, banquet, recognition at Broncos game

Associated nonprofit: Gold Helmet Award Corporation

Board president: Matt Schubert

How to donate: 

Gold Softball Award

Sport: Softball

Founded: 2026

Most recent winner: Inaugural winner TBA

Winner gets: Feature story, trophy, banquet, $1,000 scholarship, recognition at Rockies game

Associated nonprofit: Colorado High School Softball Player Award Corporation

Board president: Kyle Newman

How to donate: Email knewman@denverpost.com

Roy Halladay Award

Sport: Baseball

Founded: 2025

Most recent winner: Cory Dean Carver, Montezuma-Cortez

Winner gets: Feature story, trophy, banquet, $1,000 scholarship, recognition at Rockies game

Associated nonprofit: Colorado High School Baseball Player Award Corporation

Board president: Ed Henderson

How to donate:

April Heinrichs Award

Sport: Girls Soccer

Founded: 2026

Most recent winner: Lea Gentry, Denver North

Winner gets: Feature story, trophy, banquet, $1,000 scholarship, recognition at Summit FC game

Associated nonprofit: Colorado High School Girls Soccer Player Award Corporation

Board president: Kyle Newman

How to donate:

Mr. Colorado Basketball

Sport: Boys Basketball

Founded: 1993

Most recent winner: Eric Fiedler, Regis Jesuit

Winner gets: Feature story

Associated nonprofit: None, but a possibility for the future

Board president: N/A

How to donate: Email knewman@denverpost.com

Ms. Colorado Basketball

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Most recent winner: Brihanna Crittendon, Riverdale Ridge

Winner gets: Feature story

Associated nonprofit: None, but a possibility for the future

Board president: N/A

How to donate: Email knewman@denverpost.com

Her coaches throughout the years have always made the necessary adjustments, with some going as far as to learn sign language to supplement what she can’t pick up through her hearing aids, but none have provided an experience quite like the one she had with the USA Deaf Soccer Youth National Team this summer.

For a few weeks, Roberts had the chance to practice and scrimmage with teenagers from all over the country, all of whom have some level of hearing loss. The experience, her mother Kelsey said, was eye-opening.

“When you’re the only kid with hearing loss, you kind of fly under the radar and you’re expected just to do it like everybody else is,” Kelsey said. “On the deaf team, they were very specific in how they communicated. They didn’t overly complicate words. It was direct. It was to the point, and they would often visually show them. She said that was the first time she could say, ‘What,’ and ask for a repeat without being looked at like you weren’t paying attention.”

Throughout the camp, the referees signaled calls through flags instead of the usual whistles, and interpreters were brought in to help the coaches and players communicate more efficiently. Cora said that was a far cry from her usual experiences playing club and high school, but as she’s figured it out on her own over the years, she’s taken pride in how she’s grown as a player.

“I learned that sometimes my teammates don’t see my hand signals so even though sometimes I can’t hear my voice, I have to use my voice a lot,” she said. “My teammates, they picked up on a bunch of signs, hand signals very fast and knew how to help me through it.

“I’m definitely a goal scorer from far out. I’ve averaged like seven assists. I like finding my teammates’ feet so that they can score. I love to drive one-versus-one. I like using my technical ability to go at other defenders.”

When Cora was young and first enrolled in kindergarten, her teacher at the time told her parents that she thought she suffered from hearing loss. Up to that point, they had just assumed she was just like any other kid, ignoring her parents when they were talking to her.

They took her in to see an audiologist and soon learned that chronic infections had done significant damage to her ears. Multiple surgeries in the years that followed yielded little result.

“Her hearing fluctuates,” Kelsey explained. “Her hearing currently is the worst that it����ap ever been with everything that she’s gone through. She got to the point where she was like, I’m done. I’m happy with my hearing aids. I’m happy with who I am. So we stopped.

“It is the structure of her eustachian tubes, her hearing bones and her middle ear that is causing the hearing loss. In her right ear, specifically, the hearing bones are so stiff that they’re not using sound correctly anymore. Her left ear, we’re not quite sure what����ap happening.”

That hasn’t stopped Cora from excelling on the pitch. She’s been averaging 14 goals per season with her club team.

At the deaf training camp, the players bonded by trading around their hearing aids, and later worked together to defeat the U14 boys and U17 girls from the Georgia Olympic Development Team. Cora contributed two assists in the scrimmages.

