Dunston, a Raiders junior, scored a team-high five times in No. 2 Regis Jesuit’s 10-7 win over No. 6 Arapahoe at All-City Stadium. The first opened the scoring 1:02 into play. The second opened scoring in the second quarter, and made it 3-1 after Arapahoe had cut it to 2-1 near the end of the first.
In the third quarter, Dunston had a momentum-stealing finish on a breakaway which gave his team a 7-5 lead.
In the fourth, he had two big answer goals: one coming three minutes after Arapahoe cut it to 8-6, and another coming two-and-a-half minutes after the Warriors had made it 9-7.
Asked why he was so timely on Wednesday, Dunston paused, thought for a moment, then said, “I don’t know. Mostly the momentum picked up and you kind of just wanted to go.”
Said Raiders coach Jim Soran: “He had a big game. I’ll tell you what, I think other coaches underestimate him. He is such a competitor and he is such a good lacrosse player.”
Truett Davis added two goals for the Raiders, who also got two assists from Aaron Horvat. Ben Bechter had one goal and one assist, as well.
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Arapahoe got two goals each from Will Danuser and Austin Shindoll. Zach Runberg had one goal and two assists.
Regis Jesuit advances to the title game for the first time since it won the championship in 2011. It will get a rematch with top-seeded Cherry Creek in the final. The two teams played April 29, a 10-7 Bruins win.
That day, “They took it to us,” Soran said. “So we’re going to try and redeem ourselves.”
Dunston was even more blunt.
“We played awful,” he said. “It’s a brand new game, get to start off on a new note, so it’ll be great. … It’s going to be a game. They’re always a great team. It’s going to be good.”
The two programs also met in the 2010 final, won by Creek.
COLORADO SPRINGS – Maleia Lark’s goal with 7:31 left in the first half proved to be the game-winner as No. 3 St. Mary’s beat Coal Ridge 4-1 in the 3A girls soccer playoffs Wednesday night.
But it was Jordan Curley’s shot from about 25 yards out that broke the spirit of the Titans and allowed the Pirates to play ball control offense in the second half as they advanced to Saturday’s semifinals.
“We’ve had some fast starts, but in the last three or four games against quality opponents we’ve had slow starts where we’ve had to counter attack,” St. Mary’s coach Gregg Braha. “I thought for a while it was a little sluggish, we were trying to possess the ball.”
Neither team was able to solidify control early in the match. The Pirates were able to control possession more, but it was Coal Ridge that was creating more opportunities to get on the scoreboard first.
The best chance came when midfielder Paige Ryan turned a steal into a fast break. She passed the ball up to forward Amanda Wenzel who was able to get back to Ryan who was crashing the net. Ryan’s shot was successfully defended by St. Mary’s keeper, Tess Thomas.
After that, neither offense appeared to find a rhythm until the 31st minute when the Pirates were finally able to get into the Titan’s zone and crowd the goal box. Michelle Moure’ took advantage of a rebound that fell right in front of her and drilled home a shot to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead.
“Honestly, it was huge; it was at that point in the game where you had to score just to get some momentum going,” Moure’ said. “It definitely picked up or speed because we got a quick goal from Maleia (shortly) after.”
Less than two minutes after Moure’ broke the 0-0 tie, the Pirates found the goal again as Kylie Cleary found Lark with a crossing pass, allowing her to successfully put the ball past Titans’ keeper Brooke Esgar. With a 2-0 lead, the Pirates appeared to be in cruise control to move on to the state semifinals.
“I told the girls not to react, but to respond and there’s a difference there,” Titans’ coach Micah Herron said. “We got one quick back and for about eight to 10 minutes was our window to close on it.”
The Titans would finally get on the board with some fancy footwork from Ryan. With Coal Ridge on a breakaway Ryan was on the receiving end of a pass that she merely redirected ever so slightly, leaving Thomas off-balance and allowing the ball to get into the net. With just under three and a half minutes left in the first half, Coal Ridge had cut the Pirates lead in half.
