AURORA | Regis Jesuit moved a step closer to playing for a second straight Class 5A boys lacrosse state championship, but had to pass a stiff test in Saturday’s quarterfinals at Legacy Stadium.
With a six-goal first period, it looked like coach Jim Soran’s second-seeded Raiders would cruise into a semifinal matchup with third-seeded Mountain Vista — which downed No. 11 Arapahoe 9-5 in the previous game — but seventh-seeded Monarch came to life the rest of the way.
The Coyotes held Regis Jesuit scoreless in the second period to pull within three goals and closed strong with a four-goal fourth period, but couldn’t quite catch up as the Raiders prevailed 11-9.
Matt Soran tallied four goals, Chet Dunstan added three and Ben Bechter two for Regis Jesuit, which moved within one win of making the 5A state championship game at 7:30 p.m. May 15 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
Top-seeded Cherry Creek and No. 4 Kent Denver meet in the other semifinal contest.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
(2) REGIS JESUIT 11, (7) MONARCH 9
Score by periods:
Monarch 1 2 2 4 — 9
Regis Jesuit 6 0 4 1 — 11
Monarch goals: Max Wiesner 4, Chad Kruezer 3, Landon Waddle 2. Regis Jesuit goals: Matt Soran 4, Chet Dunstan 3, Ben Bechter 2, Truett Davis, Joey Chott. Monarch assists: Jared Hodell, Sammer Zaidy, Andrew Zwiers. Regis Jesuit assists: Davis, Dunstan, Chase Konkel. Goalies (Min-Goals allowed-Saves) — Monarch: Connor Johnson (48-11-13); Regis Jesuit: Brett Quartuccio (48-9-13).