This past spring, she made the jump up to varsity with Niwot but spent much of it on the sidelines with injury.

Head coach Stephen Dimit called her one of the Cougars’ best players in technical skill and ability, noting: “The ball just is a part of her, and she has that ability to just read the game quicker than other players. She’s able to kind of slip by an opponent that never sees her coming.”

He believes that if she can stay healthy, she’ll have a breakout junior year. Her hearing loss, in a way, has become an asset that few players her age will ever achieve.

“It����ap really cool because when she can’t gain the information by hearing it, she’s one of the best I’ve ever seen at taking in the game visually and making those adjustments,” Dimit said. “It����ap a fun thing to watch because of how much she really does read and see the game.”

Gentry obliterated the preseason juggling test administered by Denver North head coach Clay Porter. Gentry’s nearly half-hour spectacle of soccer skill left Porter amazed, but not necessarily surprised, given how Gentry juggles the various balls of her life.

“She never gets overwhelmed,” Porter observed. “In that (juggling test), she was fluid. There weren’t really any scrambles. That ball stayed about 6 inches off her foot for about 25 minutes, and it’s just a testament to the amount of time and effort she has put into her game. She worked her (tail) off to do that in that moment that day, like she has done to become such a great player in competition.

“… And that’s not unlike everything she does, where excellence is always a common thread.”

A quick recap of Gentry’s impressive resume: Star soccer player signed to Oregon State. All-state flag football player. A 4.98 GPA and an extensive list of community service. That complete package is why the Vikings’ centerpiece is the winner of The Denver Post’s inaugural April Heinrichs Award for the top senior girls soccer player, scholar and citizen in Colorado.

Denver North principal German Echevarría calls Gentry “a complete game-changer in how North athletics is viewed” amid a historic run for the Vikings’ girls soccer program.

With Gentry as a four-year varsity starter and two-year captain, Denver North made the playoffs every season. That included the Class 4A semifinals in Gentry’s sophomore season, winning the program’s first league title in her junior season as the program moved up classifications and returning to the postseason, again in Class 5A, this spring.

Over that span, the winger tallied 15 goals, five assists and 35 points in ’26 to finish her career with 34 goals, 32 assists and 100 points. She was the focus of every opponent’s scouting report since breaking out with 10 goals as a freshman in 2023, with teams often man-marking her for the entire match in an attempt to limit her effectiveness.

“She’s one of those players where when she gets a chance, she’s going to put it away, whether it’s a goal or with an amazing assist,” said Riverdale Ridge head coach Danelle Dondelinger, whose Ravens played Denver North each of the last three years. “The last two years in particular, she was a truly dominating factor on the field. And she truly is a beast that you have to honor (with a special game plan).”

From the ‘edge of quitting’

Gentry’s technical skill can be traced back over a decade to the backyard of her Highland home, where she and her older sister, Addison Gentry, would set up obstacle courses to dribble and juggle through. It was in those formative years that Lea developed one of her patented offensive moves: she pops the ball up over a defender’s head, then races around to get it in open space to create a chance.

“We would set up a goal at the end of the yard,” Addison Gentry recalled. “We’d put anything we could find out there in the way — chairs, tables, extra goals, other balls, hoses. It was crazy, fun stuff. And in those times I could tell soccer was going to be her lifelong passion.

“From a young age her footwork was insane and when we took that (over-the-head) move to games, opponents were wowed, because it’s not common to see people playing in the air that much.”

By the time Lea got to high school, it was quickly apparent she was going to be an all-timer at Denver North. But a rough sophomore year in which she lost confidence due to an untenable club situation and then missed a penalty kick in in the semifinals nearly derailed her career.

“I was on the edge of quitting,” Lea Gentry said. “But I found my love for the game again. I leaned back into it. And I knew (the missed PK) wasn’t something to dwell on or keep overanalyzing, but that it was something I could grow from.”

Since that moment, Porter saw Gentry’s “work rate, focus and drive all improve.”

“I saw a belief in her that I’m not sure she had before,” Porter said. “But she had arrived at the point where she realized she could lead the team. And so she did it. She embraced that standard and never shied away from it.”

Her teammates took notice. Chloe Thompson, Denver North’s goalie who has played with Gentry since elementary school, witnessed a relentless competitor who understands how greatness gets crafted in the practice beyond practice.

“We would work on shooting after practice, tons of extra shots, and she always had to end on a goal,” Thompson said. “There was one practice where she felt like she hadn’t done enough conditioning, so she ran more after practice.

