LAKEWOOD — There was no question who would be holding the boys lacrosse Class 4A Foothills League title plaque for a team photo Wednesday night at Trailblazer Stadium.
Dakota Ridge senior goalie Logan Dobrowski was front and center with his hands on the program’s first league championship after a tight 11-9 victory over rival Green Mountain. Dobrowski shut out the Rams in the fourth quarter to keep the Eagles perfect in conference play.
“Logan stepped up massive for us today,” said Dakota Ridge coach Dak Riecke of one of the best netminders in the state.
Dakota Ridge had already clinched the conference title the week before with a victory over Conifer. However, it was clear on Wednesday night at that an undefeated league record and 12-game winning streaking entering the postseason was on the Eagles’ minds.
“This is huge,” said Dakota Ridge senior Colin Smith, who led the Eagles with a trio of goals against the Rams (9-6, 2-3 in Class 4A Foothills League). “To go 1-9 two years ago and then 9-7 last year. To have a 13-2 record in the regular season is awesome.”
Dakota Ridge (13-2, 5-0) hasn’t lost since dropping an overtime game against 5A’s Chatfield before Spring Break in mid-March. However, Green Mountain did give the Eagles a significant test.
The Rams were just coming off a huge non-league victory against No. 4 Air Academy in Colorado Springs on Monday. Green Mountain senior Kole Stratman put six goals into the back of the net to lead all scorers in the regular-season finale for both playoff-bound squads.
“(Stratman) was their guy. He had an amazing game,” Dobrowski said. “Our offense played really well as a team. The team beat the individual today.”
Dakota Ridge had more of a balanced offense attack with six different goal scorers. Junior Samuel Lyall and sophomore Tyler Read had a pair of goals each in addition to Smith’s hat-trick.
The biggest goal and only goal of the fourth quarter was by Dakota Ridge senior Xander Fisher with 9:03 left in the fourth quarter. The goal pushed the Eagles’ lead back up to a 2-goal lead to 11-9 after Stratman scored back-to-back goal to close out the third quarter.
“I think it is really important to go through adversity before the long-haul of the playoff road. It’s super important,” Riecke said. “We knew Green Mountain was going to be tough. We were expecting to come in and blow them out.”
Dobrowski and Green Mountain junior goalie Bohdan Tabor were both outstanding in net in the fourth quarter.
“At halftime we said we had to take (Stratman) out completely,” Riecke said. “We ran a different slide package and it worked in the second half. It changed the fate of the game.”
The 24-team 4A state bracket is scheduled to be released by CHSAA on Sunday, May 7, with first-round games slated for Tuesday, May 9. With the top-8 seeds getting first-round byes, it’s nearly assured that Dakota Ridge won’t play until the second round May 12.
“We have some guys who are hurt and going through some things,” Riecke admitted. “This bye week is going to be massive for us going into playoffs. We’ll get healthy and go through the playoff road like we expect to … go to the state title game.”
Evergreen, Golden and Green Mountain should all make the state tournament field to represent the tough Foothills League in the postseason.