Boys lacrosse: Colorado Academy knocks down Erie

ERIE — Erie boys lacrosse knew its season wouldn’t be simple however, for essentially the most half, Class 4A’s third-ranked Tigers have been capable of battle properly by an extremely robust slate. On Saturday on their residence subject, they felt the brunt of that schedule’s full power when Class 5A’s No. 5 Colorado Academy defeated them with a 9-5 remaining.

The Tigers couldn’t match the depth that the Mustangs dropped at the sector within the second half after main them 4-3 by the primary two quarters.

“I feel for us, we’re studying each single week about ourselves and methods to get higher each week,” senior midfielder Corby Tecu stated. “Proper now, we’re nonetheless determining methods to play a full recreation. I feel 4 weeks in the past, we’d begin giving as much as that group midway by the primary quarter. It simply occurred to be third quarter this week. I feel we’re on the precise trajectory.”

Tecu and sophomore attacker Charlie O’Brien led the Tigers with two objectives apiece as sophomore attacker Davis Mundy added one other rating. In objective, junior Colin Selters put collectively an unimaginable efficiency as he made 17 saves.

The matchup boiled right down to protection on each side of the sector, however the Mustang protection was only a bit extra stifling. Whereas the 8-2 Tigers have seen their fair proportion of robust opponents this season, they hadn’t confronted anybody fairly as aggressive as Colorado Academy.

Nonetheless, Erie held its personal fairly properly.

“It’s arduous to play with such a low-oxygen mind after we’re on protection for like 10 minutes out of 12 minutes of 1 quarter,” senior defender Max Warn stated. “Our first recreation towards Kent (Denver), that’s an amazing offense as properly and we actually buckled down, targeted up. We type of misplaced that depth all through the season however I feel we actually discovered it this recreation. We performed a ton of protection and we actually performed properly there.”

Heading into the competition, Erie boasted the highest rating in CHSAA’s RPI in Class 4A. It has already defeated 4A’s No. 5 Air Academy, No. 6 Dawson, and 5A’s No. 9 Grandview, and its solely different loss got here by the hands of 5A’s No. 10 Cherokee Path. Kent Denver, Jefferson Academy and Windsor — who’re incomes votes of their respective 5A and 4A polls — additionally gave technique to Erie victories this 12 months.

That kind of adversity was head coach Nick Mandia’s plan all alongside, and he’s seeing his boys develop with each faceoff and with each passing opponent. Their work, nonetheless, isn’t executed but because the season begins to taper off.

The Tigers will host Fruita Monument subsequent on Monday afternoon earlier than ending out the common season with 4A’s top-ranked Denver South, No. 9 Evergreen and No. 2 Cheyenne Mountain.

“The objective was to schedule a bunch of groups that might problem us in that method in order that we’d be bolstered and hardened by that, be able to go and win within the postseason towards the elite groups in 4A,” Mandia stated. “We’re higher as a result of we performed that recreation.

“We’re getting nearer and nearer to having the ability to play and maintain elite lacrosse for 4 quarters and that’s what it’ll take to win a state title. I imagine that we are able to contend for a state title this 12 months, similar to now we have previously years, however I really feel a bit of stronger this 12 months realizing what our schedule is doing for us as we progress by the season.”