Columbine senior Anthony SanFilippo (2) puts a shot on Monarch goalie Connor Johnson (30) in the first quarter Monday night. (Dennis Pleuss)
LAKEWOOD — It took a little extra time for Columbine boys lacrosse to complete its third straight undefeated season in conference play.
Senior Anthony SanFilippo scored his fifth goal of the game for the Rebels (11-4, 7-0 in Front Range League) on Monday night midway through the second overtime period off an assist from senior Reid Harris. Columbine, ranked No. 8 in this week’s CHSAANow.com 5A boys’ lacrosse poll, escaped Trailblazer Stadium with an 11-10 victory against Monarch.
“It was definitely a little longer than we wanted. We put ourselves in that position,” SanFilippo said. “We ended up getting down to business and getting it done.”
Columbine senior Anthony SanFilippo (2) tracks down Monarch sophomore Derek Coleman during the first half Monday at Trailblazer Stadium. SanFilippo led the Rebels with five goals and an assist in Columbine’s 11-10 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)
The Rebels appeared to be well in control when sophomore Nick Stasch scored off an assist from SanFilippo. The goal gave Columbine an 8-4 lead with 9:43 remaining in the fourth quarter. However, the Coyotes (8-5, 3-4) stormed back with five unanswered goals in the span of just more than seven minutes to take a 9-8 lead.
Monarch grabbed its first lead of the game when junior Phil Bubernak’s long shot beat Columbine goalie Hayden Melvin with 2:18 left in regulation time.
“We thought we could win it. We started clicking as a team,” said Bubernak, who finished with three goals and an assist to lead the Coyotes. “We have a ton of one-goal losses where we came out too slow and then we get back into it in the fourth quarter.”
Columbine answered back seconds later when a goal from SanFilippo off an assist from junior Landon Kramer. Bubernak responded right back with a goal with 1:38 left to give Monarch a 10-9 advantage.
“Monarch got on a run and we couldn’t stop them,” SanFilippo said.
The Rebels needed a goal from Kramer with just 11.3 second left to force overtime.
After a scoreless first overtime period, Columbine senior Reid Harris rushed into the Coyotes’ defensive zone. Harris found SanFilippo who was able to take his time and work a shot from pointblank range past Monarch goalie Connor Johnson.
Columbine junior Cole VonFeldt (7) congratulates junior Landon Kramer (3) after a first-quarter goal Monday at Trailblazer Stadium. The Rebels needed double-overtime to take an 11-10 victory over Monarch. (Dennis Pleuss)
Columbine had already wrapped the league title going into Monday’s game.
“It’s definitely great to have three undefeated season in conference,” SanFilippo said. “It’s great to own your conference, but we really want to get out there and show what we can do in the playoffs.”
The Rebels were the No. 2 seed going into last year’s state tournament, but were upset by No. 7 seed and eventual state champion Arapahoe in the quarterfinals.
While Columbine’s regular season in complete, Monarch has home games against Chatfield (Thursday) and Cherokee Trail (Saturday). The Coyotes must win both to have any hope of making the postseason.
“We just have to sit, wait and see,” Bubernak said. “We’ll just have to go win our last two games and hopefully other things play out that we get in.”
CHSAA will release the bracket for the 5A boys lacrosse state tournament May 5. First-round games in 5A will be completed by May 8.
Monarch sophomore Chad Kreuzer (9) looks for a way around Columbine’s (from left to right) Jacen White, Hayden Melvin and Landon Kramer during the second quarter Monday night. (Dennis Pleuss)