4A boys lacrosse: Mika’s heads-up goal in 2OT lifts Cheyenne Mountain over Erie to third straight state title

DENVER — Logan Mika’s lungs ached, but he had enough left in them to scream in celebration Monday evening.

The Cheyenne Mountain junior attackman found himself in the right place at the right time and ultimately decided a fantastic Class 4A state championship game in favor of his team with a 10-9 double-overtime win over Erie.

Mika scooped up a loose ball and flipped it into the net with 55 seconds remaining in the second extra period to land a third consecutive state championship for the Red-Tailed Hawks.

“Every single step it was like I was blacking out; all the air was out of my lungs and I couldn’t breath at all,” a jubilant Mika said. “Especially the middies, who have no subs, everybody was working as hard as possible. It was in front of me and I just took the opportunity, did a little shovel shot to get it in as quick as possible and it went in.”

Mika’s only goal of the game gave coach Mike Paige’s program the victory and brought a heartbreaking end for coach Nick Mandia’s Erie team, which had clawed all the way back from a five-goal halftime deficit to send the game into overtime.

A massive, impactful group of seniors — many of which played together on the Cheyenne Mountain ice hockey team that won the 4A state title in the winter season — got to go out in style.

Senior Wyatt Furda departs high school with five state championship rings — three in lacrosse and two in ice hockey — but without hesitation put title at the top of the list.

“It’s No. 1 because of the way it ended,” said Furda, who scored three goals in the contest. “This is my friend group, my family from when I started to play lacrosse in second grade. It’s bittersweet because every single senior here, we’ve played forever, so it’s tough to see us go, but it’s the only way we want to let it go. It’s every kid’s dream.”

Cheyenne Mountain (16-3) did its best in the early going to take drama out of the high-stakes contest as it scored twice in the first two minutes on goals from Furda and junior Will Weinstein and led 5-0 at halftime over an Erie team it defeated in the semifinals in each of the past two seasons.

But the Tigers (15-4) — who were after their first state championship — played a scrappy first half and kept contact with the Red-Tailed Hawks.

Erie made its move in the second half with four goals in the third quarter and five more in the fourth.

Junior Liam Connors had a huge second half and scored four goals in the final six-plus minutes of regulation to force overtime. The last score came with just 12.2 seconds left in regulation as he spun off a defender and bounced a shot into the corner of the net to make it 9-9.

That wasn’t a surprise to Paige or the Cheyenne Mountain players.

“I know Nick well enough, his coaching staff and his personnel,” Paige said. “They are studs and we knew it would be a battle.

“In the lockerroom, we told them it would be a slugfest and we took some hits, but our guys are not just a team, they are a family. They play hockey together and we are a really tight-knit group. It’s an amazing group of young men.”

That group — keyed by a group of five midfielders that had to play both ways the entire game with no breaks — found a way to come through in nearly eight minutes of grueling overtime play.

Senior midfielder Kevin Papa attacked the goal from the wing, but the ball was dislodged by an Erie defender as he landed up for a shot.

Mika secured the loose ball and flipped it through a defender and past sprawling Tigers goalie Colton Selters for the win.

“Playing together as a team for years and years, moments like that occur,” Mika said. “We have chemistry with each other and things just worked out.”

Cheyenne Mountain senior goalie Matty Kelleher was nearly at a loss of words in the midst of the postgame celebration.

“This is our third in a row, and we just win, that’s what we do,” Kelleher said. “I don’t know how else to say it. We just find a way to win.”

Furda made sure to tip his cap to an Erie team that should again be a challenger next season with the majority of its roster expected to return.

“We watched them play Dakota Ridge (in the semifinals) and we all wanted to play Erie because we know to be the best you have to beat the best,” he said. “They are a great team and they are going to be a great team next year since they only have three or four seniors. If it wasn’t us winning it, I wanted it to be them.”