ENGLEWOOD — The boys lacrosse season came to a thrilling end as Mountain Vista and Cheyenne Mountain claimed state championships.
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By Steve Abeyta
(Steve Abeyta)
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By Steve Abeyta
HIGHLANDS RANCH — Four teams met up at Shea Stadium on Monday evening to decide which two programs would have the honor of playing in Colorado’s first ever Class 4A girls lacrosse state championship. By the time the stadium lights were shut off, top-seeded Evergreen and No. 10 Castle View had punched their ticket to the new classification’s inaugural title game.
The Cougars and Sabercats will square off for the 4A trophy on Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Legacy Stadium in Aurora.
There were nerves, but Evergreen’s girls lacrosse team projected complete confidence during the program’s first state semifinal game Monday night at Shea Stadium.
“I have lot of faith in this team. Everyone worked together,” Evergreen senior Kate Nierenberg said after the Cougars’ 17-5 victory over Thompson Valley punched their ticket to Wednesday’s Class 4A state championship game at Legacy Stadium in Aurora. “To have a running clock before halftime was pretty great.”
Evergreen senior Margo Miller (7) spins away from Thompson Valley sophomore Rachel Shannon (6) during the first half Monday night at Shea Stadium. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Nierenberg and sophomore Bella Reece had four goals each for the No. 1-seeded Cougars. Senior Margo Miller and sophomore Averi Gardner poured in three goals each.
“We have a lot of offensive threats,” Evergreen coach Rachel Sanford said of Evergreen having four different multiple goal scorers against Thompson Valley (10-3). “They really moved the ball well and shot well. I’m proud of the chemistry of the team looking for one more pass.”
Evergreen (10-2 record) actually induced a running clock with 2:09 left in the first half when senior Carly Poole scored to give the Cougars a 12-2 lead.
Senior Lauren Spence — who has signed to play women’s lacrosse at Loyola University Maryland — was stellar in net facing the Eagles’ Carr sisters. Sophomore Aidan Carr and freshman Rory Carr had combined for 89 goals so far this season.
“They (Thompson Valley) has some very good shooters,” Spence said. “The Carr sisters are very good. I was ready for those.”
Evergreen hasn’t allowed double-digit goals by an opponent since the Cougars’ opening season loss to ThunderRidge. The Cougars actually started the season 0-2 with losses to ThunderRidge and Fairview.
“She (Spence) is just incredible,” Sanford said. “She is so fast and her decision making is amazing.”
The Cougars will enter Wednesday’s title game on a 10-game winning streak.
“It’s really exciting,” Sanford said of the Cougars headed to the title game against the winner of Castle View and Grand Junction that played in the night cap at Shea Stadium. “I hope we bring it like we did tonight.”
Thompson Valley sophomore Aidan Carr (26) gets pressure from Evergreen senior Carly Poole (8) and sophomore Averi Gardner (12) during the Class 4A girls lacrosse state semifinal Monday night at Shea Stadium in Highlands Ranch. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
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The 2020 season was canceled on the same day the Castle View girls lacrosse team was scheduled to play its first game last spring, which was meant to be filled with excitement surrounding the first season of Class 4A girls lacrosse in Colorado.
Just over a year later, the Sabercats are making up for lost time in a big way.
With the shot to play in an historic title game on the line, the Castle View girls lacrosse team didn’t take any chances in securing its spot against Grand Junction on Monday night. The 10th-seeded Sabercats (8-5) raced out to an early lead over the higher-seeded and unbeaten No. 3 Tigers (11-1) at Shea Stadium and powered their way to a 17-4 semifinal victory.
On Wednesday night, the Sabercats will have a chance to become the first 4A state champions in Colorado history.
“It was devastating,” Castle View head coach Samantha Silverman said. “It happened right as we were getting ready to play. We actually had a lot of freshmen on our team last year and they never got to play. So to come out this year and make it all the way to the championship game is extremely exciting.
“We are super excited. It feels great and not having a season last year, coming together as a team this year was really special to make it happen. It was awesome.”
In the state championship game on Wednesday, Castle View will play No. 1-seeded Evergreen at Legacy Stadium in Aurora.
(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)
HIGHLANDS RANCH — The first Class 4A girls lacrosse state championship game is set as Evergreen and Castle View will meet on Wednesday.
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By Lance Wendt and David Harvey
(Lance Wendt/wendt5280.com)
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By Brad Cochi
(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)
(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)
ENGLEWOOD – Four teams took the field at Englewood High School on Saturday to decide which two would battle for the Class 4A state championship in Season D. At the end of a long and sweltering and occasionally rainy day, Cheyenne Mountain and Evergreen emerged victorious.
