(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)
AURORA – The Colorado Academy girls lacrosse team has done it again.
On Wednesday at Legacy Stadium, the top-seeded Mustangs won 14-3 over No. 2 Valor Christian to claim the Class 5A state championship. Colorado Academy has now won the last six 5A state championships and boasts seven in total.
For as long as the Mustangs have dominated Class 5A, this current group of seniors hardly remembers what it feels like to lose. When playing for their high school team, in fact, they never have.
“It’s been crazy, but this is so nice,” Mustangs seniors defender Mya Rutherford said. “We lost our season last year but we brought everybody back together, got back on the road and it just feels so good to be back on the field together and playing. And winning the state championship, it’s unbeatable.”
(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)
Unbeatable is a good way to describe Colorado Academy girls lacrosse in recent years. The last time the Mustangs lost a game was April 20, 2017.
On Wednesday against Valor Christian, a team they beat 15-12 during the regular season, the Mustangs rode a flurry of late first-half goals to an 8-2 halftime advantage. They followed up that early-game performance by holding Valor Christian to one goal in the second half.
After entering the state tournament with a first-round bye, the Mustangs outscored their three postseason opponents 51-10 and did not allow more than four goals in any playoff game. The Mustangs defense, anchored by Rutherford, was as stout as ever in Season D’s final game. Against it, Valor Christian’s talented scoring leaders Tess Osburn (45 goals) and Regan Digby (39), Eliza Osburn (30), Kaley Kakac (29) and Lauren Rismani (23 goals, 46 assists) combined for combined for just two goals.
“Tonight, we played really well,” Mustangs senior Jessie Bakes said. “All of our hard work throughout the season has helped us clean up all of our little mistakes. In practice, we’re playing the best defense and they’re playing the best offense because we’re playing each other. We just gave it our all and left it all out on the field.”
Bakes, who finished the season with a team-high 54 goals, scored twice on Wednesday. Teammates Zoe Martin and Katharine Merrifield each recorded a hat trick in the title game.
Wednesday’s title game was the first 5A championship game that didn’t include Cherry Creek since the sport was sanctioned in 1998.
(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)