LITTLETON — Lauren Johnson did what she had to do.
The task at hand was stealing the ball from a defender, running the length of the field while dodging sticks as if they were angry hornets, spinning through three defenders and scoring a goal.
“I figured I might as well shoot from there,” said the Cherry Creek right defensive winger of her first-half goal. “I was really determined.”
“Determined” describes Cherry Creek in a nutshell as the Bruins swarmed Arapahoe 20-8 for a nonleague victory Saturday at Littleton Public Schools Stadium.
The Bruins (4-0) gave up a goal in the first 22 seconds but answered with eight consecutive goals to seize control on a windy afternoon.
The weather didn’t seem to bother McKenzie Brown, who shirked the undershirt and braved the bluster to lead the Bruins with five goals and five assists. “It’s not bad once you get going,” she said of the gray day.
Allie Welsh had five goals and two assists, Morgan Johnson netted three goals and Leslie Brentlinger had three assists and a goal for the two-time defending state champions. Lauren Johnson finished with two goals, and her end-to-end finish proved to be the game-winner.
Arapahoe (5-2) appeared ready to make a game of it as midfielder Adison Rounds charged in after the opening draw and fired off two shots, scoring on the second. But the Warriors would cross midfield just twice in the next 14 minutes.
“They’re really good at double-teaming in the midfield and triple-teaming, and we weren’t able to get the passes off right away,” Warriors senior Kate Spring said.
Katie Gerhard led the Warriors with four goals, Spring had two and Rounds added two assists.
The Bruins didn’t trail for long, leveling the score 13 seconds after Rounds’ opener with a goal from Welsh.
“It was a messy game,” said Lauren Johnson, “but it was a lot of fun.”
Cherry Creek 10 10 — 20
Arapahoe 4 4 — 8
Goals — CC: Brown 5, Welsh 5, M. Johnson 3, L. Johnson 2, Keppler 2, Brentlinger, Hart, Anton; A: Gerhard 4, Spring 2, Curtis, Rounds. Assists — CC: Brown 5, Keppler 2, Welsh 2, Hart, Barrett; A: Rounds 2, MacMurdy.
