Aurora had no sparkling won-loss records during the 2016 girls lacrosse season, but the talent across the city shone through.
Colorado had only six All-Americans and one of them played for an Aurora school in Regis Jesuit senior Kathleen Roe, a Notre Dame signee.
Roe highlights the 2016 Aurora Sentinel All-City Girls Lacrosse Team, which is selected by the Sentinel in conjunction with balloting of Aurora coaches.
Several other Raiders from coach Billy Corbett’s Continental League championship unit appear on the All-Aurora team along with players from Grandview, Cherokee Trail, Overland and Smoky Hill.
Roe enjoyed every bit of her fourth varsity season with the Raiders, though a very difficult schedule and a number of new faces in key roles combined for a rough start record-wise. Regis Jesuit dropped six of its first seven games, but won six games in a row to take the league crown and finished at 7-8 after a close second round state playoff loss to Palmer Ridge.
After signing with her dream school, Notre Dame, Roe went out and scored 47 goals to tie with Smoky Hill’s Ashley Stevenson for second-most in Aurora behind Grandview’s Morgan Matthews. Roe played her best at in the late season for the Raiders, as she tallied four goals in a league title-clinching win over Chaparral and added five more in in losses to Columbine and Palmer Ridge.
U.S. Lacrosse recognized Roe as one of Colorado’s six All-Americans.
Junior midfielder Mackenzie Reifsnider played like a prime time player for Regis Jesuit as she tallied 31 goals and seven assists, while she also did regular work for the Raiders on draws.
Senior Mathison Davis was a steady presence with 25 goals and seven assists while playing primarily at attack with some time in the midfield as well. She scored 10 of her goals in Regis Jesuit’s final three contests.
Senior defender Ally Moran and junior goalie Kate Hamilton earned All-Continental League first team honors as part of a defensive unit that held up well considering the firepower it faced on a regular basis.
Moran led Regis Jesuit defenders with 24 ground balls and added 12 interceptions, while Hamilton had a 9.9 goals against average that was a goal or more better than the other goalies from other Aurora programs who played more than 485 minutes.
Aurora’s other state playoff qualifier, coach Kevin Mortimer’s Grandview team, suffered a gut-wrenching first round exit with a 13-12 overtime loss to Air Academy. The 8-7 Wolves bested Regis Jesuit by a game for the city’s best record, but suffered a 14-3 loss to the Raiders during the regular season.
Senior midfielder Morgan Matthews scored three times in Grandview’s playoff game to give her an Aurora-best 50 goals on the season, a total that also ranked third in the Centennial League. Other city opponents had difficulty stopping her, as Matthews racked up 20 of her goals in five games against Aurora foes. She added 10 assists to lead Aurora players with 60 total points.
Sophomore midfielder Megan Matthews — who joined Morgan Matthews on the All-Centennial League first team — paced city players with 23 assists in addition to 25 goals.
Senior Olivia Fiocchi played at an all-league first team on defense and was a key figure in the transition game for the Wolves. She was strong and physical on the ball and scooped up 20 ground balls, while she contributed in a goal in six different contests.
Cherokee Trail lost a lot of offense when Lexi Ortt and Amanda Geary graduated in 2015, so senior Christina Jensen was needed to move forward from her defensive role and assert herself as part of the attack. Her six goals against Smoky Hill represented her season high and were part of her season total of 38, which came with her missing two games as well.
Jensen, an All-Centennial League first teamer, signed with Butler University.
Overland’s Kimmy Scherner made the All-Centennial League first team and All-Aurora first team for a second straight season and helped the Trailblazers meet coach Paula Priest’s goal of winning one more game than in 2015.
The Trailblazers upped their win total to 6-7, including a rare win for the program against Smoky Hill, a game in which Scherner scored six goals. She finished with 32 goals and 19 assists to put herself in the top 10 in the league in points with 51.
Smoky Hill is represented by all-league first team defender Sarah Maaliki, a senior who faced a variety of tough matchups in the league and led Aurora defenders with 38 ground balls.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
2016 AURORA SENTINEL ALL-CITY GIRLS LACROSSE TEAM
FIRST TEAM — Attack: Mathison Davis, Regis Jesuit, sr.; Morgan Matthews, Grandview, sr.; Christina Jensen, Cherokee Trail, sr.; Midfield: Megan Matthews, Grandview, soph.; Mackenzie Reifsnider, Regis Jesuit, jr.; Kathleen Roe, Regis Jesuit, sr.; Kimmy Scherner, Overland, sr.; Defense: Olivia Fiocchi, Grandview, sr.; Sarah Maaliki, Smoky Hill, sr.; Ally Moran, Regis Jesuit, sr.; Goalie: Kate Hamilton, Regis Jesuit, jr.
SECOND TEAM — Attack: Bri Roman, Eaglecrest, sr.; Katie Schilmoeller, Regis Jesuit, sr.; Demi Segura, Grandview, sr.; Midfield: Kodi Paules, Smoky Hill, jr.; Myan Schulze, Eaglecrest, soph.; Ashley Stevenson, Smoky Hill, sr.; Kylie Thompson, Grandview, soph.; Defense: Estefania Beltran Del Rio, Grandview, sr.; Avery Joslin, Cherokee Trail, fr.; Katie Whittesley, Regis Jesuit, jr.; Goalie: Cassidy Hoffman, Grandview, sr.
HONORABLE MENTION — Katie Anthony, Smoky Hill, jr.; Grace Aschenberg, Rangeview, jr.; Yazmiene Birch, Overland, fr.; Samoane Emecheta, Eaglecrest, jr; Maya Fair, Regis Jesuit, soph.; Nikki Garcia, Overland, jr.; Kelly Holmes, Overland, sr.; Sam Howlett, jr., Smoky Hill; Bri Martinez, Cherokee Trail, sr.; Emma Mortimer, Grandview, sr.; Kelly Rowe, Cherokee Trail, sr.; Calah Sewell, Eaglecrest, soph.; Jessica Tran, Overland, sr.
