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Boys lacrosse: Late goal lifts Summit over Aspen

Jon Maletz
The Aspen Times
Aspen, CO Colorado
Jon Maletz/The Aspen TimesThe Skiers' Tyler Tick looks to make a play during Wednesday's game against Summit at Aspen High School.
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ASPEN – The Skiers boys lacrosse team’s slow start cost them dearly late.

Aspen spotted visiting Summit a three-goal lead in the opening half Tuesday afternoon. The resilient Skiers battled back to square the game three times – the last coming with 1 minute, 21 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter – but surrendered a score in the waning seconds, dropping their first game of the season, 7-6.

“We didn’t quite open it up. We got our shots early, but their goalie did a good job making saves,” Aspen head coach Mike Goerne said. “A lot of our shots were going wide and over. We didn’t take care of what we needed to.”



The Tigers had no such problems. They controlled possession for extended periods during the first half, and their patience on offense produced scores of prime scoring chances. Blake Horan hit the back of the net at the 3:52 mark in the opening quarter, then stretched the lead to two 7:12 before halftime.

Less than a minute later, teammate Evan Feldman penetrated the Skiers defense and ripped a sidearm shot into the bottom corner.




Aspen climbed back into this contest with a late surge before the break. During a man-up advantage with two minutes to play, Ryan Fitzgerald found a crease and fired an accurate shot before colliding with a defender and being knocked to the ground.

Soon after, Harry Ferguson trimmed the deficit to one with an athletic wrap-around goal. The Skiers had an apparent score negated 25 seconds later; referees determined that Fitzgerald did not get the shot off before the buzzer sounded.

“Unfortunately, it was one second too late,” Goerne said.

Aspen produced the equalizer 90 seconds into the third quarter. A Skiers player sprinted toward the cage, drew two defenders and then passed off to a wide-open Brendan Wagner, who clipped the net with a strong shot.

Feldman responded with a second score, then Ben Daniels extended the Summit advantage to two by capitalizing on an Aspen defensive breakdown with eight seconds remaining in the third.

Aspen (5-1) won the ensuing faceoff, however, and Tyler Tick beat Tigers goalkeeper Garrett Tousey and the clock.

Five minutes into the fourth, Tick skied to haul in an errant pass just outside the crease, then turned and fired to knot the game at five.

“Both teams fought up and down the field the whole way through,” Goerne said. “Both teams were well conditioned.”

Summit momentarily pulled ahead again on a Drake Blass score, then Colter Robinson squared things with 1:21 remaining, setting the stage for a dramatic finish.

The Skiers appeared primed to pull this one out when they flooded the Tigers zone in the final minute, but Tousey made an acrobatic save and pushed the ball upfield.

Summit called a timeout with 28 seconds to play. About 10 seconds later, Feldman finished off his hat trick – and Aspen.

“We slid like we were supposed to, but they made three passes and found the shot,” Goerne said. “We were really hoping to come out, shut them off and have a shot at our end. That one didn’t work in our favor.

“There’s still a lot of lacrosse to go. We’re getting right back up. We’re not going to sit down on this one at all.”

The Skiers visit Durango at 4 p.m. Friday.

• Basalt pitchers Tanner Banc and Spencer Glasener combined to shut out Coal Ridge, 3-0, on Tuesday. Banc tossed four innings of one-hit ball to notch the win – the Longhorns’ first in seven games this season. Glasener surrendered just two hits in three innings of work, and Johnson Emerson drove in all three runs – two coming on a double.

• Julia Budsey shot 105 and Christy Buchholz and Emily Daly carded 111 and 135, respectively, to lead the Aspen girls golf team to a 10th-place finish Monday at Bookcliff Country Club in Grand Junction. Rifle picked up the win with 269 points, while Central (285) and Fruita (299) rounded out the top three.

jmaletz@aspentimes.com