AURORA — The lacrosse committees have recommended standard postseason qualification and seeding criteria for both the boys and girls sports, starting with the 2017 seasons.
The committees, which met on Tuesday, also realigned conferences — again, for 2017, not this coming spring season.
The recommendations will now head to the Legislative Council at its April meeting for final approval.
Currently, the girls and boys had different postseason qualifying procedures, though both allow league champions to automatically qualify. The girls use a selection and seeding committee that decides which teams make the 20-team field. The boys have a system whereby a committee votes on the field, with only certain teams eligible (the top 50 percent of each league, plus one team). The 16-team fields are then seeded by a committee.
Under the proposed format, both the boys and the girls would move toward what nearly every other sport has adopted to this point: League champions automatically qualify for the field, and then the rest is filled in based on the final standings in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) of the regular season.
The seeding criteria is also standardized in the recommendation: RPI would be the primary consideration, with slight adjustments allowed due to geography or to avoid league opponents. That adjustment would likely only be a seed or two.
“There was no reason to not align all of lacrosse to look similar in the selection and the seeding,” said Harry Waterman, the CHSAA assistant commissioner in charge of lacrosse. “Both committees worked very well together to find common seeding that worked for everyone.”
The postseason fields would remain at 20 teams (girls) and 16 teams (5A and 4A boys).
The realignment was also done with any eye toward the postseason. Leagues were relatively balanced out in terms of the number of teams, and the committees tried to find some competitive balance, as well.
“They made an attempt to be sure there was competitive balance in every league while maintaining the balance in numbers,” Waterman said. “Now, this would also allow teams to go field a competitive non-league schedule if they so desire as they take the strength-of-schedule component of the RPI into consideration.”
Lacrosse teams play a 15-game regular season. The 5A boys leagues are comprised of seven or eight teams. In 4A, most are six-team leagues with one seven-team league. The girls have five eight-team leagues, one nine-team league, and four independents.
Valor Christian went 10-6 last season, and made the playoffs for the first time in program history. The Eagles will have a new coach in 2016. (Tim Visser/TimVisserPhotography.com)
Kara Cannizzaro, a former MVP of the NCAA tournament, was announced as the next head coach of Valor Christian’s girls lacrosse program on Friday.
Cannizzaro had been a volunteer assistant for the University of Denver’s women’s lacrosse team, and has also been the head coach at North Broward Prep in Florida.
“I am extremely blessed for the opportunity to coach at an up-and-coming program such as Valor,” Cannizzaro said in a statement. “I am honored to be able to share my passion and love for the game with a group of determined, focused and well-rounded athletes. My goal is to help the young women have growth and success athletically, spiritually and academically.”
Cannizzaro, who grew up in New York, was a collegiate lacrosse star at North Carolina. She led the Tar Heels to the 2013 NCAA championship, and was named the MVP of the tournament. That same season, she won the Honda Award for women’s lacrosse.
She also has experience playing with the U.S. women’s national team.
At Valor, Cannizaro takes over a team that is coming off the best season in program history. The Eagles went 10-6-0 — the most wins since the program started in 2009 — and made the postseason for the first time ever, losing to Chatfield in the first round.
It’ll be an experienced team coming back, as five of Valor’s leading point scorers return.
“It is with great excitement that we announce Kara Cannizzaro as our next girls lacrosse head coach,” Valor Christian athletic director Jamie Heiner said in a statement. “She brings a tremendous amount of talent in lacrosse and overall leadership, which will be a blessing to not only our student-athletes, but also our entire Valor community. While we remain very thankful for the past, and the foundation of the girls lacrosse program, we have much to celebrate and much to look forward to with this great group of wonderful young ladies working with coach Cannizzaro.”
Centaurus girls lacrosse has hired a new coach for the 2016 season. (Brock Laue/CHSAANow.com)
Todd Breithaupt was named the new girls lacrosse coach at Centaurus last month.
He takes over one of the sport’s most successful programs. Since the 2013 season, the Warriors — comprised of students from the Boulder Valley School District — are 55-16, including a title game appearance in 2013. Much of that success is thanks to the program building of former coach Genny Horning, who stepped down prior to last season.
Robert Kline coached Centaurus last season, when the Warriors went 12-6 and advanced to the semifinals for the fifth year in a row.
Breithaupt’s hiring was announced by the school on Aug. 27. His previous experience includes time at Boulder, Dawson School and Boulder Valley Lacrosse.
Centaurus loses some talent to graduation next season, but returns its leading point scorer in Andrea Kim, who had 38 goals and 22 assists last season. Also back will be Audrey Brown (23 goals, four assists), Madison Hamilton (18 goals) and Tessa Hannigan (11 goals).
The team also returns all three goalies who played last season — junior Morgan Pittser (10-3; 7.20 goal-against average), and sophomores Lindsey Rosen and Mia Sanchez.
Carlie McCrillis, a sophomore at Rock Canyon, committed to Winthrop to play lacrosse at Winthrop last month, according to her mom, Laurie.
McCrillis, a defensive midfielder, plays for the co-op team girls lacrosse team at ThunderRidge. During her freshman season, she recorded 17 ground balls, won five draws, and also scored a goal.
McCrillis plays club lacrosse for Team 180.
Winthrop, a Division I program in South Carolina, made the NCAA tournament last season after going 17-4. According to the program, it was the most successful season a Big South Conference member has ever had in women’s lacrosse.
ThunderRidge went 13-4 last season, and advanced to the quarterfinals.
Meghan Gordon, set to begin her sophomore year at Mountain Vista, committed to the U.S. Naval Academy to play lacrosse on Monday, according to her mom, Susannah.