“Another time this season, we were doing the Viking run, which is (a jogging/sprinting progression) around the field. She completed it with her group, then ran it again with the juniors and freshmen. I just laughed, like, ‘That was an insane workout, and you’re still going?!'”

An indelible impact

Gentry took that same insatiable approach in the classroom. Steve Wiant, who taught Gentry for four years in , says Gentry’s artistic side was another example of the well-rounded 17-year-old’s attention to detail.

For one project, Gentry combined penmanship samples from her family members to invent a unique font for a fictional restaurant’s branding. For another, she was a leader on the creation of an art installation in the Denver North front office that featured laser-cut symbols representing the school and its community. Gentry also won a congressional art contest for a digital illustration of Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and her creation was

Throughout all her successes, Wiant says Gentry stayed focused on her ultimate goal: college soccer. She ended up with 15 Division I offers before committing to Corvallis.

“She didn’t outwardly celebrate her academic success,” Wiant said. “And I had no idea about how good she was in flag football before I found out on social media. These were all just benchmarks to her, I think, because she’s been so driven and focused on her endgame. Even now, she knows she’s going to a very competitive environment at Oregon State, so she’s remained focused on bigger things down the road.”

When she heads off to join her college program in mid-July, Gentry will have left an indelible impact on the Northside community.

For the past 12 years, Gentry has volunteered with her family at the Saint Elizabeth soup-and-sandwich lines for the homeless. While a student at Denver North, she also helped coordinate a food and shelter relief project for Venezuelan migrants, assisted her father with a tiny-home project for the homeless, and volunteered at various soccer clinics, including one held recently at Valdez Elementary.

“I grew up with my mom saying things like, ‘Put yourself in other people’s shoes’ and ‘You never know what’s going on at home,'” Gentry said. “So I’ve always wanted to have that mindset, and I’ve always wanted to support those less fortunate than I am, because I already have all the support and everything I need. So if I have the opportunity to help someone else get that support, I’m always going to do it no matter what.”

Gentry beat out a field of 38 nominations to win the April Heinrichs Award, including four other worthy finalists in Fossil Ridge’s Reese Morgan (runner-up), Buena Vista’s Mae Blazer, Chatfield’s Tyler Sternberg and Frontier Academy’s Emily Gesick.

Denver North’s female athlete of the year was voted the winner by a 17-person selection committee that included high school coaches, former standout Colorado players, media members, and Heinrichs herself. Gentry was named on all but two of the ballots, and received 10 first- or second-place votes.

For winning, Gentry receives a $1,000 scholarship from the nonprofit that sponsors the award, the Colorado High School Girls Soccer Player Award Corporation. She will also receive a luncheon in her honor and be recognized at the match on July 3 against the Kansas City Current at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

“I’m kind of speechless to be honest, and I see winning this award as an incredible opportunity,” Gentry said. “I think many, many girls will look up to this award in the coming years, and having my name under it is phenomenal. I aspire to be a person that girls look up to, and it’s humbling what this award says about me as a player, in the classroom, in the community, and as a person overall. It’s a bar I want to live up to going forward.”

The winner — who receives a trophy, a $1,000 scholarship, an honorary luncheon, and recognition at a match — will be announced on Sunday.

Position: Striker GPA: 4.04 ��DZ����𲵱�:��Westmont College

The Demons’ star had 27 goals, 18 assists and 72 points in 17 games en route to earning CHSAA’s Class 2A Player of the Year and leading her team to the state title game. Blazer totaled 77 goals, 42 assists and 196 points in her career, and her impact extended well beyond the pitch. Among other outreach efforts, she led a Vacation Bible School in Costa Rica, completed a mission trip in Nicaragua, and organized a National Honor Society blood drive.

Position: Winger GPA: 4.98����DZ����𲵱�: Oregon State

Also an All-State flag football star for the Vikings, Gentry was a four-year pillar for Denver North. She tallied 15 goals, 5 assists, and 35 points in 2026, with 34 goals, 32 assists, and 100 points for her career, while helping the program to four straight playoff appearances. Off the pitch, she is a longtime volunteer at St. Elizabeth’s soup/sandwich line, has volunteered at various youth soccer clinics, and helped organize a food and shelter relief project for migrants.

