Greenwood Village – Rematch.
Who else but perennial powerhouse girls lacrosse teams Kent Denver and Cherry Creek were expected to play for the Class 5A state championship title Wednesday at the Stutler Bowl?
The unbeaten, top-seeded Kent Denver Sun Devils and the second-seeded Bruins set up the highly anticipated rematch – Kent Denver won the 2005 crown with a 10-8 victory – with semifinal victories Saturday at the Stutler Bowl.
Kent Denver (19-0), state champion in 2005, 2002 and 1998, topped Colorado Academy 20-11 and the Bruins (14-3), who won state titles four times since 1999 and most recently in 2004, shellacked Golden 20-6.
For Dartmouth-bound Kent Denver senior midfielder Molly Parker, who scored five goals and added four assists, Saturday’s victory over the fifth-seeded Mustangs (13-6) was all about fun.
“We were having a lot of fun,” said Parker, a 2005 All-American who has tallied 60 goals and 35 assists in regular and postseason play. “We played Kent Denver’s game.”
Parker scored an unassisted goal 58 seconds into the game, and she added two more goals and three assists in the first half to push Kent Denver to a 10-5 lead.
“We were nervous in the first half, but we came out in the second half,” she said. “We calmed down and played our game.”
The Sun Devils took off early in the second period, getting five goals in a three-minute span from Shannon Cudahy, junior midfielder; Greta Meyer, junior midfielder; Parker; Kara Secora, sophomore attacker; and Lauren Woodman, senior attacker, for a 15-5 lead that put the game out of reach.
“Colorado Academy came out hard,” said Woodman, who put in two goals and assisted on three. “Harder than they did in the last two games (against Kent Denver). But we got our heads into the game in the second half.”
Woodman, who will play for the Gettysburg (Pa.) College, said she’s “very excited” about the state rematch.
“It’ll be a good game,” she said.
At the half, Kent Denver coach Greg Courter said, he reminded his players of “the drills we practiced all season.”
“Then we adjusted to their pressure,” he said, “and came out ready to play in the second half.”
Kent Denver 10 10 – 20
Colorado Academy 5 6 – 11
First half – KD, Parker, 24:08; KD, Gaffigan (Parker), 21:00; CA, Jackson, 20:35; CA, Miller, 17:31; KD, Secora, 17:14; CA, Hamersky, 16:32; KD, Woodman, 16:00; CA, Robinson, 13:20; KD, 11:36, Parker; CA, Brown, 11:18; KD, Gaffigan,(Parker), 10:02; KD, Kacholis, 9:52; KD, Secora, 6:21 (Parker); KD, Kacholis, 1:24; KD, Caldwell, 1:11.
Second half – KD, Cudahy,(Woodman), 23:22; KD, Meyer, 23:21; KD, Parker, 21:39; KD, Secora, 21:01; KD, Woodman, 20:09; KD, Cudahy, 18:35; CA, Grey (Miller), 14:31; KD, Secora, 10:09; CA, McHugh, 10:04; CA, McHugh, 7:59; KD, Cudahy, 7:55; KD, Meyer (Woodman), 6:20; KD, Parker (Woodman), 5:06; CA, Jackson (Miller), 2:32; CA, McHugh (Miller,:59; CA, Jackson, :44.
Saves – KD, Tochihara 2-3 5; CA, Par, 3-3, 6.
Shots on goal – KD, 13-9 22; CA, 4-10 14.
Cherry Creek 20, Golden 6
Cherry Creek goalie Katie Gold, who made seven saves, sparked the Bruins’ semifinal win over Golden.
The Bruins will meet Kent Denver on Wednesday at the Stutler Bowl for all the marbles and try to avenge last year’s 10-8 loss.
“We have a lot of depth,” said Gold, who watched her teammates relentlessly swarm over the Golden defense and goalie Jamie Hamilton. “We’re not just individuals.”
“We play as a team,” said junior defender Rachael Zimmerman, who scored four goals, including three in the first half for the Bruins, who dominated 12-2. “We work together.”
“Golden played hard,” added the junior, who has scored 29 goals and 22 assists during the regular season and playoffs. “We came out ready to play.”
Third-year coach Cayel Dwyer, who’s been with the varsity squad 12 years, said the score was not indicative of “how close it was.”
“Golden won possession off most of the draws,” he said. “They got the big draws.”
“There are some things we have to clean up,” he said. “Our transitional game was sloppy. We have to be capable of playing 50 minutes. We didn’t do that all year.”
Cherry Creek 12 8 – 20
Golden 2 4 – 6
First half – CC, White, 24:11; CC, Sanders, (White) 23:24; CC, Zimmerman, 20:26; CC, Sanders, 18:11; CC, Pranger, 14:26; CC, Zimmerman, 14:15; G, Bill, 13:52; CC, Connor, 13:49; CC, Tilton, 12:33; CC, White, 10:05; G, Hamagel, 9:49; CC, Hart, 8:44; CC, Zimmerman, 5:04; CC, Kepplier, 4:15.
Second half – CC, White, 21:36; G, Hebberd (Johnson), 19:38 CC, Zimmerman (Mclaughlin), 16:40; G, Curry (Adair), 15:42; CC, Hart, 14:38; CC, Scholbe, 13:15; G, Johnson, 9:50; CC, Kepplier, 7:40; CC, Johnson, 6:15; G, Mast, 6:07; CC, Johnson, 3:49; CC, Hart (Mclaughlin), :58.
Saves – CC, Gold 3-4 7; G, Hamiliton 4-5 9.
Shots on goal – CC, 8-2 10; G, 6-1 7.
