5A Girls Lacrosse: Valor Christian Repeats as State Champions
By Courtney Oakes
DENVER – As backbones go, the defense on the Valor Christian girls lacrosse team is about as strong as they come.
The backline for the top-seeded Eagles made things extremely difficult for a potent Regis Jesuit offense for the majority of Friday night’s Class 5A state championship game at Peter Barton Stadium and stayed strong in crunch time of a 12-6 victory that secured the program’s second straight title.
The defense’s effort pleased head coach Sam Geiersbach and reinforced her belief in how important it has been to Valor Christian’s success.
“Our defense is the backbone of our team for sure,” Geiersbach said. “They play super disciplined, clean lacrosse and they play the Valor way. They are really driven and motivated and know they have to play as a collective unit and they never get down. They’ve been doing it all season long
The offense for second-seeded Regis Jesuit (15-4) led the state in goals with nearly 300 and had been cranked up in the postseason with 57 goals in three playoff contests. But coach Crysti Foote’s Raiders found the going incredibly difficult again the Eagles and senior goalie Allie Moskowitz.
The Raiders were kept off the scoreboard in the second quarter when Valor Christian broke open a tie game and took a 4-1 lead into the locker room.
“We always talk about how we never have doubt in the defense and if the offense is having a bad day, we know the defense is going to be the one that steps us up and helps us get back in it,” star junior midfielder Gia Bigelow said.
Valor Christian’s offense — in particular freshman attacker McKinnley Clarkson — did not have a bad game, however. Clarkson had just 13 goals on the season coming into the game, but rang up five of them in the biggest game of the season.
Regis Jesuit’s offense did find some success in a third quarter rally, as junior Natalie Chilton scored twice and four players in all had goals in the period as the Raiders forged a 6-6 tie with 5:31 left in the period.
It was all Valor Christian from there, however, as junior Olivia LaSelle broke the tie before the end of the period and Clarkson notched two more goals in the second half.
The Eagles finished the game on a 6-0 run.
Bigelow — a University of North Carolina commitment — had a lot to do with that with her ability to secure draw controls and get the Eagles started the other way.
“Getting the ball is my number one job for the team,” said Bigelow, who added two goals and three assists. “When it’s most important, I just put my body on the line and go out and get it.”
Bigelow said the state championship victory last season created a taste for it.
She also believes that this won’t be the last time Valor Christian hoists the state championship trophy in the near future.
“We had a freshman who scored five goals, so we have a bright future for sure,” Bigelow said. “We had a really big senior class when I was a freshman and we thought things were going south, but they’re clearly not because we now have two in a row.”
Added Clarkson: “Us freshmen, we’re going to carry this on in the future. I think Valor will always have this culture and it will always be this way.”