Position: Winger GPA: 4.59 College: Western Colorado

While leading her team to the Class 2A semifinals, Gesick put up video-game numbers. She led the state (all classifications) with 42 goals and 94 points in 17 games; she tallied 111 goals and 265 points in her career. Unstoppable on the pitch, she was also dynamic off of it. Gesick worked shifts at the local food bank, helped at a family literacy night, collected blankets and toys for animals, and was a leader in her Vacation Bible School.

Position: Midfielder GPA: 4.3 College: University of Denver

Talk about clutch: Morgan scored the game-winning OT goal in the semifinals and title game as Fossil Ridge repeated as the Class 5A champions. The Sabercats’ captain, CHSAA Class 5A Player of the Year and dominant two-way force, had 7 goals, 9 assists and 23 points this season. She served in Key Club International and volunteered at Children’s Hospital, for Special Olympics and for SERVE 6.8, which assists people in need.

Position: Midfielder GPA: 4.9 College: North Carolina (not playing)

The Chatfield valedictorian was a two-year captain for the Chargers who rebounded from an ACL tear that sidelined her as a sophomore. Sternberg had 3 goals, 4 assists and 10 points in 2026, with 12 goals, 13 assists and 37 points in her career. Capable of changing the game on offense and defense, she served as president of Jefferson County Relay For Life, belonged to an array of clubs and volunteered for Operation Christmas Child.

Honorable Mention

These players also received votes from the award’s 17-member selection committee: Ambry Plate, midfielder, Windsor (North Dakota State); Kate Mullen, center-back/center-mid, Standley Lake (Regis University); Brynleigh Schmitz, center-back, Columbine; Elle Ceres, midfielder, Boulder (Boston University); Canyon Tucker, center-mid, Rock Canyon (University of the Pacific); Brittany Lomas, center-back, Sheridan; Audrey Kingery, midfield, Flatirons Academy (Dordt University); Abby Reiss, center-back, Loveland; Shea Gordon, defender, Windsor. ]]> 7773909 2026-06-02T17:17:33+00:00 2026-08-06T11:12:33+00:00 /2026/05/19/colorado-academy-three-peat-class-3a-colorado-girls-soccer/ Wed, 20 May 2026 00:56:36 +0000 /?p=7762754 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.”

This year’s award will be given out at the conclusion of the CHSAA season in a special ceremony.

As of Friday, May 29, the nominations for the 2026 Heinrichs Award are now closed.

The Denver Post is proud to announce the creation of the April Heinrichs Award, which will be presented annually to the top high school senior girls soccer player, scholar and citizen in Colorado. The inaugural honor will be awarded this June, following the conclusion of the high school soccer season in late May.

Like the newspaper’s Gold Helmet Award in football and Roy Halladay Award in baseball, the April Heinrichs Award will factor in achievements and impact outside the field of play. In addition to skills on the pitch, candidates for the award will also be evaluated by their GPA and their community service.

“It’s great for girls soccer to be on par with the boys sports (The Denver Post) is recognizing at the highest level,” said longtime Broomfield soccer coach Jim Davidson. “And while it’s great from a gender standpoint, it’s also awesome that we’re recognizing a player from a state that has had great success on the girls side of the game at the college, national, international and professional level.”

An explosion of soccer talent

While Heinrichs set the bar for Colorado high school girls soccer players — the 1982 Heritage High School graduate was the captain of the U.S. Women’s National Team that won the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1991 — many other notable players have followed in her footsteps.

As of late, the state has produced USWNT players such as captain Lindsey Heaps (née Horan), Mallory Swanson (née Pugh), Sophia Wilson (née Smith), Jaelin Howell and Ryan Williams. Plus, the state has churned out other stars such as Canadian national team pillar Janine Sonis (née Beckie) and three-time National Women’s Soccer League champion Jaelene Daniels (née Hinkle).

That Colorado talent pipeline of world-class players is why, when The Denver Post evaluated which girls sport to honor with an annual award, girls soccer was the clear decision.

“The state’s talent has really exploded in the last 15 years,” said Davidson, who coached the Broomfield girls for 25 years, with 385 wins, two state titles and six state runner-ups. “When we saw Lindsey Horan and Mallory Pugh rise to stardom, Colorado girls soccer was really making breakthroughs at the youth national team level and the national team level.

“We’ve since maintained that, and it’s incredible to see these Colorado women on television, representing our country, playing in the NWSL, playing major Division I and having such great success.”

