The public address announcer at All City Stadium on Monday night accidentally announced an extra starting player for the Cherry Creek field hockey team against Colorado Academy.

The Bruins' performance afterward made it look that way against the Mustangs as well.

Cherry Creek was dominant from the outset of the state championship game, covering its offensive zone in a sea of blue for most of the time in a 1-0 victory. It was the second title for the Bruins in the sport, both coming under the guidance of Ashley Thompson.

"It's been a long time for us to even get to this game," Cherry Creek defender Liz Hart said. "We worked hard for it as a team. This year more than any, the team that was going to win the state championship was the one that didn't have just one player.

"We had the total team."

Cherry Creek, playing in its fourth state title game, generated a bundle of scoring opportunities thanks to strong midfield play that prevented Colorado Academy from advancing.

The Bruins peppered Colorado Academy goalie Courtney Engle with four shots on goal in the first half and had four other shots go wide. The momentum continued to favor Cherry Creek, and with 25 minutes left in the game, the Bruins scored.

Capitalizing on a penalty corner opportunity, Steph Pepper set up the hard-hitting McKenzie Brown, who settled the ball quickly and rocketed a shot past Engle after it deflected slightly off a Colorado Academy defender.

Brown scored the tying goal in Cherry Creek's upset of Mountain Vista in the semifinals.

"It's something that we practice every day, and it worked how we wanted it to," said Brown, the Rocky Mountain News' most valuable player. "It gives you comfort to have a goal up on them, but they tried to come back."

Though Cherry Creek had five more shots on goal after the score, the Bruins defense made the lone goal stand despite a late surge from the Mustangs. Cherry Creek stifled a potent Colorado Academy attack to only one shot on goal, and that came with slightly more than 14 minutes left.

The Bruins stacked the striking circle but managed to keep the Mustangs from making solid passes in transition

"We had some ups and downs in our season, and I think we tried to look at that and improve each game," Hart said. "I think that's what kept us composed in this game."

Colorado Academy surged a bit in the final 10 minutes, turning up the tempo while needing to score. The Mustangs had five penalty corners and five shots at goal in the final minutes of the game but could not finish.

Engle finished with nine saves, and the Mustangs were solid defensively in not allowing Cherry Creek too many good opportunities on goal, but they were overmatched in possession. It was the fourth straight season the Mustangs came away from the title game with the runner-up trophy.

"I think it's incredible that we've made it this far four years in a row," Colorado Academy's Kerry Ergen said. "Yeah, we didn't have the outcome that we would have liked, but we have nothing to be ashamed of."

Cherry Creek......0	1	-	1
Colorado Academy......0	0	-	0

Second half - CC, McKenzie Brown (Steph Pepper assist), 25:50.

Shots on goal - Cherry Creek 4-6 - 10, Colorado Academy 0-1 - 1. Goalie saves - CC, Kate Colbert 0-1 - 1; CA, Courtney Engle 4-5 - 9. Penalty corners - CC 1-3 - 4, CA 2-5 - 7.

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