More photos. (Tim Visser/TimVisserPhotography.com)
PARKER — Momentum can be an elusive entity in sports. The team that finds it can be vaulted to victory.
Ponderosa rode a tidal wave of momentum all the way to the Class 4A boys lacrosse state championship game.
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.