DENVER — Kent Denver boys lacrosse knew that it would have to play good defense against the potent attack of Arapahoe. And the Sun Devils showed on Wednesday — and Thursday — that they were more than equal to the challenge.
The fifth-ranked Sun Devils beat No. 3 Arapahoe 9-5 in a game which started Wednesday night, but completed Thursday due to a weather delay. It was their defense which led the way.
“I think it was a little bit (Arapahoe), and a little bit of that’s just our style,” said Kent Denver coach Ben Brenneman. “We know we have to play good defense every game, but we wanted to make sure we forced them to make tough plays.”
Indeed, that was the key for the Sun Devils (6-1 overall, 2-0 South Suburban).
After a lightning delay postponed the majority of the second half to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, they finished off the Warriors (6-3, 2-0 Centennial League) by clogging the middle of the zone on the defensive end and using effective stick work to keep Arapahoe’s talented attackers at bay.
The first quarter saw both teams hold possession for long periods of time. Arapahoe began the game controlling the play for a full three minutes, but Kent’s defense stymied every attack with solid stick work through the slot and around the front of the net.
In fact, it was Kent’s attack which struck first, when Zander Ellis rifled a shot past Arapahoe goaltender Ben Newell off of a pass from behind the cage from Chazz Highum. Ellis wasn’t done either, scoring on the exact same play less than two minutes later, this time on a pass from Jaden Franklin.
Meanwhile, Arapahoe struggled to find rhythm offensively throughout the first half, unable to pass effectively and often opting for low percentage backdoor chances. But the Warriors gained some confidence after Will Danuser gave a great individual effort to power through the Sun Devils’ defense from behind the net and fired one through to the back of the cage.
Another great individual play by Arapahoe’s Brian Wilson on an impossibly quick roll-dodge move tied the score heading to the second frame.
In the second quarter, Wilson continued to dazzle, ripping a shot high over Sun Devils’ goaltender Nick Johnston.
The lead was short-lived for the Warriors though, as Kent added two more in the quarter before the Warriors would find their offense. But despite an impressive string of possessions by Arapahoe, Kent Denver’s defense continued to stifle Wilson and company.
In the end was the Sun Devils with the best chance of the closing moments of the half, when a fast break with numbers led to a tic-tac-toe set of passes culminating in a close miss for the hat trick by Ellis.
Wilson wasted little time getting the equalizer as the second half began. He again grabbed possession behind the net, but instead of using his obvious quickness advantage, this time he opted to shoot over his mark and past Johnston.
Kent Denver wasted no time retaking the lead, though. On the next possession, Franklin weaved through the Arapahoe defense with ease, finishing the play with a nice roll-dodge of his own and burying the Sun Devils’ fifth goal of the game.
Shortly after, the game was postponed until Thursday for weather. But when it resumed, Kent continued the onslaught with four more goals in total, including two for Ellis, bringing his total to four for the contest.
“Obviously,” Franklin said after the game, turning to look at the scoreboard, “(the weather delay) gave us something, because we came out and brought it today.”
The Warriors meanwhile continued their futility offensively, managing just one goal in the final 21 minutes of the contest despite a distinct advantage in the power play department. Again it was Wilson with the tally for Arapahoe, giving him a hat trick for the game.
But it was not meant to be for the Warriors, who faced a Johnston on Thursday who was on his game in net, making double digit saves in the half.
For Brenneman however, Thursday was just a continuation of where the game was headed the night before.
“I really didn’t tell them anything new outside of the minor adjustments we made at halftime (on Wednesday),” Brenneman said. “We knew things would go well if we just stuck to our game and today I’m glad that the score reflected that.”
