Vail Lacrosse Shootout high school division champions crowned

EAGLE COUNTY — The Vail Lacrosse Shootout kicked off its 46th annual tournament on Sunday, June 24, with the boys and girls high school divisions.

The girls division started off with 21 teams and was broken into three brackets — gold, silver and bronze — showcasing just how popular the sport of lacrosse has become for high school girls in recent years. After several days of seeding and bracket rounds, the championship games in the U19 high school girls and boys divisions were played on Wednesday, June 27, with Laxachusetts facing FCA in the boys division and Team HLA and Les Diables Bleus facing off in the gold girls bracket championships.

INTENSE COMPETITION

On the boys side of the tournament, it seemed like the championship game could go to anyone at first, but it soon became clear that FCA’s strategy of hammering the goal and being quick with offensive possessions was going to work. On the opposite end of the field, Laxachusetts tried to reciprocate the barrage of shots, but FCA’s goalie was too good at shutting them down as FCA won 14-9.

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In a thrilling third-place matchup, it seemed like ADRLN would win decidedly after the first quarter, but Colorado woke up and did not let up. ADRLN pulled away thanks to a late fourth quarter push, and won by one point, 12-11.

For the girls, Team HLA clinched the gold bracket championship once again in a match that was full of awesome athletes. The game was tied at one for the first 15 minutes and the ball went from end to end multiple times before HLA scored two more to make it 4-2 at the half. During the second half, HLA was getting lucky and finding the holes in the Les Diables Bleus defense. LDB wasn’t ready to give up, though, fighting hard to chip away at HLA’s small lead. But they couldn’t quite catch up as HLA grasped the victory, 8-6.

In the silver bracket, Tenacity All American took down Team 180 Black to win the first place trophy. The team was led by Alissa Johnson, scoring four of her team’s 12 points.

In the bronze matchup, Tenacity Portland took first place home against Summit Select in a game that kept everyone on the edge of their seats. The teams traded goals for most of the match, resulting in a double overtime. Portland’s Amadea Bortoli scored the goal to put the game in overtime, as well as the winning goal, earning her team the win.

LIFELONG SPORT

Now entering its 46th year, the annual Vail Lacrosse Shootout is the premier summer lacrosse event in the country, drawing more than 13,000 lacrosse players, coaches, officials and fans of all ages from America, Canada and around the world. Players participate in divisions ranging from high school to 60-plus.

On Thursday, June 28, the older men’s divisions begin with the Supermasters (40 and older), Grandmasters (50 and older) and Zenmasters (60 and older).

The Casey Powell World Lacrosse Foundation has been named the official charity of the 2018 Vail Lacrosse Shootout, which runs through Wednesday, July 4.

“The sport of lacrosse uniquely inspires and unites players and people like no other sport through an incredible spirit and sense of camaraderie,” said Casey Powell, co-founder of the World Lacrosse Foundation. “The Vail Lacrosse Shootout is the perfect venue to raise awareness of the Foundation. The donations we raise from the alliance with Vail Shootout will help enable the Foundation to aid another 20 families or more in 2018 and beyond. This is our most important fundraising event.”