5A boys lacrosse: Arapahoe claims first title since 2013

DENVER – The Arapahoe boys lacrosse team is back on top.

On Friday night at the University of Denver’s Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium, the sixth-seeded Warriors won 8-5 over No. 5 seed and defending champion Mountain Vista in the 5A state championship game. It was the Arapahoe boys lacrosse program’s fourth state title overall and the Warriors’ first since 2013.

“It’s all we’ve worked for,” Arapahoe goalie Ian Thompson said. “Ever since our first practice, we laid out our goals and our number one goal was to win the state championship. This was our 19^th game and we’ve put so much work in, so many hours in to do this. We did it and all the work paid off.”

Facing a Mountain Vista offense that averaged over 14 points per game in 2022, the Arapahoe defense was outstanding all night. Thompson was spectacular in goal, finishing with 12 saves to help the Warriors (14-5) defense hold the Golden Eagles (15-4) well below their average and pace the Warriors to a 4-2 halftime lead.

“Our defense is spectacular,” Thompson said. “They played flawless and I have all the respect in the world for those guys. They work so hard every single game. They’re the best.”

The Warriors, who also on 9-8 over Mountain Vista during the regular season, held their final three postseason opponents to an average of 4.3 goals.

On Friday night, Finn Hauhuth led the Warriors with four goals, including three in the second half to help the Warriors pull away. Mikey Moynahan, Fred Fulkerson, Zac Schmitt and Spencer Zink all scored for Arapahoe as well.

“It’s pretty surreal,” Arapahoe head coach Logan Bobzien said. “I’m kind of speechless. The players made this their year and didn’t let expectations or anything like that put additional pressure on. They were really on their own journey this year and it was awesome to see them start playing well at the right time with four wins against four great opponents.

“Mountain Vista is a great team and I have so much respect for their team. They’re the reigning state champions and their coaches have been around Colorado for so many years, so I consider them some of the people I respect the most. We knew it was going to be a tough game and they were a great opponent.”

Ethan Pearson and Joel Palasz each had pair of goals for Mountain Vista and Brady Brown scored the other.

Last season’s title was Mountain Vista first boys lacrosse state championship.