But the momentum wouldn’t last long. With time running out in the first half the ball had rolled out of bounds with possession going to the Pirates. Curley threw the ball in and instantly received it back. Without hesitation she took aim at the goal and lofted the ball over Esgar’s head to score with 12.8 seconds left regaining a two-goal lead for St. Mary’s and putting the proverbial nail into the Titans’ coffin.
“I’m going to be honest, I was going for a cross,” Curley said. “I kind of saw the open far-post of the goal and decided to try for it and it went in.”
Emily Loof added one more goal for the Pirates with just under 10 seconds remaining to get the St. Mary’s crowd going and give them the 4-1 win and a berth in the semis. Should they win Saturday, they will play in the 3A state championship game at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Tuesday.
The No. 2-seeded Mustangs out-roughed and out-toughed a quality No. 6 Steamboat Springs team 17-13 on Wednesday evening at Sports Authority Stadium in a physical battle throughout.
Neither squad could gain possession or momentum early as the excitement of the stage and the physicality of the squads seemed to fluster both.
More photos. (Tim Visser/TimVisserPhotography.com)
Ponderosa trailed 3-2 at the end of the first quarter and was unable to find the net with consistency, but a rough hit by a Steamboat player may have been just the trick for the Mustangs.
“It made me want to show them that they shouldn’t do that,” Ponderosa junior attacker Derik Mango said about the key to his team-leading six goals.
The Mustangs rode their horses offensively — Mango, Blake Bruner, Ben Zimbeck, and John Griffin (five goals) — and utilized speed, crisp execution, and a fiery assault to begin seizing control of the game.
Mango nearly kept pace with Steamboat in the first half as the Sailors only outscored the talented attacker 5-4. Ponderosa held a slight 7-5 halftime lead, but unleashed a 7-2 run to put the Sailors in a huge hole, 14-7 early in the final period.
“We got our shots, but just couldn’t bury them,” Mango said of the early lack of offense. “We hit a bunch of pipes and we just missed the goal. Once we started burying them, we started rolling and everything was clicking.”
Known as a team that never quits, Steamboat stayed true to their reputation and made a final push.
“They’ve come back a few times this year, so you have to be ready for a team like that to not just go away,” Ponderosa coach Patrick Tierney said of the Sailors. “When they got chances, they took advantage of them. When we got chances on the other end, we fortunately finished a few of them to keep them at a distance.”
The game turned chaotic as the teams combined for nine goals in the final six minutes, six by the Sailors and three by Ponderosa, but it wasn’t enough for Steamboat as they saw their season come to a close with their second straight semifinals loss.
The Mustangs credited the win to their team-oriented squad.
“Mango, Griffin, Bruner, our defense was outstanding, and our goalie was phenomenal,” Tierney said. “It’s a team. It is the group that makes them better.
“I think it was just sticking together as a team,” Mango added. “Seasons past, when we got down or they scored a bunch of goals in a row, we would get down on each other, but we stepped up as a team and fought through the tough times.”
More photos. (Tim Visser/TimVisserPhotography.com)
The reward for a hard-nosed semifinals victory will be powerful Wheat Ridge waiting in the championship game on Saturday at Mile High Stadium. The game is set to begin at 2 p.m.
Ponderosa is ecstatic about the opportunity to face the defending 4A state champions.
“If you had told me I would get to play Wheat Ridge this season, I would have been excited about that,” Tierney said. “That means we’re playing a team that hasn’t been beaten in 4A yet, but I think we have a strong enough team to hopefully win a good game.”
The 4A classification, which is in its second year of existence for boys lacrosse after previously being one class, has been controlled by the Farmers thus far.
Ponderosa will be a worthy contender to try and take Wheat Ridge’s crown. The Mustangs are impressive physically with heaps of speed and offensive firepower and an imposing, staunch defense.
Ponderosa will be appearing in their first boys lacrosse state title game as a team united in battle, united by their physical and mental strength. They hope it will be enough to lift their first state title Saturday on the state’s biggest stage.
Chatfield moved to the semifinals for the first time on Wednesday. (Brian Miller)
LAKEWOOD — Having already snapped one unlucky streak last weekend, Chatfield’s girls lacrosse team took an even bigger step forward Wednesday evening.
