ENGLEWOOD — It took the Mullen Mustangs a New York minute to change everything Wednesday.
Nursing a one-goal lead over rival Cherry Creek, the Mustangs erupted for three goals in 47 seconds in the third quarter of their state semifinal game at Englewood Stadium.
“Lacrosse is just such a quick game,” Mustangs junior attacker Jake Smith said. “As soon as we start rolling and they break down, we just get even more revved up and we play with more enthusiasm.”
The second-seeded Mustangs (14-2) shut out the Bruins in the third quarter and survived an increasingly tense fourth for the 8-5 victory.
The Mustangs will face No. 1 Arapahoe on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at Invesco Field at Mile High. Neither team has won a boys lacrosse title since it was sanctioned in 1999. Arapahoe pounded Mullen 16-6 during the regular season, but then again, the Mustangs ripped Cherry Creek 18-5 in the regular season and knew things would be much different.
“We beat them pretty bad last time, but we had to keep our heads up and know they were going to come for us,” Mustangs attacker Brian Kormondy said.
Jake Smith scored three goals, Tyler Standley two goals and Erik Smith one goal with an assist for the Mustangs.
“They’re a very good team,” Bruins coach Bryan Perry said of the Mustangs. “They’ve got a lot of athletes and they shoot the ball really well. So you’re not going to hold them down too much.”
