DENVER – Part of the journey is the end, right?

For Pine Creek, its 3-2 loss in the 5A boys’ soccer semifinals Tuesday was a bitter end to a sweet season that put the Eagles in their first final four since 2019.

Eagles coach Ben Corley made certain his players understood that although one season wrapped, another began. While Regis Jesuit players celebrated their victory at University of Denver’s CIBER Field, Eagles players dropped to the pitch in anguish over the loss. Corley walked to each one, extended an arm and assisted them back to the Eagles’ bench.

“We put value in what it means to be a family and part of a program more than just being part of a team,” Corley said. “The game is a reflection of life. Life isn’t always fair and there were stretches of this game that looked like the team deserved a different result, but ‘deserved’ isn’t a part of life. What’s beautiful about family is you go through the highs and lows of life together and you’re better for it.”

The Eagles (13-3-3) experienced that high in the quarterfinals when they eliminated 5A’s defending champion and previously undefeated Cherry Creek to earn a spot in the semifinals.

However, just 42 seconds into their match against the Raiders (17-0-2) the Eagles trailed 1-0, which forced Pine Creek to respond quicker than expected.

Calvin Stewart, the hero who scored the lone goal in overtime in the quarterfinals, struck in the seventh minute to knot the contest 1-1. Stewart, though, didn’t consider himself the hero in the quarterfinals and shared the sentiment after tying the semifinals match.

“I think I was lucky to be in the right spot,” Stewart said. “My team helped me a lot. It wasn’t just me out there.”

That was evident as Aiden Vanmanen netted a goal in the 14^th minute after the Raiders’ keeper deflected a shot, but the Eagles’ senior fired a rocket past Regis Jesuit’s defense that built a 2-1 lead.

Although Pine Creek dominated possession much of the game, Regis optimized its few opportunities and scored the final two goals, including the final strike in the 68^th minute on a corner kick.

Regis Jesuit thwarted any momentum Pine Creek tried to establish in the final 12 minutes, ended the Eagles’ season and snapped their nine-match winning streak. For many seniors, including Stewart, the defeat was an obvious downer, but Stewart said the camaraderie will be missed.

“This program has helped develop bonds and friendships that I’ll keep the rest of my life,” Stewart said. “I’m happy to be a part of this.”

Corley said even in the Eagles’ loss, players demonstrated this season’s “opposition’s not the enemy, it’s an authenticator” motto.

“Four of our last nine games we played, we faced teams that had undefeated records at the time we faced them and we beat them,” Corley said. “Sometimes things outside of your control happen but the way they bounced back from that early goal and took the lead was important. “You have to give Regis a lot of credit because they had some goal-line clearances that were astounding that kept them in it when we had moments that looked like we would take the game over in the second half.”