Next Tuesday, those two teams will face one another in the championship game at 5 p.m. back in the same stadium where they shined in the semifinals.
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Cheyenne Mountain boys lacrosse is back in the Class 4A state championship game.
At Englewood High School on Saturday, top-seeded Cheyenne Mountain held off a late charge from No. 4 Erie to win 9-8 in the state semifinals and punch its ticket to a third straight title game appearance. For players like senior Griffin Meyer, who remembers the sweet taste of winning a championship back in 2018, the chance to play for another has been something they have eagerly awaited.
“We just can’t wait. It’s time,” Meyer said. “I was there and it’s the most unbelievable feeling when you win a state championship and I want to experience that with all the fellas on this year’s team.”
The 2018 champion, Cheyenne Mountain lost to by one goal to Golden in 2019 and had to wait longer than usual for another shot at state, as the global pandemic cancelled the spring season in 2020.
In their return to the state semifinals against Erie on Saturday, Cheyenne Mountain pulled out to a 5-1 lead at halftime. Erie, however, cut the lead to 7-5 with six minutes left and 9-7 with 1:46 remaining in the contest. The Tigers cut the lead to one goal with 16.4 seconds left and despite a strong attacking effort off a reset, could not find the net for an equalizing goal that would have sent the two teams into overtime against one another for the second time this season.
Cheyenne Mountain defeated Erie, 11-10, in double overtime on May 6 during the regular season.
“They’re a really good team and they have some great offensive players,” Cheyenne Mountain senior defender Carver Ward said. “We did a good job of controlling the possession early on, but it also felt like a battle against the heat as much as against them. We wore down and bit and once they got the possession, it was their game right down to the last shot. But I think we did a good job on defense because as far as settled opportunities, they didn’t score much.”
When Cheyenne Mountain faces Evergreen in the title game on Tuesday, the team will be playing for the program’s second state championship.
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(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)
On Saturday, the No. 2-seeded Evergreen boys lacrosse team showed up to Englewood High School determined to play its way through to the Cougars’ first-ever appearance in a boys lacrosse state championship game.
So, they did.
Facing 11th-seeded Eagle Valley in the state semifinals, Evergreen started slow but used an hour-plus lightning delay to regain its form. Following the delay, the Cougars outscored the Devils by a margin of 11-4 to run away with the victory, 14-5. As a result, and for the first time ever, the Cougars have the opportunity to play for a state title.
“This team is special in so many ways,” Evergreen head coach Jay Egger said. “We didn’t start off well, so I’m really proud of the discipline and the character they showed in order to adjust. We’re going to state. Oh my gosh. This is the first time our program has ever won a conference, let alone go to the championship game. We’ve just got really good dudes and it’s been a special season.”
In Tuesday’s championship game, the Cougars will face a Cheyenne Mountain team that has played in the last two title games and claimed its own first-ever state championship in 2018. Cheyenne Mountain beat Evergreen, 12-6, during the regular season.
Despite being underdogs on paper, the Cougars don’t appear to be intimidated by their upcoming opponents’ recent success.
“We’ve just got to come in and outwork a really good Cheyenne Mountain team that we played earlier in the season,” Evergreen’s Jack Fairbanks said. “This time we’ll be ready for them, ready to put up a really good fight, and hopefully win this thing.”
Tuesday’s Class 4A state championship between the tournament’s top two seeds will begin at 5 p.m.
(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)
A goal in the first half was padded by two in the second as Evergreen beat Steamboat Springs 3-0 in the Class 4A girls soccer quarterfinals.
ENGLEWOOD — The boys lacrosse championship games are set after Mountain Vista, Valor Christian, Evergreen and Cheyenne Mountain all advanced through the semifinals.
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Class 5A:
Class 4A:
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By Paul DiSalvo
(Paul DiSalvo/PaulDiSalvoPhotography.com)
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By Paul DiSalvo
(Paul DiSalvo/PaulDiSalvoPhotography.com)
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By David Harvey
(David Harvey/ImageProPhotography.com)
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By David Harvey
(David Harvey/ImageProPhotography.com)
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
PUEBLO — In two pitches, Ponderosa first baseman Dom Lopez had the best start to the Class 4A state baseball tournament of anyone that made the trip to Pueblo.
After trailing Evergreen 5-0 after just the second inning, the Mustangs had to battle back in their opening contest. They did just that and kept the Cougars off the board for the remainder of the game.
On the first pitch that Lopez saw in the bottom of the seventh inning, he decided it was time to end it. He ripped the first pitch he saw to centerfield and trotted around the bases ready to jump into the celebration of his awaiting teammates at home plate.
