DENVER | A slow start felt inevitable for the Regis Jesuit boys lacrosse team in Friday afternoon’s visit to Kent Denver, but the finish couldn’t have been better.
Playing their first game since a dramatic win over top-ranked and defending Class 5A state champion Arapahoe, the ninth-ranked Raiders came out a bit sluggish against the rival Sun Devils, who raced out to a five-goal lead early in the second period at Justin DeSorrento Memorial Field.
Regis Jesuit absolutely dominated the remaining part of the opening half and the final two quarters, however, on its way to a 13-8 victory. Coach Jim Soran’s Raiders worked their way out of a 6-1 deficit into a halftime tie and outscored Kent Denver 6-1 in the final two quarters to improve to 4-1 on the season.
Seniors Mattie Cain and Ethan Hughes scored four goals apiece, junior Jamie Rosenzweig had a goal and four assists and senior Ryan Coughlin had the go-ahead goal and made a huge difference in the faceoff circle for Regis Jesuit.
Kent Denver got five goals from senior Cade Oxley, including the only score of the second half late in the third quarter that created an 8-8 tie, but Coughlin won the faceoff and scored just six seconds later to put the Raiders ahead to stay.
Senior Spencer Day stopped eight of the 16 shots he faced in the net for Regis Jesuit.
The Raiders — now winners of four straight games, including two in California — return to action on March 29 with a 4 p.m. visit to seventh-ranked Colorado Academy (4-1).
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
(9) Regis Jesuit 13, Kent Denver 8
Score by quarters:
Regis Jesuit 1 6 3 3 — 13
Kent Denver 4 3 1 0 — 8
Regis Jesuit goals: Mattie Cain 4, Ethan Hughes 4, Fletcher Sullivan 2, Ryan Coughlin, Reed Foltz, Jamie Rosenzweig. Regis Jesuit assists: Rosenzweig 4, Cain, Sullivan. Regis Jesuit saves: Spencer Day (16 shots on goal-8 saves)