Englewood – It was a game with everything, including big hits, clutch saves, precision offense, a bit of controversy and two overtime periods.
In the end, Kent Denver midfielder Patrick Murray relied on a solo effort to push the Sun Devils past Arapahoe 7-6 in double overtime in the boys state lacrosse semifinals Wednesday night at Englewood High School Stadium.
Arapahoe (15-3) took a three-goal lead early in the second quarter, but Kent Denver (15-2) found a way to rebound and will compete for the fourth title in school history.
“Any team could have won tonight. I think the wind just happened to be behind our sails,” said Murray, who scored the three goals, including the game-winner with 36.6 seconds left in the second overtime.
Kent Denver will play Fort Collins for the state championship Saturday at Invesco Field at Mile High.
The Warriors didn’t hold their 3-0 lead for long before Kent Denver rallied with three unanswered goals, the last of which came from Michael Reilly to tie the score in the third quarter. Arapahoe led 5-3 after three quarters, and then Ryan Parietti scored one of his three goals in the game to give the Warriors a bigger cushion.
With less than five minutes remaining in regulation, Parietti charged down the field with the ball as the officials mistakenly called a penalty on Kent Denver. Parietti finished the play with a goal, the scoreboard changed to 7-4 in favor of Arapahoe.
Officials met and waved off the goal, but it wasn’t removed until after Murray added another score.
Instead of the board reading 7-5 in favor of Arapahoe, it now, correctly, said 6-5. Kent’s Tyler Morton hit the game-tying goal with 1:45 on the clock. In the second OT, Murray beat keeper Wes Gibler for the winner.
Kent Denver 0 2 1 3 0 1 – 7
Arapahoe 2 1 2 1 0 0 – 6
First quarter – A: Parietti (K. Law), 7:27; K. Law (unassisted), 0:32. Second quarter – A: Chandler (unassisted), 10:37; KD: Taylor (unassisted), 8:55; Cavness (Murray), 2:06. Third quarter – KD: Reilly (unassisted), 9:24; A: E. Law (Chandler), 6:26; Pullara (unassisted), 5:55. Fourth quarter – A: Parietti (Pullara), 7:15; KD: Murray (unassisted), 6:06; Murray (unassisted), 2:34; Morton (unassisted), 1:45. First overtime – None. Second overtime – KD: Murray (unassisted), 0:36. Shots on goal – Kent Denver 3-4-3-5-1-2 – 18; Arapahoe 6-5-3-2-1-0 – 17. Saves – Kent Denver (Reichert) 4-4-1-1-1-0 – 11; Arapahoe (Gibler) 3-2-2-2-1-1 – 11.