The April Heinrichs Award is backed by a nonprofit, the Colorado High School Girls Soccer Player Award Corporation. The award is made possible by donations, including a sizable donation from Arvada resident Adam Stevinson. Additionally, new NWSL franchise has committed to an annual donation to support the award.

The winner of the award will be profiled in The Denver Post, receive a trophy and have a celebratory banquet in her honor. Plus, Summit FC will recognize the player during a Denver home game this summer.

Heinrichs gave her blessing for the award to take her name. The first female player inducted into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame embodies the talent and lasting impact of a local player that the award seeks to honor.

After starring at Heritage, where led the Eagles to two state titles in 1979 and ’81 and was an All-American, she was a three-time first-team All-American , where the Tar Heels made four Division I championship games and won three of them.

After playing for the USWNT and professionally in Italy, she was the head coach at Maryland and Virginia. She was an assistant coach on the 1996 Olympic gold medal team in Atlanta, and was the head coach for the USWNT that claimed silver at the 2000 Sydney Games and gold at the 2004 Athens Games. After that, she oversaw the USWNT’s youth program.

“As a new women’s professional soccer franchise launches in Colorado, it feels fitting to launch an award that recognizes one of the state’s best female prep players and carries on the legacy of a trailblazer in the sport,” Denver Post sports editor Nate Peterson said. “Colorado has such a rich history of great players, coaches and teams in the women’s game, and April Heinrichs embodies that tradition. We couldn’t be more proud to partner with her to give out this award each year to a deserving player.”

Denver Post sportswriter Kyle Newman is the chairman of the award’s nonprofit, and he is joined on the board by Stevinson and Davidson as well as other longtime Colorado girls high school soccer coaches in , and .

A 17-person selection committee to decide the winner will consist of community members with an extensive range of girls soccer insight and influence, as well as Heinrichs herself and Denver Post staffers.

• Theresa Echtermeyer, longtime Mountain Vista coach
• Reagan Kotschau, CU player/All-American at Broomfield
• Dave Cope, retired Battle Mountain coach
• Nikki Marshall, ex-Mead/CU star and retired pro
• April Heinrichs, former USWNT player/coach
• Gary Gustafson, Heinrichs’ coach at Heritage
• Kia Gudewicz, longtime Heritage coach
• Jim Davidson, retired Broomfield coach
• Dan Watkins, longtime Jeffco girls coach
• Adam Stevinson, award’s first donor
• Lori Punko, Denver Post deputy sports editor
• Matt Schubert, The Athletic digital managing editor
• Kyle Newman, Denver Post sportswriter
• Jen Millet, Denver Summit FC president
• Nate Peterson, Denver Post sports editor
• Patrick Saunders, Denver Post sportswriter
• Joe Nguyen, Denver Post sports digital strategist

Nominations for the award and will be accepted through May 24, following the CHSAA state championships earlier that week. Ideally, players with a strong case for the award would be nominated by their head coach or athletic director.

The Post encourages any individuals or businesses who want to get involved in sponsoring the award with tax-deductible donations to reach out to board chairman Newman at knewman@denverpost.com.

2026 April Heinrichs Award nomination form

Nominations are open from March 1 through May 24 for the honor recognizing the state’s top senior girls soccer player.

Sonis, a Highlands Ranch native and Valor Christian alum, is close friends with U.S. Women’s National Team captain and Golden native Lindsey Heaps. So when Heaps texted Sonis last year about her intention to sign with Denver FC following the conclusion of her contract with Lyon in France, Sonis knew that she, too, had to find a way back home.

“That was the hardest-kept secret of my life,” Sonis said with a laugh. “I was obviously very excited for her, and she told me, ‘You have to get there.’ We’ve wanted to play together our entire careers.

“When I finally got (my trade) over the line, I texted her, all caps, ‘IT’S FINALLY HAPPENING!'”

Sonis (nee Beckie) and Heaps (nee Horan) have known each other since their elementary school days, when Sonis was a star for Real Colorado and Heaps was the headliner for Colorado Rush. The two frequently played against each other on Colorado’s youth scene, and in their professional eras, have become international rivals with Sonis as a longtime pillar for the Canadian Women’s National Team and Heaps as a centerpiece of the U.S. squad.

They are two of the five local players on and their acquisitions by the club were announced three days apart last month. Denver got the 2020 Olympic gold medalist via trade with Racing Louisville FC in exchange for an initial $120,000.

