4A Boys Lacrosse: Dakota Ridge Captures First State Championship

DENVER – Dakota Ridge boys lacrosse is officially in the history books.

On Monday at the University of Denver’s Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium, the Eagles put together a dominant performance in their state title game debut to win 12-7 over Air Academy to claim the Class 4A state championship for the first time in the program’s history.

“We wanted it since Day 1,” Eagles senior Tyler Read said. “We’ve come to playoffs and lost every year but this was our year, we knew it. We came out, we dominated and we did what we do best.”

No. 4-seeded Air Academy scored first to Monday’s title game. No. 2 Dakota Ridge, however, responded with seven unanswered goals to blast its way into the lead. The Eagles led 4-1 after the first quarter and 8-3 at halftime.

The Eagles opened the second half with three more unanswered goals to push their lead even further and led 11-3 to start the fourth quarter. Air Academy closed the gap a bit in the final quarter, but the lead and the Eagles’ momentum were insurmountable at that point.

“It was electric,” Read said. “We had everyone cheering us on and there was no doubt we were the favored team to win this. It feels great. It’s a dream come true. We’ve all wanted this. All year, we’ve been saying this is our goal.”

Read led the Eagles with four goals. Brody Spallone also finished with a hat trick for Dakota Ridge.

Monday’s title game was also Air Academy’s title game debut.

Cherry Creek is the all-time leader with seven boys lacrosse state titles.