Colorado Academy repeated as the girls lacrosse champion. More photos. (Matt Daniels/MattDanPhoto.com)
DENVER — Colorado Academy girls lacrosse is on a roll.
The Mustangs beat Cherry Creek 9-8 on Wednesday evening to repeat as the sport’s champion, and in doing so extended their winning streak to 29 games, including a perfect 18-0 in 2016.
“We knew what the feeling felt like last year and our coach asked if we wanted it again,” Colorado Academy junior Sydney Prokupek said. “Of course we did so we went all out.”
The two teams met in last season’s title game, and hadn’t met since then. Last year, Colorado Academy took the trophy with an 8-3 win in the lowest-scoring game in championship history.
On Wednesday, though Cherry Creek’s Eliza Radochonski scored the first of the game, the No. 1 Mustangs quickly took the lead.
Colorado Academy junior Claire Wright put her team on the board, followed by a dump shot by leading scorer Lauren Russell, and another by senior Maddie Webster on a free position chance. Within 15 minutes, the Mustangs had taken the 3-1 lead.
Though Cherry Creek snuck one in on the other end, their defensive penalties cost them goals and set Cherry Creek up in opportune positions time after time.
Before the end of the half, Russell and Wright had each added another along with Prokupek. With a 6-2 lead, Colorado Academy looked to be running away with it before the midway mark, but Cherry Creek’s Radochonski and Pearl Schwartz scored two goals back-to-back to end the half only trailing by two.
Schwartz found the net again, her second of her eventual hat trick, at the start of the second half to put the pressure on Colorado Academy at 6-5. In the span of 7 minutes, the Bruins had scored three in a row just as their opponents did early on.
More photos. (Matt Daniels/MattDanPhoto.com)
“This was our last chance to play this very game, against this team, with this team,” said Schwartz, “We came out of the half at one-hundred percent.”
Sophomore goalie Sara McGuire looked quicker in the goal, making four momentous saves in just the the first 10 minutes.
Though Creek’s defense came alive, Colorado Academy’s offense was still persistent, as Russell scored her third to earn the 7-5 lead and the momentum.
Then it was a pair of goals from Cherry Creek senior Randi Mostellar to tie the game, quickly followed by a line drive and first leading score for the Bruins from junior Emma Godfrey.
But the answer came from Prokupek with a perfectly planned and timed cross-body shot from the left to even it up again with under five minutes to play.
Wright completed her hat trick in those finals minutes, regaining the lead and forcing Cherry Creek to rush for the comeback.
Creek had two chances in under a minute, but saves from All-American goalie Bridget Sutter secured the Mustangs championship, one that was completed by a 46-goal tally in a four-game playoff stretch.
“The biggest part was being disciplined and knowing when to take the shot,” Prokupek said. “We did that in the last few minutes. Knowing when to hold back and knowing when to go hard was key.”
With the win, coach Steph Sanders reaches her second title in just two seasons with Colorado Academy.