“When the team was announced (last January), I knew I wanted to be back here,” Sonis said. “I loved being in Louisville… but I was very excited about the possibility of coming back home. I reached out to my agent and asked to do some exploration, see where the club’s head was at, float my name around and see if there’s any interest. Then, when they announced Nick (Cushing as manager), I knew I needed to be here.”

Sonis played for Cushing for two seasons with Manchester City, winning two FA Cups and two Women’s Super League titles. Cushing was the first coach to switch Sonis from forward to fullback, which is what the defender will be playing with Summit FC.

But Sonis is still capable of being an offensive threat from that position, as evidenced by a goal and an assist in Summit FC’s first exhibition match. The 2-1 victory over the Kansas City Current last weekend came in the opening phase of the club’s preseason training in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Sonis is one of several notable veterans on the Summit FC defense, along with Camryn Biegalski, Carson Pickett, Kaleigh Kurtz and fellow Canadian Women’s National Team member Megan Reid. Plus, the defense has several intriguing NWSL rookies in Natalie Means, Eva Gaetino and Ayo Oke, who recently

While Cushing vowed that Summit FC will be “an attacking team,” he also acknowledged that the club’s ability to fulfill owner Rob Cohen’s expectations to compete for a championship in Year 1 will hinge heavily upon the back line.

“You won’t win championships without a good defensive record, so to give us the chance at being above the line and having a solid position, we have to be a team that can contain the opposition,” Cushing said. “To defend the way we did in Game 1 after two weeks (of training), it showed the potential we have is going to be high.”

Behind the defense, Cushing said the starting goalkeeper job is still up for grabs.

Summit FC has veteran Abby Smith, a two-time NWSL Champion, as well as rookie Jordan Nytes, a Grandview alum who is coming off a prolific career with the CU Buffs. The goalies split time in the exhibition against the Current. Summit FC general manager Curt Johnson said he plans to sign one more goalkeeper sometime in the next couple weeks.

Cushing will continue to evaluate the position but doesn’t want to platoon there, and will settle on a starter heading into the regular season. Summit FC will train at Infinity Park in Glendale for the next couple of weeks before heading to Indio, Calif., for an exhibition tournament at the Coachella Valley Invitational. There, the team will play the Utah Royals and San Diego Wave FC.

Summit FC’s inaugural match is March 14 against Bay FC at PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif., followed by two more road contests before making its Denver debut on March 28 against the Washington Spirit at Empower Field. The game has already sold 40,000 tickets, so it is well on pace to shatter the NWSL single-game attendance record of 40,091, set last August in a match between Bay FC and the Spirit at Oracle Park in San Francisco.

Sonis will be thinking of her late father when she takes the pitch that day at Empower Field — Gary Beckie died from skin cancer when she was seven years old — and will relish having her family in the stands, along with what she hopes is a crowd that approaches the stadium’s maximum capacity.

“I’m not surprised at all by the Denver community showing up for this team,” Sonis said. “I know they’ve been eager to have women’s professional sports back in Denver for a long time (since the Colorado Xplosion basketball team in the 1990s).

“I’ve envisioned that moment walking onto the pitch many times already. It’s going to be an incredibly special moment, and I’d love to see us push that number to 50,000, 60,000-plus.”

The title-hungry Mustangs made that abundantly clear a mere 3 minutes into their title match Saturday against a scrappy Greeley Central squad.

They only reinforced that notion throughout the ensuing 74 minutes.

After senior forward Rocco Manerbino gave Mullen an early one-goal lead, the top-seeded Mustangs never allowed the sixth-seeded Wildcats any life in a 2-0 victory in the finals of the Class 4A boys soccer state tournament at Switchbacks Weidner Field.

This was just Mullen’s second boys soccer title in school history, its first since 2011. With the victory, the Mustangs also avoided their sixth runner-up finish, most recently falling in titles games a season ago and in 2021.

“It was a tough night one year ago at this time when we were the finalist, and Air Academy had won,” Mullen coach Matt Degitis said, moments after his team received the elusive championship trophy. “But, we talked today about how we are familiar (with a state finals environment). And, in the first couple minutes of the game when they’re still adjusting to the crowd and the lights and the field, that����ap when we are going to go after them. And, these boys just brought the fury.”

The Mustangs wrapped up their season with an 18-1-1 record

The title game was the Wildcats’ only loss of the season, as they conclude perhaps the best season in their school’s history with a 17-1-2 mark.

