As hard as it may be to believe, two weeks from today the girls lacrosse season will come to an end and two champions will be crowned.
Will Colorado Academy capture its third consecutive Class 5A title, and eighth in a row (there was no champion crowned in 2020)? Will Castle View, after a runner-up finish in 2021 and Final 4 appearance last spring, finally break through?
Those questions and are about will be answered sooner rather than later. The regular season concludes Saturday, with both postseason brackets set to be revealed on Sunday.
The 4A first round is Monday, with 5A following on Tuesday. The top 16 teams in 5A reach the postseason, with 24 teams qualifying in 4A. The top eight seeds receive a first-round bye in the 4A field.
Colorado Academy remains atop the 5A CHSAANow.com Coaches Poll. The Mustangs (14-0, 6-0 in 5A West) have won 23 games in a row dating back to last season, and wrap up the regular season Saturday at home against No. 4 Regis Jesuit. Valor Christian and ThunderRidge are ranked Nos. 2 and 3 in both the 5A poll and the 5A RPI.
Castle View cemented its standing atop the 4A poll and the Selection and Seeding Index with victories over No. 3 Evergreen and No. 6 Denver South last week. The Sabercats (13-1, 4-0 in 4A South) have won 12 in a row after Thursday’s regular-season finale against Pueblo West.
Second-ranked Mead has a matchup with 5A No. 5 Fairview on Friday. The Mavericks defeated Evergreen 13-8 on Thursday night.
The Cougars and No. 5 Golden clash Friday as well, with the Demons trying to forge a three-way tie atop the West League standings.
With only two days remaining in the regular season, here is a quick look at the state’s two classifications:
Class 5A
Kent Denver had quite the week with five games in seven days. The Sun Devils (8-6, 4-2 West) defeated Cherry Creek 13-10 last Friday, boosted by four goals each from Kathleen Michaud and Ava Cebrian and two goals and three assists from Claire Murphy.
Kent fell to Colorado Academy on Wednesday, as the Mustangs’ Zoe Martin tallied six goals and Skylar May went for two goals and seven assists. But the team rebounded with an 11-8 victory over No. 9 Rock Canyon on Thursday night.
Cherry Creek (12-3, 6-0 East) closed out its regular season by rallying in the second half to slip past Regis Jesuit 9-8. Izzy Assini had three goals and an assist, and six players scored at least one goal.
ThunderRidge (12-3, 6-0 South) captured the league title Thursday night with an 18-10 victory over No. 10 Palmer Ridge. The Grizzlies have won six in a row and are currently fourth in the Selection and Seeding Index.
Class 4A
Evergreen’s challenging final week continues Friday against No. 5 Golden. The Cougars (8-6, 4-0) dropped a 15-11 decision to Castle View last Friday before falling to Mead on Thursday. Ryn Gardner scored five goals against Castle View, while the Sabercats’ Samantha Hughes and Abby Mays had four goals each and Riley Schultz added four.
Golden (10-4, 3-1) had dropped two of its last four, including a non-league 13-11 loss to No. 4 Heritage last Monday. Skylar Peterson paced Heritage with five goals and Bella Gebinine added three; Ady Brickle and Brooke Miller had four each for Golden.
No. 8 Thompson Valley (10-4, 3-1 in North) sandwiched victories over No. 7 Roaring Fork and Northfield around a loss to Mead last Tuesday. Aidan Carr and Roaring Carr combined for 12 goals against the Rams. Allie Hartman paced Mead (11-2, 5-0) with eight goals.
The Mountain East will be decided Saturday, with Battle Mountain holding a one-game lead on Roaring Fork after a 13-11 victory over the Rams last Tuesday. Alexandra Dienst led the Huskies (10-4, 8-1) with five goals. Battle Mountain was coming off a 12-11 loss to Denver South last Saturday.
Roaring Fork (fifth), Aspen (eighth) and Battle Mountain (10th) are in the top 10 in RPI as of Thursday night.
