AURORA | Ryan Ball got loose at the right moment to keep Regis Jesuit’s season going.
Shackled all game long by Kent Denver’s defense, the Raiders’ leading scorer came up with the team’s biggest goal of the year in the fourth period of Saturday’s boys lacrosse quarterfinal matchup at Lou Kellogg Stadium.
Ball broke a tie with 5 minutes, 20 seconds, remaining and sixth-seeded Regis Jesuit survived some tense final moments for a 5-4 victory over the second-seeded Sun Devils, putting the defending state champions into the May 16 semifinals. The Raiders (14-5) avenged an overtime loss to Kent Denver three weeks earlier and set up a rematch against Cherry Creek, which won 8-3 when the teams met in the season finale.
Top-seeded Arapahoe, which rolled over No. 7 Monarch 13-1, and No. 4 Columbine — an 11-10 winner over Mullen — meet in the other semifinal.
Logan Stelzner, Colin MacDonald, Do Jones and Sean Offner also had goals for Regis Jesuit, while goalie Nick Willenbrock made 10 saves, including several big stops in the final minutes as Kent Denver (13-3) pushed for the tying score.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555
(6) REGIS JESUIT 5, (2) KENT DENVER 4
Score by periods:
Kent Denver 0 2 1 1 — 4
Regis Jesuit 1 1 2 1 — 5
SCORING
First period — Regis Jesuit: Logan Stelzner (Sean Offner), 1:31; Second period — Kent Denver: James Rassenfross; Regis Jesuit: Colin MacDonald (Stelzner), 9:11; Kent Denver: Bailey Tills, 2:35; Third period — Regis Jesuit: Do Jones, 9:22; Regis Jesuit: Offner (Blake Knobloch), 6:01; Kent Denver: Jaden Franklin (Rassenfross), 1:12; Fourth period — Kent Denver: Collins Gantz, 9:35; Regis Jesuit: Ryan Ball, 5:20