Greeley Central was playing in its first title game in program history and was attempting to become the first Greeley team to win a boys soccer state title.

But even though the Wildcats clawed back from 1-0 deficits in two previous games in these playoffs — and they came up clutch in a semifinals victory via a shootout Wednesday against Silver Creek — the smothering Mustangs defense didn’t allow Greeley Central an inch of breathing room from the opening whistle.

“We’ve been down 1-0 before, but in the finals, it����ap a different atmosphere,” Wildcats coach Nestor Perez said. “Mullen has been here before, and they showed their composure. Helluva team.”

Despite the eventful start, the game remained a one-goal affair until the final moments.

With 13:04 left, Mullen senior forward JT Gerber found senior midfielder Roman Cedillo streaking toward the goal from the right side.

Greeley Central senior goalkeeper Robert Humphrey got a finger on the ball, but Cedillo collected the cross pass and poked a title-seizing goal into the back of the net.

“I knew that we won as soon as I got that goal,” Cedillo said. “We just came into this like: We’re not losing. This is going to be our year.”

Regis Jesuit stuns Ralston Valley in OT

The quantity may be in Regis Jesuit����ap favor — after Saturday’s finals the Raiders have five boys state soccer titles, tying them for seventh most in state history.

But when it mattered the most in their 5A state title match at Weidner Field, quality mattered much more than quantity.

Regis Jesuit����ap opponent, top-seeded Ralston Valley, certainly had the quantity. The Mustangs had prime scoring opportunity after prime scoring opportunity during the 80 minutes of regulation, while opportunities were few and far between for the Raiders.

But just 12 seconds into the sudden death overtime, Regis Jesuit junior Sawyer Berg turned the game on its head, as his stunning goal gave the sixth-seeded Raiders the 1-0 win.

Perhaps even in disbelief, himself, at what he just did, Berg instantly ripped off his jersey and ran toward Regis Jesuit����ap fan section where he was swarmed by his teammates.

“When I saw the ball about six feet in front of a wide-open goal, I was just planning my celebration,” Berg said. “I was like, ‘I can’t miss this. So, I might as well go and celebrate.’ I put it in right away.”

Neither team had lost before Saturday night����ap title match. While the Raiders capped their season with an 18-0-2 record and their fifth title, Ralston Valley finished its season at 18-1-1 after playing in the first title game in its program’s history.

Even though Regis Jesuit has five titles now, this was the first one since 1996.

Of course, none of the Raiders players were born the last time the program won a state title. In fact, there is even one player on this year’s team, Owen Meyer, who has a father that was on that last championship team.

“There was a lot of pressure on our team last year, because we had a lot of really good individual players that are having great college careers already now as freshmen,” Regis Jesuit coach Rick Wolf said. “So, we didn’t know what to expect with this team coming in. We returned three starters. … The first game we played against Ralston Valley (a 1-1 tie on Aug. 26), I told them, ‘You’re better than last year.’ I don’t know if they believed me then. But, they sure believe me now.”

Berg’s goal couldn’t have come in any more dramatic fashion.

Presented with the best scoring opportunity the Raiders had all night, senior Kam Bachus fired an initial shot right on line. Mustangs senior goalkeeper Ben Brown fended off the first shot attempt but couldn’t get his hands on the rebound a millisecond later.

“I got the ball on a long ball, and I just knew I had to get it to Kam, because Kam scored all of our goals, he’s been an amazing player for us all season,” Berg said. “He got that shot and I was sure it was going in. But, I still followed it up. It just popped out right in front of me. I just couldn’t miss.”

Kent Denver claims 3A title

Fourth-seeded Kent Denver brought plenty of defense, and just enough offense, to secure its sixth 3A boys soccer state title in program history Saturday afternoon.

The Sun Devils grinded to a 1-0 win against third-seeded Steamboat Springs. Senior captain Kobe Thai provided the game’s only goal just before the midway point of the second half.

This was Kent Denver’s first state title since 2019 when it won its fifth title in six years.

The Sun Devils wrapped up their campaign with a 12-5-3 record, winning their last seven games of the season.

With the championship victory, Kent Denver became just the seventh program in the state to win six or more boys soccer championships. The Sun Devils are three behind Broomfield’s record nine titles.

Steamboat Springs (13-4-3) was denied its first title in program history. This was the Sailors’ second boys soccer title match appearance.

