ENGLEWOOD — The Regis Jesuit soccer team found themselves in an uncomfortable position Saturday afternoon at Pirate Field – ahead on the scoreboard.

Regis coach Chris Walsweer said his team plays much better when they’re even or behind. So when Matt Nier scored 10 minutes into the Class 5A semifinal contest with Fort Collins, Walsweer may have experienced some mixed emotions.

But the 11th-seeded Raiders made the goal stand up with a great defensive effort, holding on for the 1-0 victory over the 15th seeded Lambkins. Regis (15-4-0) will take on Denver East Wednesday at 5 p.m. for the 5A state championship.

“This team doesn’t like to be up a goal,” Walsweer said. “We’re very good when we’re 0-0 or down a goal. But when we’re up a goal . . . I don’t like being up a goal.”

Grabbing a lead was almost unavoidable considering how well the Raiders played early on. They moved the ball wall, getting a good scoring chance very early on a shot by Dirk MacDonald.

A short time later Ian Hines-Ike settled the ball near midfield and sent a great forward pass to Nier, who dribbled by one defender before calmly placing the ball in the goal past a charging Chris Couperus, the Lambkins keeper.

“I just ran behind the defense and (Hines-Ike) played it right through,” Nier said. “I got on the end of it and finished.”

Outside of two more shots on goal by McDonald in the first half, Regis seemed content to win the contest 1-0. The Raiders played stout defense, with Will Cobb and Andrew Finch anchoring a unit that gave Fort Collins very little room to work with.

“Our defense gave up nothing, absolutely nothing,” Walsweer said.

The few times the Lambkins did get an opportunity, Regis keeper Alex Goetz was up to the challenge. He only made three saves in the match, but the two stops he made on shots by Fort Collins senior Will Pomeroy in the first half were superb.

DENVER EAST 4, BEAR CREEK 0

Denver East advanced to the finals with a dominant 4-0 win over Bear Creek in the day’s first semifinal. The eighth-seeded Angels (17-2-0) received a pair of goals from standout senior Zach Bolden and held the 20th-seeded Bears (11-6-2) without a shot on goal.

Bolden started the scoring 6 minutes into the contest, heading in a perfectly placed the direct kick from Sharod Dadgar.

“We always go out and try to get a goal as fast as we can,” Bolden said. “It brings up our intensity if we get that early goal and it allows us to control the game.”

Dadgar had a hand in East’s second goal as well, playing a ball ahead to Zach Grossnickle, who had broken behind the Bear Creek defense.

Grossnickle fired a shot that Bears’ keeper Tyler Ruder was able to block with his shoulder, but the ball caromed right back to Grossnickle, who headed it inside the far post for a 2-0 lead in the 26th minute.

By that point the Angels were securely in control of the contest, and the only worry East had was keeping its cool. Frustrated by his jersey being constantly held, Bolden earned a yellow card in the 34th minute, and the Angels Jack Henderson picked up another card just before the intermission.

“We wanted to be careful about that, so that’s why (Bolden) came out,” East coach Beth Hinz said.

Bolden sat out the rest of the first half after picking up his card, but came back to put another goal on the board 10 minutes into the second half.

Alex Hall closed out the scoring for East in the 52nd minute, spinning past a defender before burying the ball, and the Bears, with a hard shot inside the near post.

“We’re so excited right now,” Hinz said. “It hasn’t sunk in yet.”