The Chargers used a quick-fire approach to keep Denver East on its heels in the quarterfinals of the Class 5A state tournament. Junior Kendra Lanuza added to her state-leading tally with five goals and Rachael Walker added three goals and five assists as Chatfield moved into the state semis for the first time in school history with a 15-10 victory over the Angels at Trailblazer Stadium.
“It’s just an incredible feeling,” said Lanuza, who now has 98 goals this season. “We really have come together as a team this year and we’re just doing the impossible.”
Chatfield also got three goals from Summer Stafford, and two each from Jen Lanuza and Shelby Piper.
The Chargers (17-0) draw Air Academy at the University of Denver on Saturday. Centaurus and Cherry Creek meet in the other semifinal, with the state title game slated for May 21, also at DU.
Denver East (14-3) was led by senior Julia Dudley’s five goals and Sarah Nick added three more.
“We had eight seniors who did a great job and we’ve built a program that now has 60 girls and eight coaches,“ said Angels coach Chris Romer, who took over the program earlier this year along with co-coach Mallory Cleveland. “Mallory and I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve pulled together in basically three months.”
Chatfield had seen its season come to an end in the second round of the playoffs in each of the three previous seasons. That skid ended with a hard-fought 14-12 victory over Rampart on May 9, setting up the showdown with Denver East.
“We hadn’t played in two weeks. We came out a little bit rusty, a little bit slow,” Chargers coach Adam Everett said of the playoff opener. “I think getting that game in and then coming in here against East, a very good opponent, we were able to just play our game.”
The momentum shifted back and forth in the first half. Chatfield scored four consecutive goals early to take a 4-1 lead, but the Angels had an answer every time. Nick’s third goal of the half cut the lead to 8-6 at halftime.
In the second half though, Chatfield’s offensive rhythm took over, with quick passes leading to even quicker shots. Three of the team’s first four goals came on one-timers, and the Angels never seemed able to catch up to the team’s speedy attack.
“It’s that chemistry, knowing where people are going to be so they can just dump that ball off – that one-timer into the back of the net,” Everett said. “We’ve got the skill to do it. They stepped up tonight and they showed that they deserve to be in the Final Four.”
Walker, who had three assists in the first half, added two goals and two more assists in the second half. The Oregon-bound senior leads the state with 70 assists. Lanuza, who has verbally committed to DU, scored three goals in the second half.
“She’s an incredible player. She and Rachael Walker and Shelby Piper have all been just putting it into the back of the net for us all season,” Everett said. “We’ve been really fortunate to have those three. They all have the chemistry that has carried them through it.”
Denver East managed only four goals in the second half thanks to the combination of double- and triple-teams and five big saves from Chatfield goalie Emily McMinimee.
“We definitely really learned to step in front of the girls, especially the fast ones like Julia and Shelby Parks,” Lanuza said. “Just stop them and crash as a team.”
East had a few chances but couldn’t quite catch back up.
“Their goalie played outstanding and Chatfield is a good team,” Romer said. “They scored when they needed to score and we missed a few shots.”
Everett said with four great teams in the semifinals, Chatfield will need to be confident but not cocky. The Chargers have come this far, and they aren’t ready to see their run come to an end.
“We’re extremely fired up, especially with all the seniors on our team,” Lanuza said. “It’s their last shot. I think we definitely want it bad.”
Green Mountain junior Jenn Brunsdon (17) battle for a header with Valor Christian sophomore Amanda Lopez (10) during the Class 4A state quarterfinal Wednesday night at the North Area Athletic Complex. (Dennis Pleuss)
ARVADA — Green Mountain girls soccer coach Ken Fehr didn’t dread going into penalty kicks to decide Wednesday night’s Class 4A quarterfinal at the North Area Athletic Complex.
“I always like my chances when we get there (penalty kick). You see why right there,” Fehr said while his Rams celebrated their 4-2 victory in penalty kicks against Valor Christian.
