4A girls lacrosse: Evergreen makes history winning first title in new classification
AURORA — Rachel Sanford knew when she took over Evergreen’s girls lacrosse program three years ago the Cougars could win a state championship.
“It’s crazy,” Evergreen senior Margo Miller said. “Rachel (Sanford) when she first came to our school she looked at the (trophy) wall and said one day you are going to be state champs. I was a sophomore then and we all kind of laughed, but today is that day.”
Top-seeded Evergreen finished off its historic season by winning the first-ever Class 4A girls lacrosse state championship Wednesday night at Legacy Stadium in Aurora. The Cougars took a 19-5 victory over No. 10 Castle View.
“This is awesome,” Evergreen sophomore Bella Reece, who had six goals in the state title game. “To make a name for Evergreen. This is so big. All of our seniors they hyped us up and brought our team together this year. I’m so excited.”
The Cougars (11-2 record) never trailed in the title game. Evergreen scored 10 unanswered goals in the final 13 minutes of the first half to grab a commanding 14-2 lead after halftime.
For the second straight playoff game Evergreen induced a running-clock with a 10-goal lead in the first half.
“We had to come out super strong and look for that extra pass,” Reece said. “We were hyped. We were able to get that running-clock before halftime.”
The Cougars had one of the most potent offensive attacks in 4A this season. Miller, along with sophomores Averi Gardner and Reece all finishing the season with 40-goal seasons.
“That’s pretty sweet,” Miller said about the three 40-goal scorers. “ Bella and Averi are studs. I’m so excited to see what they do in the future with this program. It was so great to have so many offensive threats.”
Senior goalie Lauren Spence and Evergreen’s defense held all opponents under double-digit goals during the Cougars’ 11-game winning streak to finish the year. Spence will head to continue her playing career at Loyola University Maryland.
The Cougars had defeated the Sabercats earlier this season. Evergreen took a 14-7 win against Castle View back on May 28.
Castle View actually entered the state tournament with a 5-5 record, but the Sabercats went on a remarkable run in the state tournament. They upset Golden, Aspen and Grand Junction to make Castle View’s first girls lacrosse season a memorable one, but the Cougars ended the Sabercats run in the title game.
“We have really been building to the level of play that we are showing now all season long,” Sanford said. “We have prepared all week and pretty much all season to show up today and they did.”
Evergreen got off a bit of a rough start this season with opening losses to 5A programs ThunderRidge and Fairview. However, the top-seeded Cougars hit their stride winning 11 straight games to close out the season. Eight of those victories were by double-digit margins.
“After the first two game we really learned what we needed to do,” Reece said of the 0-2 start. “We got to play two amazing 5A teams and were able to grow from that. Our team has developed so much.”
Evergreen becomes the first Jeffco Public School to ever win a girls lacrosse state title.
“It’s so great to end it like this,” said Miller, who will play lacrosse at Cornell University.
