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Lacrosse: Aspen girls drop heartbreaker

Jon Maletz
The Aspen Times
Aspen, CO Colorado

ASPEN – Aspen watched its lead, then its hopes of winning a first Mountain Conference crown slip away in Wednesday’s game with Grand Junction.

The visiting Tigers battled back from a two-goal deficit to square the game at 13 in the waning seconds of the second half. Grand Junction came away with possession on the ensuing face-off, sped down field and fired a shot at the buzzer that clipped the net, securing a 14-13 victory and a conference title.

“A heartbreaking loss,” Skiers head coach Meredith Sauder said afterward. “They did everything they could, and they should be very proud of themselves. I think the fact that they had so much emotion after the game speaks volumes for the kind of work they put in all season.”



Nevada Crandall scored four goals, Delaney Conner and Olivia Porcaro each chipped in with three, Shannon Turbidy found the net twice and CoCo Writer once for Aspen (9-3), which was locked in a back-and-forth tussle with the Tigers all afternoon.

The Skiers were clinging to a two-goal advantage with just three minutes remaining in regulation.




Then, things went awry.

The Tigers scored two quick goals to square the match in the final minute. Sauder watched helplessly from the sideline as Grand Junction made one final push.

“In those last few seconds, it always comes down to who gets possession of the draw control,” she said. “We tried to collapse on the ball, but they slid through the defense and got the shot off.

“I just wish were able to slow the ball a little better so that time expired and we could battle it out in overtime.”

Aspen hosts Battle Mountain at 4:30 p.m. Friday to close out the regular season.

“We played with heart and emotion and laid it all out there. I can’t be more proud,” Sauder said. “It was one of Aspen’s best showings on the lacrosse field. … We’ve taken our game to new levels. Hopefully, there’s more to go.”

jmaletz@aspentimes.com