Green Mountain junior Jenn Brunsdon, front, tries to work past Valor Christian junior Kristen Jones on Wednesday night. (Dennis Pleuss)
After going scoreless through 110 minutes, Fehr had plenty of confidence in senior goalie Lindsey Hendon. In fact, Fehr had Hendon take the first shot during the kicks from the mark.
“She (Hendon) is probably one of our best PK takers,” Fehr said. “We’ve been practicing those and working on them. I asked who felt comfortable taking one. Five of them stepped up.”
The Rams took a 3-2 advantage in the shootout before Hendon, who extended her career state shutout record to 42, made a diving save on Valor freshman Camryn Dyke. However, the Eagles still had life when Green Mountain junior Mia Dobbin fired her shot just wide.
Green Mountain (15-2-1 record) leaned on Hendon and she delivered making another diving save on the Eagles’ fourth shooter, junior Allison Trizna.
“I’m very confident. I don’t know why, but I feel like it’s the time when I need to step up and be the best I can be,” Hendon said of the shootout. “I don’t have any other option.”
With the opportunity to put the game away, Green Mountain senior MacKenzie Schaller fired a shot past Valor goalie Carsyn Corey for the 4-2 victory in PKs.
“MacKenzie is clutch under pressure,” Fehr said of his senior defender. “She can handle it. She wants the pressure and wanted that last kick. She took it and put it away.”
Schaller, along with defenders Kelli Van Tassel, Cassie Allen and Danielle Lord have been a big part in helping Hendon record 12 shutouts this season.
“I knew I had to be calm and confident. That’s our team motto,” Schaller said of taking the final penalty kick for the Rams. “I knew if I did what I’ve been doing for the last 14 years of my life I’d be able to finish. It worked out.”
Green Mountain senior Christina Makatura (16) fends off Valor Christian senior Janie Camplese (14) during the first half Wednesday night at the North Area Athletic Complex. (Dennis Pleuss)
Green Mountain dominated scoring chances throughout the game. The Rams recorded 14 shots on goal and had another few handfuls ring off the cross bar, post or just miss.
The Eagles’ goalie Wednesday actually started the season at defender before moving into net for Valor.
“We’ve gone through five goalkeepers this year,” Valor coach Dan Georgopulos said. “Carsyn has stepped up in several games. You couldn’t ask for anyone better to step up. She gave what she had.”
Another obstacle Valor (11-7) had to overcome was playing a man down after junior Gabby Fleischli received her second yellow with 11 minutes, 11 seconds remaining in the second half. Still, the Eagles had a few scoring chances to end the game before the kicks from the mark.
“(Valor) did everything they needed to do,” Fehr said. “We had some good chances and didn’t finish it. Valor hung around the whole time.”
No. 12-seeded Green Mountain will face top-seeded Cheyenne Mountain (16-0-2) in the 4A semifinals at 11 a.m. Saturday at Sports Authority Stadium in Parker. The Indians edged Evergreen 1-0 in another quarterfinal Wednesday night.
“If we can finish a couple of goals, we are getting chances, I think we’ll be fine,” Fehr said. “It will be a good game.”
It will be the second trip to the state semifinals for the Rams in three years. Green Mountain was the 4A state runner-up in 2012.
Green Mountain junior Jenn Brunsdon (17) and Valor Christian junior Gabby Fleischli (18) go up for a header Wednesday at the North Area Athletic Complex. The Rams advanced to the 4A state semifinals with a 4-2 victory in penalty kicks. (Dennis Pleuss)
LAKEWOOD — The heartbreak ended for Caliche on Thursday afternoon on Keli McGregor Field at All Star Park in Lakewood.
After coming up short in the 8-man football title game and losing by a point in the Class 1A boys basketball championship this school year, the Buffaloes were able to finally hoist a championship trophy.
Caliche dominated the 1A baseball title game, defeating Dove Creek 17-1 to win the school first-ever state baseball championship.
“It’s relief. The pressure has been lifted off,” said Caliche junior Austin Yahn, who reached base and scored in all five plate-appearances in the championship game. “We finally got first.”
The majority of the Buffaloes’ key players were on both those state runner-up teams in the fall and winter.
