Bear Creek’s Megan McGriff, right, tries to get past Columbine’s Alea Tooley (41) and Elizabeth Baker on Thursday at Trailblazer Stadium. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
LAKEWOOD — Columbine’s girls lacrosse team is officially one win away from reclaiming the Jeffco League title.
A 17-4 victory over Bear Creek on Thursday night at Trailblazer Stadium put the Rebels (10-2, 6-0 in Jeffco League) in position to win the conference championship. A victory over rival Chatfield (7-6, 5-1) at 5:30 pm Thursday, May 4, at Trailblazer Stadium would atone for Columbine finishing second in league to Ralston Valley last season.
“This season we’ve been really focusing on each game. We aren’t focusing too forward ahead,” Columbine senior defender McKenzie Logan said. “Each game is a stepping stone. We focus on the next game ahead.”
Columbine is No. 3 in the latest CHSAANow.com girls lacrosse rankings. Look for the Rebels to be a top-5 seed for the 20-team state tournament that begins the second week in May. Columbine’s current 7-game winning streak began with a 13-11 victory over last year’s state runner-up Cherry Creek.
Despite resting a handful of starters, Columbine didn’t miss a beat against Bear Creek. Junior Maeve Hungerford got things going with a pair of early goals. The Rebels poured in 10 goals in the first 13 minutes.
Columbine’s Aliya Weant, left, tries to get a shot of in front of Bear Creek’s Alecia Garcia. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Hungerford, junior Jazlyn Flores and Alea Tooley led the way for the Rebels with three goals each. Senior Karlie Hadden, sophomore Emma Maxwell and freshman Aliyah Weant added two goals each. Junior Elizabeth Baker pitched in a goal and Logan scored a rare goal getting the chance to play attacker late in the first half.
“It was probably my first goal in three years,” Logan said of her goal that gave the Rebels a 14-1 lead at halftime. “It was a little weird being put on the other side of the field. It worked out, so that’s great.”
Junior Annie Van Norstrand and senior Cami Huff shared duties in goal for Columbine as the Rebels got a lot of their roster involved.
“I think we had four or five swingers from JV come up and they all got to play,” Logan said. “That’s really good experience for them because they are going to be varsity someday.”
Columbine has a busy final week of the regular season. The Rebels hit the road for a non-league game against Rock Canyon at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 2, at EchoPark Stadium in Parker before the showdown against Chatfield. Columbine wraps up its regular season against Wheat Ridge on Saturday, May 6, at Trailblazer Stadium.
Columbine’s Alea Tooley (41) dominated face-offs and scored three goals against Bear Creek. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Bear Creek (2-8, 1-5) concludes its league play against Chatfield on May 2 at Trailblazer Stadium. The Bears — in their first season of varsity play — plays a trio of non-league games against Denver South, Rocky Mountain and Liberty to wrap up their season.
The Bears are under the guidance of coach Theresa Sandoval-Lazzeri.
“My goal for these girls is they play as a team, learn something from every single game and take something away for the next game,” Sandoval-Lazzeri said. “They should be proud of the hard work they have put in. They will just keep growing.”
Sandoval-Lazzeri was proud of how her team responded after falling behind early against one of the top teams in the state.
“They got frustrated with themselves in the beginning and it was a struggle. There is definitely a difference in level of play,” Sandoval-Lazzeri said. “I brought them together and told them to play their game. To play like they know how.”
Sophomore Brooke Selby had a pair of goals for the Bears. Bear Creek’s leading goal scorer, sophomore Gillian Riley, put in her 30th goal of the season. Sophomore Rachel Carlson put in the final goal against Columbine.
“We are going in the right direction,” Sandoval-Lazzeri said.
Columbine’s Maeve Hungerford, middle, gets off a pass during the Rebels’ 7th straight win Thursday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)