Golden girls lacrosse ended Evergreen’s 33-game league winning streak

LAKEWOOD — All signs this season point to Golden girls lacrosse emerging as being a state championship contender.

“This is a chance for us for sure,” Golden coach Robby McClure said of the Demons stepping into a state championship contender role. “I’m confident in our girls and I think they are confident. We are right where we need to be heading into the playoffs.”

Golden (11-2 record, 2-0 in Class 4A West League) has already wrapped up its first girls lacrosse conference title since 2008.

Thursday night’s victory over 4A powerhouse Evergreen was significant not only to clinch the league title, but historically. Golden ended Evergreen’s 33-game league winning streak that dated back to 2019.

“It meant to so much because it showed how we play as a team and not as individuals this year,” Golden senior Abigail Butters said of the 18-11 win over Evergreen on Thursday night at the North Area Athletic Complex.

Golden had nine different goal scorers against the Cougars. Sophomore Tatum Pyatt led the way for the Demons with five goals.

“Evergreen has a really great coach and we have always been in the mix, but never been able to break that barrier,” McClure said of snapping the Cougars’ league winning streak. “Our team is really coming together with a lot of young talent coming in who are confident. We have some really good junior and senior leaders who are really guiding them through the process. It was a big win for us.”

The Cougars hadn’t lost a conference game in over seven years. Chatfield defeated Evergreen back on April 4, 2019.

“It means so much for this program. I can’t even put it into words,” Golden’s leading scorer Katie Hufford said of the win over Evergreen. “It has been 18 years since we’ve had a shot at league. Beating them felt like a breath of fresh air. We stuck it to them.”

Jeffco schools have dominated the 4A girls lacrosse state tournament since CHSAA added the 4A classification in 2021. Evergreen won the state title in 2021, 2024 and 2025. Green Mountain claimed the championship in 2022.

It appears that Golden is primed to be the next Jeffco school to have a great chance to lift the 4A girls lacrosse state trophy on May 15 at the University of Denver.

“It is definitely our turn,” Hufford said. “We are ready. We are pumped. We are hyped.”

The Demons started out a little slow Saturday morning against the Poudre School District (7-5, 2-3 in 5A West) at Trailblazer Stadium. The Stars held a 3-2 lead after the first quarter.

However, Golden got things going with nine unanswered goals to pull away for an eventual 17-5 victory. It was the Demons’ fourth straight victory. Hufford led the way with four goals. Freshman Brooklyn Meurer added three goals as eight different Demons scored in the win.

“We have 12 strong players on the field at all times,” Butters said. “We don’t have to worry about one weak player, which is awesome.”

There are a handful of players who attend Arvada West High School, who celebrated its prom Friday night. That could have been a little bit of the reason for the slow start that the Demons were able to easily overcome.

“Prom was awesome last night at the Denver Zoo,” said Hufford, the A-West junior. “I got to sleep around 1:30 am, so I had about seven hours sleep. Not bad.”

Golden is currently No. 2 in the 4A girls lacrosse CHSAA Selection & Seeding Index, only behind Battle Mountain (11-0, 9-0 in 4A Mountain East). The Huskies handed the Demons a 9-7 loss on April 11.

The Demons finish the regular season next week against Green Mountain (Tuesday) and Steamboat Springs (Friday) before the postseason begins.

“It means everything for us to sweep league,” Hufford said about the league finale against Green Mountain on Tuesday back at Trailblazer Stadium. “Having a sweep in league is something nobody here has ever felt. That is something that is incredible for this program.”

Golden will definitely get a first-round bye and host a second-round game May 7.