(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
HIGHLANDS RANCH — After suffering its first loss of the season, the Mountain Vista boys lacrosse had been sent a message: They needed to play better.
Message received.
The Golden Eagles came out aggressive on Wednesday and sent a message of their own with a 15-7 win over Palmer to clinch the Douglas County League championship.
“Our league is stronger than most as far as how many playoff teams it will get,” Golden Eagles coach Jamie Munro said. “But it doesn’t have the elite teams that will just kick the (snot) out of you like a Regis, (Cherry) Creek or Arapahoe. We needed to get beat down, so it was good.”
The Golden Eagles (13-1 overall, 10-0 Class 5A Douglas County) came into the game ranked No. 2 in the final CHSAANow.com boys lacrosse rankings with only Regis Jesuit standing above them. And unlike in the game against the Raiders, Mountain Vista came out aggressive and put four quick goals on the Terrors (12-2, 8-2).
Sophomore attacker Jake Govett accounted for two of those four quick scores and was one of two Golden Eagles players to finish the day with a hat trick. Jake Harvey also scored three times, including a laser at the halftime buzzer to give Mountain Vista a 12-1 lead.
“We knew (Palmer) was a tough team and just came out strong,” Govett said. “We’re getting into the playoffs soon so we just had to get the fire rolling going in.”
If anything, the win may serve as an eye-opener to teams across the state. The Terrors had climbed up to No. 5 in the state and boast one of the premiere goaltenders in all of lacrosse in Caleb Espinoza.
But a series of quick strikes put Palmer on its heels and they faced a deficit that soon was too much to overcome.
“I don’t know what it was,” Palmer coach Sequoia Bowan said. “We picked the wrong day to not play our game, that’s for sure. We need to have a short memory, hit the reset button and get ready to go.”
A team that will win games based on the strength of its defense, the Terrors went scoreless for the first 18:24 of the first half and had already surrendered nine goals. It was Noah Smith who finally got them on the board.
But even with an eight-goal lead and momentum on their side, the Golden Eagles didn’t feel like they had the game well in hand.
“It’s easier to protect a lead then to play from behind,” Mountain Vista goalie Paxton Boyer said. “At the end of the day, no matter how many goals we’re up by, I still have a job to do and the defense still has a job to do.”
The Golden Eagles have one more crucial non-league game remaining. They host Arapahoe on Friday night at Shea Stadium. The Warriors are right in the mix of the top four teams and with the added pressure of the seniors playing their final game, it will make for a rough night.
“It’s going to be an emotional one with senior night,” Boyer said. “But we’re going to get back to work tomorrow and be ready.”
Palmer will also honor its seniors Friday as they host Valor Christian at Garry Berry Stadium.