Englewood – Usually when a bunny crosses paths with a bunch of Bruins, the bunny loses.
Instead, said bunny, which darted in front of the Cherry Creek bench just after Kent Denver scored the opening goal of Tuesday’s first boys lacrosse semifinal, was the good-luck omen the Bruins needed.
Cherry Creek (14-4) will defend its title after outlasting the previously undefeated Sun Devils 6-4 at Englewood’s Pirate Stadium and earned a chance to play East on Saturday night for the second time at Invesco Field at Mile High. East won the first meeting 7-6 last month.
“It was an emotional win in a great rivalry between two great teams,” Cherry Creek coach Bryan Perry said. “I was just happy to come out on top today, and it was a job well done by our kids.”
Tied 4-4 late in the fourth quarter, Cherry Creek got the chance it had been looking for the entire match. Ryan Driver bided his time behind Max Pluss’ cage and sent a perfect feed to a cutting and unmarked Charlie Will, who scored the winner.
“I can’t believe he was that open, especially after we were scoreless for that long,” said Driver, who scored Creek’s first goal of the game. “It was just a matter of waiting for the perfect pass and the perfect shot, and that’s what happens when we are patient with the ball.”
The Sun Devils (17-1) trailed 4-1 in the third quarter before they found their rhythm. Three goals in a 4-minute, 30-second burst, including a brilliant solo effort by Charlie Sayre, seemed to give Kent all the momentum going to the final quarter.
“The fourth, if you think about it, was just two excellent teams fighting it out,” Kent coach Tom Graesser said. “They took advantage, especially at the end, when they needed to. We had a couple of chances, but just didn’t finish.”
Kent Denver 1 0 3 0 – 4
Cherry Creek 3 0 1 2 – 6
First quarter – KD, Reichert, 9:55. CC, R. Driver (McKinstry), 9:35. CC, Hoselton, 7:13. CC, Will (McKinstry), 1:49.
Second quarter – None.
Third quarter – CC, Hoselton, 10:11. KD, Ferrell, 7:59. KD, Sayre, 7:15. KD, Kelsic (Ferrell), 3:29.
Fourth quarter – CC, Will (R. Driver), 1:29. CC, K. Driver (Hoselton), :16.
Shots on goal – Kent Denver 2-3-8-1-14; Cherry Creek 6-1-5-5-17. Saves – Kent Denver (Pluss) 3-1-4-3-11; Cherry Creek (M. Stone) 1-3-5-1-10. Groundballs – Kent Denver 4-1-4-5-14; Cherry Creek 4-3-4-8-19.
East 12, Arapahoe 6
All season long it has been the defense that has carried the East Angels.
In Tuesday’s second semifinal, the offense, most notably sophomore Josh Russell, cut the defense some slack. The Angels scored the first seven goals of the game and cruised to their first state championship game appearance since 2002.
“All week, and even before the game Coach (Jon Barocas) said I’m aggressive and, at some points, too aggressive,” Russell said. “He told me to wait until I was completely ready, take a few breathes and then attack the defender.”
Barocas’ words did the trick. The Arapahoe defense had no answer for Russell in the first half and watched as he scored three goals and assisted on another.
Russell would add one more in the third quarter, to go with senior Kjael Skaalerud’s three goals and two assists.
Said Arapahoe coach Brian Langtry, “Their goalie made some great saves early, shut us down, and they had the horses to keep it going.”
East 2 5 3 2 – 12
Arapahoe 0 2 1 3 – 6
First quarter – E, Skaalerud (Blair), 3:34. E, Russell, :06.
Second quarter – E, Russell, 10:29. E, Skaalerud, 8:40. E, Lay (Russell), 6:51. E, Russell, 5:11. E, Vinton, 4:30. A, Law (Gerhard), 3:59. A, Gerhard (Mercer), 1:41.
Third quarter – E, TallBull (Skaalerud), 10:03. E, Russell, 6:24. E, Skaalerud (Blair). A, Snyder, 2:20.
Fourth quarter – A, Snyder (Gerhard), 9:44. A, Gerhard, 5:37. E, Lay (Skaalerud), 3:55. A, Law, 2:23. E, Tedeschi, :06.
Shots on goal – East 6-7-7-2-22; Arapahoe 5-5-4-3-17. Saves – East (Piet) 5-3-3-0-11; Arapahoe (Tyrie) 4-2-4-0-10. Groundballs – East 4-5-3-4-16; Arapahoe 7-7-3-5-22.
Jon E. Yunt can be reached at 303-820-5446 or jyunt@denverpost.com.
