The Regis Jesuit girls lacrosse team earned the chance to play for a state championship for the first time and the Raiders weren’t just content to be there as they took on a team that has made it old hat.
Sixth-seeded Regis Jesuit took its shot at knocking off top-seeded Colorado Academy May 19 in the Class 5A state final at Peter Barton Stadium on the campus of the University of Denver, but the Mustangs held off the Raiders 11-6 to win the program’s eighth straight state title.
All six of the goals for coach Crysti Foote’s Regis Jesuit teams came from seniors, as Emily Bradac scored four times and Ava Rogala and Charlotte Ford added one apiece. The Raiders finished 12-5 with two of those losses coming to Colorado Academy, which finished the season 19-0 and has won 31 straight postseason games.
“They’ve had quite a title run and they held it up, but it was fun to make them work for it,” Bradac said. “I think we needed a couple more goals and a couple more turnovers (to come all the way back), but I’m really proud of our team.”
COMPLETE RESULTS FOR THE CLASS 5A GIRLS LACROSSE PLAYOFFS, HERE
In the second season under Foote, Regis Jesuit finally past the semifinal round that had tripped it up the previous two with an 11-7 win over Valor Christian in the semifinals (STORY, HERE). It earned the Raiders another chance to face a Colorado Academy team that breezed into the final with a 10-goal win over Cherry Creek and hadn’t lost in the playoffs since 2014.
Like pretty much every other Colorado Academy opponent this season, Regis Jesuit found itself in a good-sized hole right off the bat as star Zoe Martin and fellow junior Alex May scored within the first two-plus minutes and the Mustangs went up 4-0 near the midway point of the first half.
But Bradac scored a pair of goals and Rogala also tallied for Regis Jesuit, which gained some momentum despite facing a 7-3 halftime deficit.
Bradac and senior Charlotte Ford scored back-to-back goals as well in the second half for the Raiders, who refused to go away.
“They were amazing, they were definitely a good team and they came for some of our weaknesses,” Martin said of Regis Jesuit. “They have some amazing players.”
The difficulty in completing a comeback against Colorado Academy is that the Mustangs do such a good job of limiting possessions for their opponents.
Even after Regis Jesuit closed the gap a couple of times, it never got closer than three, as time and time again Colorado Academy got a key win on the draw or face-off that helped to keep a comfortable margin.
The Raiders will try again next season to win their first state championship minus some key seniors (including two of its top-three goal-scorers in Ava Rogala and Carly Kennedy), but with an up-and-coming nucleus that includes sophomore Maddy Jokerst, who was held without a goal in the final, but finished with a team-leading 56 goals on the season, while freshman Delaney Sitzmann led the team with 24 assists.
Freshman Rayn Parker had an outstanding season as well in the goal.
“This sets a precedent for the next couple of years and I think we’re all excited to see what this team does,” said Bradac, who just committed to Montana State. “We have a bunch of up-and-coming stars and leaders and I think we have a really bright future.”
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2023 CLASS 5A GIRLS LACROSSE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
May 19 at Peter Barton Stadium (Univ. of Denver)
Score by halves:
Regis Jesuit 3 3 — 6
Colo. Academy 7 4 — 11
Regis Jesuit goals: Emily Bradac 4, Charlotte Ford, Ava Rogala. Colorado Academy goals: Zoe Martin 3, Charlotte Corkins 2, Estella Gellar 2, Anna Colpack, Alex May, Skylar May, Addy Smith. Colorado Academy assists: Corkins, Kate Lichtenberger, Alex May, Skylar May
