Englewood – Carey Smith, coach of the unified Fort Collins boys lacrosse team, shaved his hair into a mohawk after his Vipers reached the state semifinals for the first time in program history.
He needs to come up with something better than that after Wednesday’s performance at Englewood High School Stadium.
“I don’t know what he’s going to do,” said Fort Collins junior Brock Waddell, who helped his team win with a game-winning goal that knocked off two-time defending champion Cherry Creek 9-8 in overtime.
The Vipers secured another first by beating the vaunted Bruins, three-time state champions.
It was clear Fort Collins (16-4) understood its mission from the start. The Vipers, a unified team of four schools, opened more aggressive and more determined with an obvious chip on their shoulders.
“They beat us 6-2 in the regular season,” Waddell said. “We wanted them again.”
Devin Arrubarrena put Fort Collins on the score board first, finishing a beautifully placed assist from Henry Miketa. The Vipers went on a tear from there, scoring the first five goals of the game before Cherry Creek (14-4) found a way to beat goalkeeper Andy Titterington.
Titterington was money, even as Cherry Creek unleashed an offensive barrage in the third period. The Bruins initially tied the game 6-6 when Ryan Link scored with an assist from Kyle Driver one minute into the fourth quarter.
That’s when it appeared Cherry Creek’s mystique was back. Fort Collins’ offense suddenly went stagnant, and even the best defensive efforts of Jay Carling, Taylor Fields and Bret Newman could not slow the Bruins’ surge.
But Miketa broke the spell, taking the lead back with an unassisted goal, and Waddell provided some cushion with another goal 23 second later.
That wasn’t enough, however, as T.J. McCauley scored back-to-back goals, the latter coming with 37.8 seconds left in regulation.
Cherry Creek started overtime with possession, but Waddell ended things. Tyler Whitcomb fed Waddell in front of the net, about 15 yards out, and Waddell let loose with an underhanded bounce shot against keeper Mark Stone.
Cherry Creek 0 2 3 3 0 – 8
Fort Collins 4 1 1 2 1 – 9
First period – FC: Arrubarrena (Miketa), 6:30; Saller (unassisted), 3:26; Arrubarrena (Whitcomb), 3:07; Miketa (unassisted), :47. Second period – FC: Miketa (Newman), 10:44; CC: Bailey (R. Driver), 8:32; McCauley (R. Driver), 1:26.
Third period – FC: Waddell (unassisted), 11:46; CC: Link (Muller), 8:41; Bailey (unassisted), 3:07; Beimford (R. Driver), 1:35. Fourth period – CC: Link (K. Driver), 11:00; FC: Miketa (unassisted), 8:36; Waddell (Arrubarrena), 8:13; CC: McCauley (Heimbrock), 4:38; McCauley (R. Driver), :37.
Overtime – FC: Waddell (Whitcomb), 1:04.
Shots on goal – Cherry Creek 2-5-8-5-1 – 21; Fort Collins 7-3-2-3-1 – 16. Saves – Cherry Creek (Stone) 3-2-1-1-0 – 7; Fort Collins (Titterington) 2-3-5-2-1 – 13.
