LAKEWOOD — Speed never was considered the Cherry Creek girls lacrosse team’s chief asset this season. But that doesn’t mean the Bruins aren’t fast.
After going indoors Saturday and shellacking highly touted St. Ignatius 19-8 at the Schaefer Athletic Complex, all the visiting Wildcats could talk about was Cherry Creek’s speed.
“On attack, everything is fast,” St. Ignatius midfielder Kelly Lang said of the Bruins. “They move the ball fast, they cut fast, they get the ball off quickly and it’s just very hard to defend.
“It’s a whole different speed.”
The San Francisco-based Wildcats traveled to Colorado hoping to play Air Academy and Cherry Creek, but instead were greeted with inclement weather. Friday’s Air Academy game was wiped out, and the matchup with the Bruins was moved from Cherry Creek to the almost equally chilly indoor confines.
After spotting St. Ignatius (9-2) the first goal, Cherry Creek reeled off the next six. The top-ranked Bruins (8-2) thoroughly dominated and led 19-5.
“I was really pleased with how our team played,” said Notre Dame-bound senior Mackenzie Brown, who paced the Bruins with four goals and five assists. “I think our trip back east over spring break was helpful because we faced some big pressure, and they had good pressure in the middle.”
That pressure wasn’t enough to curtail a Bruins attack that produced seven multigoal scorers. Shelby Barrett and Kameryn Downing contributed three goals apiece, and junior Annie Anton had two goals and five assists.
Cherry Creek’s Amanda Simon even got into the act with two goals and an assist. She had been sidelined the past few weeks because of a concussion suffered when one of Brown’s shots hit her head.
St. Ignatius 4 4 — 8
Cherry Creek 12 7 — 19
St. Ignatius — Lang 3 goals-1 assist, Halsted 3-0, Lalanne 2-1, Hinds 0-1.
Cherry Creek — Brown 4-5, Downing 3-1, Barrett 3-0, Anton 2-5, Simon 2-1, Ellickson 2-1, Zerr 2-0, Tanabe 1-0.
Goalkeepers — St. Ignatius, Habelt (23 minutes, 11 goals allowed, 3 saves), McInerney (27-8-2). Cherry Creek, Coyle (38-5-8), Gleichenhaus (12-3-2).
