ENGLEWOOD • As the final whistle sounded Wednesday evening at Kent Denver School, Colorado Springs Christian School senior forward Rachel Mauro put her hands over her eyes and walked slowly off Justin DeSorrento Memorial Field.

She wasn’t ready to see her season — and high school career — come to an end.

“Not at all,” Mauro said after CSCS’s 3-2 loss to the Sun Devils in a Class 3A girls’ soccer first-round state playoff game. “I wanted to at least make it to second round.”

Mauro did her best to get her team there, scoring both of the Lions’ goals. But Kent Denver (9-5-1) had a few too many chances, and when CSCS (9-7) finally seemed to get the better of the action, it was too late.

“I think we just needed a little more time,” Mauro said.

The Lions took a 1-0 lead less than 9 minutes into the game when sophomore Kayla Nelson played a ball through traffic to Mauro, who stuffed a low shot in the left side of the goal. Kent Denver tied the score with 6:14 left in the half and then took a 2-1 lead on a penalty kick less than a minute before halftime.

Mauro won a ball in the box and scored to tie it at two with 27:23 left in regulation, but Kent Denver answered with the eventual game-winner less than a minute later.

“The heart was there, the effort was there,” CSCS senior forward Reade Tillman said. “It just didn’t really come together.”

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