They were the state runner-up in 1996.

Crested Butte wins PK thriller

The path to a fifth 2A boys soccer state title certainly wasn’t an easy one for Crested Butte on Saturday morning.

Having already survived two overtime games previously in the postseason, the third-seeded Titans rallied to defeat fourth-seeded Forge Christian via a 4-3 penalty kick shootout in overtime.

Argentinian exchange student Matias Bonnaterre scored the winning goal after the Fury had initially taken a 3-1 lead in penalty kicks. The game was scoreless before the shootout.

Crested Butte wrapped up its season with a 15-2-1 record. Forge Christian settled for a 9-6-4 record and runner-up finish after winning the 3A crown a season ago.

The Fury were in pursuit of their seventh state title, which would have placed them two behind the state record.

The Titans previously won titles in 2018, ’20, ’21 and ’23. They are 5 for 5 in title games.

And that’s exactly what Salehi brought to Fossil Ridge, a team that he says lacked an edge before. No more, though: In the battle of the Sabercats on Wednesday at Weidner Field, Fossil Ridge edged Castle View 1-0 in the Class 5A title game to break through for the school’s first girls soccer championship.

“When I took over the program last year, they hadn’t reached past the second round in about 13 years,” Salehi said. “One of the things we wanted to rebuild and rebrand was a gritty, selfless mentality because in the playoffs, talent doesn’t win. Culture, grit and scrappiness wins.

“… This has been a soft, sissified program for too many years. When I came in, what I said was we were going to bring the fight to a lot of players, to a lot of teams. We were going to have grit. We’re going to take teams by surprise because they’re going to think it’s the same Fossil. And we were not.”

The SaberCats from Fort Collins used a header by Teagan Myers late in the second half to fend off the Sabercats from Castle Rock in a well-played showdown between two evenly matched teams making their first title game appearances.

Castle View had the game’s first true scoring chance about 12 minutes in, when Fossil Ridge junior keeper Shay Masters came out to block a shot at the top of the box, and then found herself out of position when Castle View repossessed the ricochet. But the Fossil Ridge defense came up with a couple of key blocks to keep the game scoreless.

Halfway through the first half, Fossil Ridge had its first chance when junior Lily Wale fired a shot from inside the box that went just over the crossbar. Fossil Ridge continued to push the tempo down the stretch of the half, but couldn’t cash in as Castle View sophomore keeper Elly Bowers stood tall and her defense prevented any unobstructed looks.

Both keepers continued to impress early in the second half. Bowers raced up in the box to cut off some would-be chances before they could develop, while on the other end, Masters leapt up and snared a corner kick before it could find a Castle View head.

“I was kind of surprised I came down with it, not going to lie,” Masters said with a laugh. “But that come-up on the cross was probably my best save of the day.”

With 13:07 left, the stalemate was on the cusp of cracking when Castle View was called for a handball in the box. That set Wale up for a penalty kick. Bowers dove right and blocked it, then grabbed the loose rebound before more Fossil Ridge players could swarm in and get their feet on it.

“We have been resilient all year, and it’s been S.U.M.O. — Shut Up, Move On,” Salehi said. “As soon as that (missed PK) happened, I said, ‘Okay. This is our opportunity to get what’s next.’ And we got what’s next.”

Wale had her redemptive moment about six minutes later when her perfectly placed cross found the head of Myers. The senior captain headed it in off the turf, off Bowers’ diving hand and into the net for a 1-0 Fossil Ridge lead with about eight minutes left.

“I had that feeling on that corner that we weren’t going to get many more chances, and I had to make it happen in that moment,” said Myers, a Kentucky commit. “To be able to help solidify this amazing win in a historic moment for our team felt so good.”

Wale, a Washington State commit, said that “as soon as Teagan got a head on it, I knew it was going in.”

A couple of minutes later, Castle View had a great look at an equalizer, but couldn’t put it home. Masters made a diving save off a free kick just outside the box, then Castle View’s Jaya Dern rushed in and kicked the rebound just over the net. The Fossil Ridge defense did the rest to earn the trophy.

“We couldn’t bury chances early on, and momentum switched for about seven minutes in the second half (toward Castle View),” Salehi said. “But we took it back, buried the goal, and holy cow we came to finish the game.”

The victory gave Salehi his second state title as a coach, as he also led Liberty Common to the Class 3A crown in 2018 via an undefeated season.