Dakota Ridge boys lacrosse edges closer to 3-peat

LAKEWOOD — A second half of domination Wednesday night put Dakota Ridge boys lacrosse on the doorstep of a third straight Class 4A Foothills League title.

The Eagles (11-2, 3-0 in league) led conference rival Golden 5-3 at halftime and then pulled away in the second half at Trailblazer Stadium. Dakota Ridge eventually took a 12-5 victory, leaving the Eagles as the lone undefeated team in league play.

“It was a big benchmark for us. We needed to get past them,” Dakota Ridge senior Nolan Hartman said of the key conference win over Golden. “We need to get that 3-peat.”

Hartman finished with a team-high three goals on the night, including a pair of goals for good measure in the final minute of play in the fourth quarter. Dakota Ridge ended up outscoring Golden 7-2 after halftime.

Seniors Tyler Read and Jackson Thomas each had two goals apiece for the Eagles.

“We just went into halftime and talked about what we needed to fix,” Hartman said. “We needed to execute all of our plays and then everything came together.”

It was also the fifth straight victory for the Eagles after back-to-back non-league losses a couple of weeks ago.

“Those were two good 5A teams,” Hartman said of the losses to Fairview and Colorado Academy. “They really opened up our eyes. Now we have put those in the past and just looking forward.”

Dakota Ridge has just two regular-season games left. The Eagles face Green Mountain (6-4, 2-1) at 7 p.m. Friday, April 25, at Trailblazer Stadium. A win over the Rams would clinch the conference 3-peat for Dakota Ridge.

“It is just one more notch into hopefully a 3-peat,” Dakota Ridge coach Dak Riecke said. 

Golden (8-4, 2-1) came in on a 6-game winning streak, but couldn’t do much damage against Dakota Ridge’s defense and senior goalie Zach Hearn.

“It felt really good,” Riecke said of the Eagles ending Golden’s winning streak. “Golden has a new coach this year and has really stepped up its game. Our defense played great.”

Dakota Ridge’s final regular-season game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 30, at Conifer High School. 

“We have a lot of focus,” Hartman said as the league schedule wraps up next week. “We are just taking it one game at a time and not looking too far ahead.”

Before Wednesday’s win, the Eagles were No. 1 in the CHSAA Selection & Seeding Index. 

“It’s league first and then it’s a whole new season,” Riecke said of the upcoming postseason. “Then it’s about who can put together five perfect games. We are just trying to take it step-by-step so we can get to that next point and have those five perfect games go in our favor.”