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Aspen boys lacrosse controls 2015 opener

Dale Strode
The Aspen Times
Aspen senior Harry Ferguson circles back toward the goal with the ball during the Skiers' season-opening win over Montrose. Ferguson scored four first-half goals for AHS.
Jeremy Wallace / Special to The Aspen Times |

The Skiers started their long lacrosse march Friday with a big step — a giant step.

The Aspen High School boys lacrosse team opened the 2015 season with a dominating 20-0 victory over a first-year team from Montrose on the snow-cleared Aspen School District turf field.

The Skiers, who powered all the way to the state semifinals last year, greeted Montrose with six rapid-fire goals in the first four minutes of the game.



Their 8-0 first-quarter lead grew to 15-0 by halftime — so much for that famous Aspen hospitality.

“For the first game, I’m very happy with it,” Aspen head coach Mike Goerne said. “It was a good chance for us to move the ball around, get back into rhythm with each other.”




The veteran AHS coach said the Skiers played as a team, passing the ball.

“I felt like we did a good job moving the ball. We did a good job putting shots on the cage,” Goerne said. “We did a good job being patient and not forcing the shot.”

Junior Henry Godfrey scored Aspen’s first goal of the season 50 seconds into the opener in front of a large home crowd on a warm and sunny March afternoon.

Niko Cesark, a freshman, scored from long range for Aspen’s second goal of the game and the season.

Senior Ryan Fitzgerald, who would score three times in the opening half, pushed the lead to 3-0.

Sophomore Jack Cohan scooped up a rebounded shot in front of the Montrose goal and converted a goal for a 4-0 advantage.

Senior Harry Ferguson scored four first-half goals for Aspen; senior Tyler Tick netted three more goals.

And the rest of the scoring for Aspen included RJ Peshek, Jonathan Wells, Trey Robinson, Burke Daily and Connor Peirce.

“The players were looking for each other; it was a good team win,” Goerne said, with a nod to the fledgling Montrose program.

“I’m happy their’s another team playing lacrosse on the Western Slope, in Colorado,” Goerne said. “I hand it to them for splitting off from Telluride and creating another program.”

Goerne said the building process will take time.

He and the Skiers offered encouragement to the first-year Montrose players during the postgame handshake line.

The Aspen boys lacrosse team will be back on the home field today for an 11 a.m. game against visiting Durango.

The Skiers, coming off a school-best 15-3 record one year ago, will hit the road next Wednesday for a game at Arapahoe High School in Denver.

dstrode@aspentimes.com