AURORA | A capsule look at the Class 5A boys lacrosse state playoff quarterfinal game between Kent Denver and Regis Jesuit scheduled for May 18, 2022:
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at [email protected] Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2022 CLASS 5A BOYS LACROSSE QUARTERFINAL CAPSULE
NO. 8 KENT DENVER (10-6) AT NO. 1 REGIS JESUIT (14-2)
May 18, 7 p.m., Lou Kellogg Stadium
BREAKDOWN: Kent Denver and Regis Jesuit meet for the second time this season after the Raiders prevailed 6-4 back on March 25 in a regular season contest. …The programs are also familiar with playing each other in the postseason and squared off in the state championship game in 5A in 2018 (won by Regis Jesuit) as well as in 2011 (won by the Raiders) and 1999 (won by Kent Denver), when Colorado had only one classification. Previously, the Raiders also won in a quarterfinal matchup in 2012, while the Sun Devils prevailed in semifinals in 2008, 2005 and 2003 and 2002 quarterfinals. …Cherry Creek leads Colorado with the most all-time state championships with seven, with Kent Denver second with five and Regis Jesuit third with four.
KENT DENVER: Coach Kenny Crowley’s Sun Devils lost to No. 2 Cherry Creek 15-5 on April 21, but rebounded with back-to-back wins over No. 6 Arapahoe and No. 4 Colorado Academy to start a winning streak that is now at four games. Kent Denver had an opening round bye, then earned an 11-9 second round win over Ralston Valley, which it had lost to during the regular season. …The Sun Devils have had success keeping games low-scoring, as the have averaged 8.6 goals per game, while they have allowed 8.0 per contest. Kent Denver has a trio of 20-plus goal scorers in sophomore Ben Dutton (23), junior Cade Oxley (22) and senior Austin Jourde (21), while sophomore Christopher Eiselein is the only player in double figures in goals and assists with 14 and 13, respectively. Senior LSM Aiden Donovan is easily the team’s leader in groundballs with 68 and has also taken a significant amount of the team’s faceoffs. Senior Finn Cooper and sophomore Sam Kosloski have played just about an equal number of minutes in the goal and have very similar statistics, though Kosloski has a lower Goals Against Average (7.3 to 8.1) and Cooper has a higher save percentage (.571 to .532).
REGIS JESUIT: Coach Jim Soran’s Raiders rebounded from a 6-4 loss to No. 6 Arapahoe late in the regular season with a quality 10-6 win over No. 2 Cherry Creek in their finale, which gave them the tournament’s top seed and an opening round bye. Regis Jesuit entered the fray with an 11-6 victory over No. 17 Denver East in the second round in a game it trailed by two goals after one quarter, but stormed into the lead. Seniors AJ McBorrough and Logan White and juniors Mattie Cain and Ethan Hughes scored two goals apiece for the Raiders, while Hughes and junior Logan Farrington had two assists apiece. Junior goalie Spencer Day saved 11 of the 17 shots he faced. …For the season, Regis Jesuit has averaged 12 goals per game, which is double the amount it has allowed. White (who scored three goals in the team’s first win over Kent Denver) has been a major source of offense with a total of 59 goals that ranks him seventh in the state regardless of classification and fourth in 5A, while he also has 24 assists and his 83 points are second-most in 5A. Juniors Fletcher Sullivan (23 goals, 11 assists), Hughes (21 goals, 12 assists) and Cain (20 goals, 16 assists) all have registered double figures in both categories, while three other players have scored double-digit goals. Sullivan is also the team leader in groundballs with 44, while sophomore LSM Connor Nesbitt is next with 40. In the net, Day has played the majority of the minutes and has a .635 save percentage to go with a 6.0 Goals Against Average.
WINNER GETS: The Kent Denver-Regis Jesuit winner moves into the May 21 5A semifinals at the University of Denver, where they will face the winner of the quarterfinal between No. 5 Mountain Vista and No. 4 Colorado Academy.
SCOREBOARD/SCHEDULE: The Class 5A state playoff scoreboard & schedule can be found, here
