(Brie Thomas/CHSAANow.com)
LAFAYETTE — If there was any question as to whether or not Dawson School is still the top boys lacrosse team in the state, it was answered on Thursday.
In an all out important conference game, the Class 4A CHSAANow No.1-ranked Mustangs rolled over No. 9 Thompson Valley, with a score of 18-6.
The Mustangs (9-1 overall, 4-0 Foothills) found the net 18 times with sophomore Gavyn Pure leading the way. Pure had six goals in the game, along with 3 assists.
“I thought our team played really well, we came out flying,” Pure said. “This has become a rival game over the past couple of years and this is obviously a fun one for us.”
It was an all around team effort for the Mustangs, as eight players scored thanks to complete dominance on the face-offs.
Junior Kyle Sudol lead the way for Dawson, taking every face-off of the game.
“I think it starts with the faceoffs. We won a lot of faceoffs today, so we managed the time of possession,” Dawson coach Peter Devlin.
Not only was Dawson’s offense clicking throughout the game but their defense was stellar, holding Thompson Valley (7-5, 2-2) to only one goal in the first half.
The Eagles had a hard time with their execution on offensive possessions and found themselves making lazy passes when trying to clear the ball.
“I thought early on was when we had some opportunities, we actually killed a couple of penalties,” Thompson Valley coach Will Cantwell said. “We had a couple decent possessions, we just couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net.”
The Mustangs came into this game with the motto of handwork and that’s just what they did throughout the game, especially in the third quarter.
“I was pleased, I thought we played hard and kind of stuck to our game plan and went on a roll,” Dawson coach Peter Devlin said.
Both teams came out tough in the third, with a total of ten goals being scored. Dawson knocked in seven goals, while Thompson Valley could only connect on three.
The Eagles never found their offensive momentum and weren’t able to catch up to the Mustangs.
“They’re the No. 1 team in 4A right now and we knew they were going to be really tough, I thought we played hard, I just hope we can learn from our mistakes,” Cantwell said.
Hunter Watts gave the Eagles defense a hard time in the third quarter when he was able to knock in four goals of his own.
And the fourth quarter was no different for Dawson, it kept its momentum throughout the whole game and continued to press the Eagles.
Dawson will look to kept the winning steak going and prove why it is the top team in 4A against Conifer on Apr. 27.
Thompson Valley will look to rebound from the loss when it takes on Battle Mountain on Apr. 25.