DENVER – Wyatt Furda and Matty Kelleher are ending their Cheyenne Mountain athletic careers with so many championship rings, they’re going to struggle to turn door knobs.

And they have Logan Mika to thank for it.

His golden goal with 55 seconds left in the second overtime lifted Cheyenne Mountain, the top seed in the Class 4A boys lacrosse tournament, to 10-9 win over No. 2 Erie to claim its fourth title in the last five seasons played.

It’s four championships in six years when factoring in that the 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the only number that the Hawks (16-3 overall) were concerned about was one. They were playing one game at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium at the University of Denver and all they wanted was one win. They got it by one goal that was golden is so many ways.

“I don’t even remember the moment, it’s almost like I blacked out when I got the ball,” Mika said. “After working so hard for so long and pushing to my limits in the game, it just felt so good to put it back.”

Furda’s goal in the first quarter was followed up by scores from Will Weinstein and Hank Walsh. Furda added his second of the game three minutes into the second quarter and Kevin Papa added another in the final two minutes of the first half to make up the scoring effort for the Hawks in the first half.

 

And it helped that Kelleher turned away every single shot that the Tigers (15-4) took in the first 24 minutes of play.

It was a bit of a different story to start the second half as Cooper Riley got the Tigers on the board. Two more quick goals followed and in the blink of an eye, it was 5-3 game.

Papa stopped the bleeding with his second goal and allowed Kelleher to settle back in.

“It was just resetting,” Kelleher said. “Seeing that next save and saving that next ball.”

Erie’s Liam Connors took control of the game in the fourth quarter, scoring four goals in the fourth quarter, including one in the final 15 seconds to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Each team had their chances, but it was Mika getting the ball right in front of the Erie net and converting his shot that made the difference.

Kelleher and Furda were both key contributors to Cheyenne Mountain’s two state hockey titles and its three most recent lacrosse championships. Walsh didn’t play hockey in his junior season, but scored the game-winner in overtime to lead the Hawks over Glenwood Springs in the 2023 state title game. He graduates with four state titles between the two sports, as does Ty Borgen.

“My hand is getting heavy,” Furda said with a laugh. “In all honesty, I’ve been blessed to come to Cheyenne Mountain where winning is a culture and it happens more than once. I’m happy that my friends and family surrounded me with glory and everything to set me up [for success] right now.”

For the two sports, the class of 2023 has done its part to create a championship pedigree and establish high expectations for those athletes following them.

“You’re not going to replace 14 seniors like this,” coach Mike Paige said. “They are good men, they do the right thing in the classroom and the community when they do community service. You want your son to be those guys.”

This is the fifth boys lacrosse title overall for Cheyenne Mountain and its third straight. The Hawks have appeared in every 4A state title game since 2018.