The next pitch he saw was his first at-bat in the Mustangs’ second game of the day. He hit it to nearly the same spot beyond the centerfield wall to make it a 2-0 lead for Pondo and the Mustangs went on to beat Cheyenne Mountain 10-8 as teammate Derek Lukes followed suit with a walk-off bomb of his own.
“I really like going after the first pitch,” Lopez said. “I think it’s the best pitch you’ll get the whole at-bat so I always go for that first one, no matter what.”
Bottom 7. Dom Lopez called game. Mustangs win 6-5. #copreps @PonderosaAthle1 @JaronCohen1 pic.twitter.com/Ejp6K0RtX0
— Daniel Mohrmann (@DanMohrmann) June 18, 2021
The Mustangs (17-2 overall) will get a bit of a breather before they head to Rawlings Field on the campus of CSU-Pueblo. They’ll take on Holy Family who flexed its muscles offensively with a 12-2 win over Lewis-Palmer to start the day then followed it up with a 12-3 win over D’Evelyn.
The winner of Holy Family and Ponderosa will be the lone unbeaten team in the 4A tournament heading into next weekend, which is ideal in this modified double-elimination bracket.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
In the first day of a state baseball tournament in over two years, the actions between Hobbs Field and Andenucio Field at the Runyon complex couldn’t have been any different. The Tigers (17-1) showed dominance on the way to their two wins at Hobbs. In the second game of the day, Holy Family scored nine runs across three innings to take a big lead over the Jaguars. Brennan Bennett, Connor Cooney, Jared Delgado, Isaac Siefken and Jaden Delgado all scored twice through the course of the game.
D’Evelyn had taken down No. 1 Severance 11-4 earlier in the day.
The thrillers came from Andenucio. Down 5-0 to Evergreen after the first two innings, the Mustangs battled back to tie the game before Lopez ended it with a solo shot in the seventh.
Cheyenne Mountain shook off any homefield advantage that Pueblo County was getting to get a 7-3 win.
Ponderosa started its game with Cheyenne Mountain off with Lopez’s second home run of the day. Cheyenne Mountain tied the game at two then pulled even 8-8 heading into the bottom of the seventh. Lopez was walked to start the inning and then Lukes just saw his pitch and blasted it to left field.
“That’s always going through my mind,” Lukes said. “After what Dom did in the first game and the momentum we had, I kind of knew what was going to happen. There was no doubt in my mind that we were going to win it.”
Severance will play Lewis-Palmer in an elimination game at Rawlings Field at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. Evergreen and Pueblo County will follow suit at noon. The game between Ponderosa and Holy Family will go off at 7: 30 p.m. with the winner taking control of the state tournament going into championship weekend.
Evergreen senior Jocelin Zimmerer (7) gets ready to fire a shot that led to the Cougars’ opening goal in the 18th minute Wednesday night at Evergreen High School. The Cougars defeated Northfield 2-0 to advance to the Class 4A state quarterfinals. The Cougars will host Steamboat Springs on Saturday back at Evergreen High School. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
EVERGREEN — Two first-half goals is all Evergreen needed offensively Wednesday night to advance to the Class 4A girls soccer state quarterfinals.
The No. 2-seeded Cougars (11-0 record) got goals from senior Jocelin Zimmerer (18th minute) and junior Catherine Rapp (27th minute) on the way to a 2-0 shutout victory against No. 15 Northfield.
Evergreen senior Myla Stewart (21) assisted on the second Cougar goal Wednesday before finishing up playing goalie for the second part of the second half against Northfield. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“My teammate (Lily Maus) played me a great ball in the middle,” Zimmerer said. “I just made a touch forward and took the shot.”
Zimmerer tucked her shot just under the crossbar to give the Cougars the early lead. Evergreen extended the lead to 2-0 less than 10 minutes later with a brilliant connection from senior Myla Stewart to one of the Cougars’ Rapp triplets — Catherine.
Stewart lofted a centering pass from the right wing to Catherine Rapp, who headed the ball past Northfield senior goalie Veda Miles.
“I actually watched the Italy game during Euro 2020 today. The guys play like that,” Stewart said of sending the aerial pass to Catherine Rapp. “I know the (triplets) love header crosses. We are taught to play it on the ground, but this one had to go in the air. It was incredible.”
Evergreen controlled the majority of play holding onto a 2-0 lead before halftime, but couldn’t get a third goal.
Unfortunately for the Cougars the most noticeable news of the scoreless second half was Evergreen junior goalie Aubrey Huerta receiving a red card for handling a ball outside the goal box in the 56th minute.
“It’s a mandatory red card,” Evergreen coach Peter Jeans said of Huerta grabbing the ball outside the goal box. “It is what it is. The player learns a lesson on how to handle that a little differently, but the good news is we made adjustments and we were still carry the game.”