“It was tough being second place in both football and basketball,” Caliche senior Mitch Davison said. “It’s really awesome to win it in baseball. We wish we could have got those other two, but this feels great.”
Davison was the starting quarterback and leading rusher for Caliche’s football team. He was also the leading scorer on the basketball team this winter. The senior played a huge role Thursday afternoon in the Buffaloes snaring a state title that eluded them all school year.
Davison pitched a complete-game on the mound. He gave up just one unearned run to the Bulldogs (7-15) in the bottom of the fourth inning. He surrendered just three hits and struck out nine to earn his fifth victory of the season.
“I knew it wouldn’t be high scoring, for them (Dove Creek) anyways,” Caliche coach J.P. Lambrecht said after his team completed a five-game postseason run where the Buffaloes outscored their opponents 63-3. “Mitch throws good. He is always round the plate and throws strikes. He has been a phenomenal thrower for me.”
The senior was also effective at the plate. Davison had a big two-run double in the second inning that pushed the Buffaloes lead to 5-0. He also pulled a two-run home run over the left field fence in the top of the fourth inning, extending Caliche’s lead to 8-0.
“I was just swinging for a good base hit,” Davison said of his second home run of the season. “It ended up being a home run.”
Despite his monster game, Davison deflected the credit.
“My teammates behind me had a great game. They played very well,” Davison said of his defense that committed just one error. “It wasn’t just me. Everyone helped out.”
Evidence that it was a team effort is Caliche’s No. 9 hitter Jayden Stieb. The senior took advantage of two walks and two errors to reach base and eventually score on all four of his at-bats.
Caliche (12-11) managed 13 hits and took advantage of eight walks and eight defensive errors by Dove Creek.
“You’ve got to get on base with walks, errors and hits, whatever,” Lambrecht said. “You have to put the pressure on the defense.”
Dove Creek’s lone run came on an RBI double by junior Alex Ogas in the bottom of the fourth inning. Caliche answered in the sixth inning with two runs, but really poured it on in the top of the seventh with a seven-run inning.
“I think we were pretty calm and confident in ourselves,” said Davison, who struck out the final two Bulldog batters to end the game and proceeded to be at the bottom of a dog pile near the mound as Caliche players celebrated the win. “We’ve been here a couple of times in state championship games. We played to the best of our ability.”
Yahn admitted it was a struggle to get into baseball mode after losing the state basketball title game 52-51 on March 15. The Buffaloes lost their first six games of the season.
“Our record shows it took awhile to focus, we are only one game above .500,” Yahn said. “It didn’t feel right playing baseball until about mid-season. We turned it around.”
Caliche players celebrate winning the 1A baseball title. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss)
LAKEWOOD — Andrew Barlow reached new heights Thursday.
That’s not uncommon at a state track meet, but the Monarch junior actually soared to new territory.
After clearing 15 feet, 6 inches to win the Class 5A boys pole vault, a personal best by two inches, Barlow then dug deep, soaring to 16 feet to literally set the bar higher for himself.
“Not even in practice,” Barlow said when asked if he had ever cleared that mark.
Barlow, who took up the pole vault during his eighth grade year, qualified for the state meet for the first time last year. He had the third-best vault entering the meet but finished tied for 10th.
“Last year I was really nervous,” he admitted.
But having competed in the north end of Jeffco Stadium gave him confidence this season.
“Today I had some good warm-ups,” he said, his confidence growing.
He also switched poles, using the longest one with which he has ever competed.
To make the quantum leap from vaulting 13 1/2 feet last year to beating that by 2 1/2 feet this year, Barlow worked hard in the off-season.
“I just jumped a lot,” he said, focusing primarily on his run-up to the pit and on his form. He also hit the weight room. The combination of increased speed and strength made the difference.
So how can he improve on that for his senior season, maybe even challenge the state meet record of 17-3?
“I want to get better form at the top (of my jump),” he said.
Oh, and to also get bigger and faster.
Competition in all five classifications got underway Thursday with finals in four running events and partial classification finals all six field events.
The meet resumes Friday at 8:20 a.m. with the start of finals in six running events as well as more classification finals in the field events.
