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Preps: Seasons come to an end for Aspen girls lacrosse, girls soccer, Basalt baseball

Aspen High School girls lacrosse players Kylie Kenny, right, and Georgia Hollander hug while walking off the field after a loss to Castle View in the Class 4A state quarterfinals on Saturday, June 19, 2021, on the AHS turf. The Sabercats won, 10-9. Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times.

The Castle View girls lacrosse team made the most of its tiring trek into the mountains by knocking off undefeated Aspen, 10-9, on Saturday in the quarterfinal round of the Class 4A state tournament.

The Sabercats, seeded No. 10 in the inaugural 4A state bracket — girls lacrosse had still been one single classification the last time a season was held in 2019 — held off a late AHS rally to advance.

“It feels so good. Long trip to the mountains, and we made it worth it,” Castle View coach Samantha Silverman said. “So we are really excited. We kind of put everything together that we’ve been doing throughout the season and put it together in this game, and that’s what we like to see. Working together — had lots of assisted goals. It was fun.”



Aspen High School senior Kylie Kenny brings the ball upfield in the girls lacrosse game against Castle View in the Class 4A state quarterfinals on Saturday, June 19, 2021, on the AHS turf. The Sabercats won, 10-9. Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times.

Castle View led 1-0 not even a minute into the game, but Aspen’s Kylie Kenny answered back with her own goal barely 30 seconds later and it was 1-1 just like that. That led to a 3-1 lead for the Skiers, with another goal by Kylie Kenny and one from her sophomore sister, Michaela Kenny, but the Sabercats finished the half strong and led 4-3 at the midway point.

After taking a 5-4 lead early in the second half thanks to goals by Kylie Kenny and Lindsey Heinecken, Aspen started to see things slip away. The Sabercats scored four straight goals to take an 8-5 lead with about 18 minutes to go, but Aspen rallied to tie the game at 9-all with less than four minutes remaining.




Castle View scored what would be the game-winner with 2:38 on the clock. Aspen had one more good shot on goal, but Georgia Hollander’s attempt was blocked with about 90 seconds to go and AHS never got possession back.

It was the first and only loss of the season for Aspen, which was seeded No. 2 in the tournament, and finishes 10-1 overall. It was the second straight undefeated regular season for the Skiers, who also won the league championship.

The team only has one senior, that being future University of Denver lacrosse player Kylie Kenny, so the Skiers should be in a good position to make a return to the top of the state’s hierarchy next spring.

Gallery caption: Photos: AHS girls lacrosse vs. Castle View

Castle View improved to 7-5 overall and will play No. 3 seed Grand Junction in Monday’s semifinal game. Grand Junction was a 14-10 winner over No. 11 Northfield on Saturday.

The Sabercats also beat Aspen in the 2017 playoffs, winning 12-8 on the AHS turf.

“It was fun to come back and play them again, and win again,” Silverman said, noting they rarely play any of the mountain teams outside of the playoffs. “We are excited. And really that’s better for us. It’s good to just come out and play our game and that’s what we did today.”

Aspen girls soccer loses in state quarterfinals

The Aspen High School girls soccer team’s season came to an end Saturday with a 5-0 loss to No. 10 seed Colorado Academy in the quarterfinal round of the Class 3A state playoffs.

The Mustangs (9-2-1) move on to face No. 3 Vail Mountain in the semifinals on Wednesday. VMS beat No. 6 The Academy on Saturday, 2-1.

Aspen finishes the season, the first played under coach Chris Ellis, 7-4-1 overall. The Skiers, seeded only No. 15 in the 16-team 3A tournament, had knocked off No. 2 Manitou Springs in the first round, 5-1.

Basalt baseball goes 0-2 at state tournament

The Basalt High School baseball team’s run through the postseason ended Saturday with its second loss in the Class 3A state tournament.

The Longhorns opened the double-elimination tournament on Friday with an 11-3 loss to The Classical Academy, sending them into the loser’s bracket. Saturday morning, BHS lost 9-4 to Colorado Academy to eliminate them from the tournament.

The Longhorns finish the season 13-7 overall. BHS had upset higher-seeded Alamosa and Gunnison in the regional tournament last week to make the surprise trip to the Front Range for the state tournament.

Still standing for the conclusion of the 3A tournament next weekend are TCA and Eaton (both undefeated in tourney play), as well as Faith Christian and Lutheran, both with one loss.

acolbert@aspentimes.com