Jeans actually turned to Evergreen’s leading scorer — Stewart — to finish the final 24 minutes in goal for the Cougars. It wasn’t a total surprise to Stewart, who said that she had practiced in goal earlier this year when Huerta was injured.
Evergreen junior Elizabeth Rapp (11) fends off Northfield junior Bailey Williams (13) and sophomore Isabel Bauer (8) during the first half Wednesday night at Evergreen High School. The Cougars took a 2-0 victory in the first-round Class 4A state playoff game. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“I was actually running over the to the referee to have her explain the call,” Stewart said after Huerta’s red card. “Peter (Jeans) looked at me and told me to put the gloves on. I’ll do whatever it takes to get the team where we need to be.”
Stewart faced one legit scoring chance for Northfield, but the Nighthawks put a direct free kick over the net following the red card.
“Everyone knew their first job was the clear the ball,” Zimmerer said of the team’s mindset after the red card. “We did that the entire time and they didn’t get any chances on goal.”
Evergreen continued to put pressure on Miles despite Stewart not able to lead the offensive charge up top for the Cougars. The Nighthawks (8-3) were able to keep the Cougars from scoring in the second half mainly due to a handful of great saves to Miles.
“Hats off to (Northfield),” Jeans said. “They really made us have to play a full 80-minute game and I felt like our girls did that.”
The dilemma Evergreen has now is playing its state quarterfinal match Saturday against No. 10 Steamboat Springs without Huerta in net. A one-game suspension comes with the red card.
“It’s a huge challenge,” Jeans said of playing without Huerta. “We’ll have our work cutout for us. We are going to have to figure out a game-plan and shift some players around.”
Stewart believes there is a good chance she will be back in net against Steamboat Springs, who defeated No. 7 Durango 2-1 on Wednesday night, but the senior captain said all options will be poured over.
“I’m confident we can keep the ball away from our defensive half,” Zimmerer said of the Cougars, who have given up just four goals in 11 games this season. “We’ll be fine. Hopefully we’ll have Aubrey back for the semis.”
Evergreen junior Rami Rapp (10) is tripped up by Northfield sophomore Isabel Bauer, right, during the first-round playoff game Wednesday night at Evergreen High School. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
No. 1 Evergreen advanced to the second round of the Class 4A girls soccer tournament with a 10-0 win over No. 16 Northfield.
In the final coaches poll of Season D, Colorado Academy and Evergreen finished at No. 1.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches, are the official polls of the Association. This data will be used as one criteria for postseason qualification and seeding.
Complete rankings for all classes are below.
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Voted upon by coaches around the state. Coaches looking to vote should email bcochi@chsaa.org.
| Class 5A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | |
| 1 | Colorado Academy (10) | 10-0 | 142 | 1 | |
| 2 | Valor Christian (1) | 9-1 | 129 | 4 | |
| 3 | Cherry Creek | 7-3 | 112 | 3 | |
| 4 | Fairview | 8-2 | 103 | 2 | |
| 5 | ThunderRidge (1) | 9-1 | 99 | 5 | |
| 6 | Regis Jesuit | 6-4 | 87 | 6 | |
| 7 | Kent Denver | 6-4 | 76 | 8 | |
| 8 | Grandview | 7-3 | 56 | 8 | |
| 9 | Air Academy | 8-2 | 49 | 7 | |
| 10 | Rock Canyon | 6-4 | 29 | 11 | |
| 11 | Chatfield | 6-4 | 25 | – | |
| 12 | Palmer Ridge | 7-3 | 13 | – | |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Mullen 10, Arapahoe 5, Dakota Ridge 1 | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Arapahoe (10), Mullen (12) | |||||
| Class 4A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS | |
| 1 | Evergreen (4) | 8-2 | 125 | 2 | |
| 2 | Aspen (3) | 10-0 | 121 | 1 | |
| 3 | Grand Junction (3) | 10-0 | 110 | 7 | |
| 4 | Denver South (2) | 10-0 | 93 | 4 | |
| 4 | Rocky Mountain | 6-2 | 93 | 3 | |
| 6 | Thompson Valley | 8-2 | 85 | 6 | |
| 7 | Golden | 7-3 | 80 | 8 | |
| 8 | Green Mountain | 7-3 | 70 | 5 | |
| 9 | Roaring Fork | 8-2 | 57 | 8 | |
| 10 | Castle View | 5-5 | 33 | 10 | |
| 11 | Northfield | 6-4 | 24 | 12 | |
| 12 | Conifer | 3-8 | 11 | – | |
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Telluride 10, Eagle Valley 9, Dawson School 9, Cherokee Trail 5, Fruita Monument 1 | |||||
| Dropped out | |||||
| Dawson School (11) | |||||