The high school boys soccer playoffs have arrived, featuring 15 teams from Broomfield and the Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley school districts.
Defending champ Broomfield is ranked third in the 5A classification, a spot back of No. 2 Boulder. Fairview is No. 9, Legacy No. 10 and Erie No. 22.
Centaurus, Silver Creek and Longmont are slated four-through-six in 4A. Niwot is No. 12 and Mead No. 31.
Holy Family is the top seed in 3A, followed by No. 2 Jefferson Academy, No. 3 Peak to Peak and No. 23 Prospect Ridge Academy.
And Dawson is No. 8 in 2A.
The 5A-3A postseason brackets consist of 32 teams, with first-round games in 5A and 3A starting Wednesday, followed by 4A’s opening round on Thursday.
Class 2A begins Friday and is made up of 24 teams. The top-eight seeds received an opening-round bye.
A quick look at each local team’s opener.
Class 5A
No. 2 Boulder vs. No. 31 Fountain-Fort Carson
Details: Wednesday, 7 p.m., at Christian Recht Field.
Notable: Boulder had been the top-ranked team in 5A for most of the season. Now-No. 1 Northfield surpassed the Panthers with a draw and win over No. 5 Denver East last week. Xander Sevian, a Clemson commit for the Panthers (14-0-1), leads the classification with 57 points (18 goals, 21 assists).
No. 3 Broomfield vs. No. 30 Castle View
Details: Wednesday, 6:30 p.m., at Elizabeth Kennedy Stadium.
Notable: Looking to further their Colorado-most state title count in boys soccer, the defending-champ Eagles (12-2-1) can claim No. 10 with five more wins. Joziah Garron Guillen had a hat trick in their season-finale win over Monarch, giving him 11 goals on the year.
No. 9 Fairview vs. No. 24 Grandview
Details: Wednesday, 6:30 p.m., at Fairview’s turf field.
Notable: The Knights (8-4-3) have already proven they can play with anybody in the state. Led by Ben Ortman’s 15 goals, their only losses this season are to No. 2 Boulder, No. 4 Cherry Creek, No. 10 Legacy and No. 18 Horizon — all of them by just a goal. They beat No. 3 Broomfield last week.
No. 10 Legacy vs. No. 23 Fort Collins
Details: Wednesday, 6 p.m., at Adams 12 North Stadium.
Notable: Seniors Carlos DeLuna-Villalpando and Mason Gray lead the Lightning (9-4-2) with six goals and two assists.
No. 22 Erie vs. No. 11 Liberty
Details: Wednesday, 6 p.m., at Liberty.
Notable: Erie’s Nathan Bigard scored his team-leading 14th goal of the season in a 3-2 win over Monarch last week. The Tigers (8-5-2) then finished their season with a scoreless draw against No. 10 Legacy on Thursday.
Class 4A
No. 4 Centaurus vs. No. 29 Rampart
Details: Thursday, 3 p.m., at Spangenberg Field.
Notable: Reaching the semifinals a year ago, the Warriors (9-3-3) look to make another deep postseason run. This fall, they came out on top of the rigid 4A/3A Granite Peaks League, which has four teams in 4A’s top 12 and the top-ranked team in 3A, Holy Family.
No. 5 Silver Creek vs. No. 28 Canon City
Details: Thursday, 5 p.m., at Silver Creek.
Notable: The Raptors (9-2-3) have yet to lose to a 4A team this season, with their only losses coming to 5A No. 3 Broomfield and No. 10 Legacy. They didn’t allow a goal over the past three games, which included a win over No. 6 Longmont and a scoreless draw against No. 4 Centaurus.
No. 6 Longmont vs. No. 27 Summit
Details: Thursday, 4 p.m., at Everly-Montgomery Field.
Notable: The Trojans (10-2-3), who’ve already won their most games in a season since 2015, got 14 goals and seven assists from newcomer Noah Chavarria this fall.
No. 12 Niwot vs. No. 21 Wheat Ridge
Details: Thursday, 6:30 p.m., at Niwot.
Notable: Senior Jay Scharfe tallied multiple points in each of his past two games played, recording a goal and three assists. This season, he has three goals and six helpers.
No. 31 Mead vs. No. 2 Battle Mountain
Details: Thursday, 4 p.m., at Battle Mountain.
Notable: The Mavericks (6-6-3) halted a four-game slide with a postseason-clinching, 2-1 win over Frederick in their regular-season finale. They face the 4A defending champs in Round 1.
Class 3A
No. 1 Holy Family vs. No. 32 Weld Central
Details: Wednesday, 5 p.m., at Holy Family.
Notable: Senior Oliver Hansen scored his 10th goal of the season as the Tigers (11-2-2) played to a draw against 4A No. 6 Longmont in their final game of the regular season.
No. 2 Jefferson Academy vs. No. 31 Pueblo Central
Details: Wednesday, 6:00 p.m., at Jefferson Academy.
Notable: Matt Cassell returned as coach after a year away from the boys’ team and the Jaguars (11-3-1) went from winless in 2023 to the 3A’s 2-seed this fall.
No. 3 Peak to Peak vs. No. 30 Lamar
Details: Wednesday, 5 p.m., at Peak to Peak
Notable: Micah Thengvall introduced himself to the state soccer scene with the goal that sent Peak to Peak to the championship game in 2022. He leads the Pumas (8-2-4) with 12 goals and three assists this fall.
No. 23 Prospect Ridge Academy vs. No. 10 Timnath
Details: Wednesday, 6 p.m., at Timnath HS
Notable: The Miners play in the 3A/2A Metro League, which features 3A No. 2 JA and No. 3 Peak to Peak, as well as the top two seeds in 2A. Freshman Austin Huffman has seven goals this season as PRA (5-8-2) will look for its first win in six games.
Class 2A
No. 8 Dawson has a first-round bye
Notable: The Mustangs (11-2-1), led by the state’s leader in goals (45) and points (102), Charlie Martin, grabbed the last bye in the 24-team field. They’ll host the winner of No. 9 Fountain Valley and No. 24 Grand Valley on Saturday.