HIGHLANDS RANCH | As character wins go, it doesn’t get much better than the one the Regis Jesuit boys lacrosse team came away with Thursday evening.
Watching a two-goal lead turned into a deficit against top-ranked Mountain Vista in the fourth quarter, coach Jim Soran’s Raiders responded with the final three goals of the game on their way to a 7-5 victory over the previously undefeated Golden Eagles.
Sophomore Anders Erickson’s scored to pull Regis Jesuit even early in the final period and freshman Reed Babcock broke the tie with 2 minutes, 20 seconds left, as the Raiders improved to 9-2 and dropped Mountain Vista — which recently downed defending Class 5A state champion Cherry Creek — to 11-1.
Erickson, Babcock and Joey Chott scored two goals apiece and Cole Boland also tallied for Regis Jesuit, which got a strong performance in the goal from Braden Host to beat an up-and-coming Mountain Vista team it also defeated in last season’s 5A semifinals.
Down a goal after one period, the Raiders got scores from Boland, Babcock and Erickson in the second period to take the lead and another from Chott early in the third for a 4-2 advantage.
Just nine seconds after the Golden Eagles got a 30-second man advantage due to a Regis Jesuit technical foul, Jake Govett scored to make it a one-goal game. Evan Place lifted Mountain Vista into a tie with an early goal in the fourth period and Colin Munro’s goal put the Golden Eagles in the lead with 9:55 remaining.
A little over a minute later, Erickson drove to the front of the net and went to the ground as he slipped the ball into the net to tie the score.
The Raiders gained possession with just over three minutes remaining and Babcock made it pay off when he ripped a shot from in the heart of the Mountain Vista defense that found its way into the net.
Alec Barnes won the ensuing faceoff and found an open Chott on the run for another goal 30 seconds later for some insurance and Regis Jesuit’s defense made life difficult on the Golden Eagles in the final minute.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or [email protected] Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
REGIS JESUIT 7, MOUNTAIN VISTA 5
Score by quarters:
Regis Jesuit 0 3 1 3 — 7
Mtn. Vista 1 1 1 2 — 5
SCORING
First quarter: Mountain Vista — Jake Govett, 1:21
Second quarter: Regis Jesuit — Cole Boland (Alec Barnes), 11:09; Regis Jesuit — Reed Babcock, 6:03; Mountain Vista — Cody Petau (Ryan Nunes), 4:38; Regis Jesuit — Anders Erickson, 3:37
Third quarter: Regis Jesuit — Joey Chott, 8:21; Mountain Vista — Govett from Colin Munro, 2:22
Fourth quarter: Mountain Vista — Evan Place (Jake Harvey), 10:27; Mountain Vista — Munro, 9:55; Regis Jesuit — Erickson, 8:49; Regis Jesuit — Babcock, 2:20; Regis Jesuit — Chott (Barnes), 1:43
