Aspen boys lacrosse streak ends
The Aspen Times
The season-opening win streak for the Aspen High School boys lacrosse team ended Saturday in a blizzard on the Front Range.
The Skiers, who had opened the spring season with six consecutive wins, faced an emotional rematch against Valor Christian in Highlands Ranch, the team that ousted Aspen from the state playoffs a year ago.
The Skiers took a two-goal second-half lead in the back-and-forth game. But with the Skiers up 4-2, a winter storm struck with full fury.
Valor Christian eventually claimed a 6-5 win over the Skiers in overtime.
“The weather really stalled our game,” Aspen head coach Mike Goerne said. “It became a blizzard.”
Crews tried to shovel along the sidelines as the heavy snow continued to fall.
Early, Goerne said Valor Christian dominated possession, taking a 1-0 lead.
“They play a very controlled game,” Goerne said. “We definitely had a lot of penalties against us, and we didn’t get as many shots as usual.”
But, he said, the defense played great in front of the Aspen goal.
“And Jordy Cottrell came up huge in goal for us,” Goerne said.
Valor Christian led 2-1 at halftime.
Valor rallied to tie at 4-all.
The Skiers took a snowy 5-4 lead.
Valor scored again to send the game into overtime.
“Right off the faceoff, there was a scrum,” Goerne said as the Skiers opened OT playing man-down. “There was a scrum. The ground ball went to Valor … and they scored in transition.”
Valor Christian improved to 2-1.
“Our defense did play great. Holding Valor to six goals is quite an accomplishment,” he said, adding that the Skiers hope to see Valor Christian again in the state playoffs at the end of the season.
In the meantime, the Aspen boys lacrosse team is taking a spring break trip to Florida for a series of scrimmages and a game against a high school from St. Louis.
