Battle Mountain girls lacrosse caps off 2025 season with state semifinal appearance

The 2025 Battle Mountain girls lacrosse team voyaged into uncharted waters this spring. The Huskies won their third-straight league title and advanced all the way to their first 4A state semifinal game, where they lost a 12-9 heartbreaker to Green Mountain on May 14.

“I think there’s always a little frustration when you feel you lose a winnable game — I felt that was a winnable game,” said head coach Mat Ballay. “But I’m incredibly proud of our group. They’re incredibly resilient. They played with a level of intensity that really wasn’t matched.”

The Huskies — who’d lost to the Rams by 10 goals on April 30 in Edwards — burst out of the gate in the state semifinal, going up 2-1 early in the first quarter. Izzy Kovacik was a force, scoring twice and collecting a couple loose balls off of draws as well.

“I thought the start was great,” said Ballay, whose coaching staff came into the contest mostly concerned about mitigating draws. “We were successful in that regard, the effort was there and I thought our girls were playing with confidence.”

A pair of yellow cards in the second quarter prevented the No. 3-seeded Huskies from gaining possession until the seventh minute. Out of rhythm, the junior-heavy squad struggled to generate the high-quality scoring opportunities that characterized the first 12 minutes. The Rams, who were led by Avery Freedman’s five goals and Kya Cooper’s two scores and six assists, went into the half holding a 7-2 advantage. Ballay said his players perhaps needed a little more situational intelligence in knowing where they ought to be willing to take fouls.

Support Local Journalism

Donate

“We have to have a little more composure,” he added.

The Huskies didn’t keel over, though. They scored two quick goals in the third and prevented Green Mountain from effectively clearing the ball. On what would have been their fifth goal of the game, however, Battle Mountain received another yellow card — its fourth — for a dangerous shot. Not only was the goal removed, but the Huskies were forced to play shorthanded the rest of the way.

Even with the disadvantage, Battle Mountain refused to quit. With the score 10-6 in the fourth quarter, Murphy Werner, Kovacik and Addie O’Connor ripped off three quick goals to make it a one-score game with four minutes remaining. Ballay also said goalie Hallie Holleman’s clutch saves kept the rally alive.

“The fact that we could hang around and were able to bring that back to a one goal game speaks a lot to how resilient this group is,” the coach stated.  

No. 2 Green Mountain managed to win the ensuing draws, pulling away with a pair of late security goals. The 2022 state champions would go on to lose to Evergreen in the state championship on May 16 as the Cougars claimed their third title since 2021. Battle Mountain was the only team in the final four that hadn’t won a state championship at any point the previous four years.

“Experience at that level is an advantage,” Ballay said before adding, “and we are going to return a lot of players.”

The Huskies graduate just four athletes — Sloane Thompson, Caylen Holleman, Alexa McGuire and Kylah Romer — all of whom Ballay praised for being key cogs in pushing the team to new heights. They bring back 14 juniors, including five all-league performers. Looking ahead to next year, the coach expects the internal competition to be as fierce as ever. There might be a wrinkle or two coming to the offense, too.

“I think we can be a more dangerous offensive with more structure,” he explained. “I like to give them a little more freedom, but I think moving forward, we’re going to tinker with the offense and we’ll have a more structured couple of offensive sets next year.”

Finishing with a 13-5 mark and the program’s first state semifinal appearance might make for an obvious answer to the question of whether the season was a success. But Ballay’s analysis wasn’t simply surface level.

“It was a success because we saw growth in all areas of the team. We saw growth as individuals. I saw growth in areas of their development as human beings — it was a success in that regard for sure,” he said. “And then this team, this senior class — we went a step further than we’ve ever been before. So on the field, it was also a success.”