The Colorado Academy Mustangs are no strangers to the field hockey championship game, but this year's title contest finally will have a different look come Monday night.

The Mustangs beat Smoky Hill 1-0 in the semifinals Wednesday to earn their fourth consecutive appearance in the final.

The win set up a championship game with Cherry Creek, which beat Mountain Vista 2-1 in the earlier game at All City Stadium.

The matchup with the Bruins means the Mustangs (13-2-2) won't have to face Kent Denver, a team they finished runner-up to for three straight years. For Catherine Quinn, though, things have not gotten easier.

"It's so cool to be going four straight years," Quinn said. "We've really worked hard, obviously, all four years, and we hope this year is our time. It would have been cool to get Kent again to try and get revenge, but we're going to be ready either way."

Things weren't easy against Smoky Hill, either. The Buffaloes pounced on Colorado Academy's defense late, but some unfinished shots and a little help from goalie Courtney Engle preserved the shutout.

Smoky Hill (10-5-2) had 13 penalty corner opportunities in the game but in the final four minutes finished with a frenzy that had Colorado Academy on its heels. The Buffaloes had seven shots in the second half, but Engle was able to steer every one of them from the back of the net.

"I honestly don't remember what happened, but I just kind of kept getting in the way of things," Engle said. "It got pretty intense for the last few minutes, for sure."

Colorado Academy, which beat Smoky Hill 3-2 in overtime earlier this season, had the good fortune of playing the entire second half with the lead.

The game's only goal came at the 4:49 mark of the first half when Ali Abromovitz put the finishing touches on a nice pass from Davis Reiter. Colorado Academy's offense was stout early in the second half, but the Mustangs couldn't add on to the lead as Smoky Hill's Carly Wagner had four saves.

"It would have been nice to have more of a comfort zone, but having that first goal really got our energy up," Engle said.

First half - Ali Abramovitz (Davis Reiter), 4:49.

Shots on goal - SH 2-7 - 9; CA 2-4 - 6. Goalie saves - SH, Carly Wagner 1-4 - 5; CA Courtney Engle 2-7 - 9. Penalty corners - SH, 5-8 - 13; CA 1-3 - 4.