Denver East girls lacrosse knocks out defending champ en route to quarterfinals
DENVER — It was swift, like a tidal wave. Or maybe a tsunami is more accurate — because the offense just kept coming. And coming.
Denver East girls lacrosse trailed defending champion Air Academy 3-2 early on in the first half of their second-round playoff game. But then Sarah Nick tied the game, and it set off an explosion for the Angels, who went on a 9-1 run, including a span of six straight goals.
Ultimately, that run proved to be the difference. Denver East, the No. 4 seed in these playoffs, beat No. 13 Air Academy 21-14.
“We knew that they were going to come out hard, and we were just prepared to keep fighting back,” Nick said after the game. “We were focused on the draw (down 3-2), and won a few in a row, and possession is everything.”
Added the Angels’ Emily Hammerstein: “We were kind of just like, ‘OK guys, you need to snap out of it.’ We had early nerves, but we got out of it.”
Nick led Denver East with five goals, while Hammerstein, Shelby Parks, Fair Romero and Kate Burney each had a hat trick. Maisie McGlynn had a pair of goals, and Emily Staker and Malia Ross also scored.
“There’s no one star on our team,” said Denver East co-coach Chris Romer. “We have seven girls that bury the ball.”
Friday’s game was a rematch of an earlier matchup between East (12-4) and Air Academy in which the Angels won 21-8. But the postseason win carried extra meaning: Air Academy, after all, was the defending champion.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” said Mallory Cleveland, Denver East’s other co-coach. “And it’s playoffs. It’s a brand new team, brand new season.”
“Air Academy’s a great program, and always a strong team,” Romer added. “These girls don’t want the journey to end. They’ve been on a mission since the day we started in February, and we’re going to control our own destiny.”
The win means Denver East is back in the quarterfinals for the second straight season, and seventh time in the past eight years. They will face No. 12 ThunderRidge, which upset No. 5 Arapahoe 13-9. That quarterfinal game will be May 13.
“This is the road to state, and we just wanted it so badly,” Hammerstein said. “All of us are so determined to get there.”
Air Academy (10-7) was led by senior Maddy Jahelka, one of the top players in the state. On Friday, she had a game-high six goals.
Libby Miller had a hat trick for the Kadets.