Gordon, a midfielder, had 20 goals and seven assists as a freshman last season for the co-op team at ThunderRidge, which advanced to the quarterfinals in the spring. She’s also a member of the co-op field hockey team at Mountain Vista.
After her freshman season, Gordon part of the West Team at the Under Armour Underclass Lacrosse Tournament in June, and also played on Team Colorado at this summer’s Brine National Lacrosse Classic.
Gordon plays club lacrosse for Team 180.
Navy women’s lacrosse finished 15-5 last season, including 6-2 in the Patriot League.
Gordon is the first known local girls lacrosse player from the Class of 2018 to make a college commitment.
A on-going list of college lacrosse commitments from girls high school athletes in Colorado’s class of 2016. Send additions, along with position and height, to rcasey@chsaa.org.
Devon Wills of Colorado Academy (2002) and Lucy Dikeou of Kent Denver (2012) both made the 36-player roster, which was formed out of a three-day, 108-player tryout at Johns Hopkins. They are the lone representatives to hail west of the Mississippi River.
The national team will prepare for the 2017 Lacrosse Women’s World Cup in England next July. Prior to that, the squad will be trimmed to 18 players.
Wills, a goalie, has played in two World Cups (2009 and 2013), and won two gold medals. She is considered one of the best goalies in the world, and is now an assistant coach at USC.
Wills, who went on to play and graduate from Dartmouth in 2006, was inducted into the Colorado Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2014.
At Colorado Academy, Wills helped the Mustangs win a state title in 2000. It was the Mustangs’ lone championship in the sport until this season, when they beat Cherry Creek.
Dikeou, meanwhile, was one of just nine current collegiate players to make the cut to the national team.
She’ll be a senior at Stanford in the fall. Last season, Dikeou led Stanford in goals (48), points (63), groundballs (34), draw controls (54), turnovers forced (24) and free-position goals (13). The Cardinal reached the NCAA tournament, but lost in the first round.
At Kent Denver, Dikeou was a standout in both field hockey and lacrosse. She helped the Sun Devils to two field hockey championships (2009 and 2011).
Bridget Sutter (0) of Colorado Academy is the girls lacrosse player of the year. (Matt Daniels/MaxPreps)
The 2015 all-state girls lacrosse teams honor the best players in the sport as judged by the leagues and coaches. They are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These teams were created following a lengthy process which included nominations from leagues and coaches, and then a vote of coaches.
Player and coach of the year was also selected by a vote of the coaches.
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Player of the year: Bridget Sutter, Colorado Academy
Coach of the year: Steph Sanders, Colorado Academy
DENVER — It was cold, it rained, and it was the lowest scoring girls lacrosse title game in Colorado history.
Colorado Academy braved the elements to defeat Cherry Creek 8-3 to clinch the state title on Wednesday night, using fast starts to both halves and terrific goaltending from Bridget Sutter to stymie the Bruins.
“Bridget is the best human being ever,” said the Mustangs’ Emma Richards, who scored two goals in the contest. “You wouldn’t know she even plays sports if you just saw her and talked to her but she turns into a beast in (the net).”
As the game began under a drizzle and with a heavy mist in the air, one couldn’t help but wonder if the deteriorating conditions would play a role in the final score. Couple that with the nerves of two elite teams attempting to feel each other out, and the early going of the game had a very deliberate feel to it.
(Matt Daniels/mattdanphoto.com)
Colorado Academy (16-3 overall, 5-0 league) set the tone early though, playing physical against the Bruins (16-3, 7-0) and generally controlling the early possessions.
The strategy would pay off early, too, as Richards put home the first goal of the game for the Mustangs just minutes into the match.
Top-seeded Creek was unfazed by CA’s success though, sticking to their game and using their deadly speed to force the Mustangs into fouling and soon, Caroline Perry would put home the Bruins’ first goal on a free shot.
From there it was up and down the field in the first half, with both schools using especially active movement away from the ball to ward off the cold. First Creek went ahead on another goal by Perry, then the Mustangs answered with two more of their own to take a 3-2 lead into the half of an incredibly close contest on the field.
However, as the second half began, the field began to take on a decided tilt favoring Colorado Academy.
The Mustangs took it to Creek from the opening faceoff of the second half, jumping out to a 5-2 lead on the second goals of the game by Richards and Lindsey Jackson, respectively before Eliza Radochonski could get one back for the Bruins on a free shot.
From there, though, it was all Mustangs, as Colorado Academy would add three more insurance goals within the final ten minutes.
“I told the team at half that this team is not going to quit and neither are we,” said Colorado Academy coach Steph Sanders. “It’s not over until it’s over and my girls knew it wouldn’t be over until it’s over.”
Even as the Bruins started to grow desperate at the end, Colorado Academy kept the pressure on, drawing the fouls that Cherry Creek was able to get called on the Mustangs early on and turning it into the final goal with just a few seconds to go.
But despite the tough loss for Cherry Creek, coach Kathryn Ames expressed nothing but admiration for her squad.
“They say Creek has never missed a championship game,” Ames said, “but this was no easy climb. No one expected us to be here with this young of a team, and the whole state of Colorado is getting better at lacrosse.
“These girls are fighters and I am so, so proud of them all.”
After the game, though, you could see the determination was on the side of the Mustangs, who talked extensively about their drive to win the game.
“I grew up watching Creek and Colorado Academy play lacrosse,” said Richards. “(On the first goal) I came around the side of the cage and all that was in my head was that I wanted everyone to know that I wanted this since I was practically in the womb.”
Now Richards and the 2015 Colorado Academy lacrosse team are a fixture in that rich history.
