No. 1-ranked Battle Mountain girls lacrosse stays undefeated with win over Aspen

The No. 1-ranked Battle Mountain girls lacrosse team is one game away from going undefeated in the regular season for the second time in three years.

The Huskies returned from spring break with an 11-8 road win over Denver East on Saturday and then dominated No. 7 Aspen 19-5 on Monday in Edwards. Isabel Thomas led the way against the Angels — the 12th-best team in 5A — by scoring four goals. But the Huskies struggled to win draws, going just 7-for-23 at midfield.

“So, we had to play a lot of defense before we could get an offensive possession,” head coach Mat Ballay stated.

The senior-heavy squad picked up the slack elsewhere. Despite resting one of their defensive starters, the Huskies limited the Angels to just three first-half goals. Ballay credited the swarming defense of Sophia Erving, Brynlee Smith and Lindsay Wadey specifically. Battle Mountain also forced nine turnovers and goaltenders Huntley Blue and Hallie Holleman had four and six saves in the net, respectively. On offense, Kate Kovacik scored two goals and tallied two assists while Caroline Provencher and Isabelle Adochio also both put the ball in the back of the net twice.

“Our efficiency on offense was the best we’ve had all season,” Ballay continued. “The defense did a phenomenal job of providing the offense opportunities to score when we struggled to win a draw.”

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Battle Mountain completed the season sweep over Aspen two days later. After defeating the Skiers 15-7 back in March, 12 different players scored goals in Monday’s 19-5 win as the Huskies improved to 10-0 in Western Slope League play. Thomas — who belted out the national anthem to open the evening — tallied three goals on the field. Palmer Ulvestad, Izzy and Kate Kovacik, Poppy Saunders and Abigail Adochio all added two scores apiece. In the second half, Ulvestad made a pretty pass to Adochio for a score. Ballay praised the senior for the unselfish play as she strode back towards the sideline.

“She yelled, ‘team first,’ which has been our motto this year,” Ballay said of Ulvestad’s response. “I think the team is having a lot of fun and when we do that, we typically play well.”

Battle Mountain is 66-15 — and 46-4 in league play — dating back to 2022. In 2024, the Huskies went 14-0 in the regular season and earned the No. 3 seed for state. Despite their recent Western Slope dominance, however, the Huskies have never been able to advance to a state championship game. This year seems different.

Battle Mountain has already defeated the Nos. 2, 3, 5 and 7-ranked teams this season. And none of those games — except the 9-7 win over Golden on April 11 — have been particularly close. Along the way, the Huskies have outscored opponents 217 to 55 and seen three athletes — the Kovacik sisters and Thomas — eclipse 100 career goals. All indications point to a special spring. But is the team feeling the weight of justifiably high expectations?

“As for pressure, this team has a lot of depth, and as a result, we can cover for one another if someone is having an off day,” Ballay answered. “Right now, we are a confident group that is focused on getting better each day.” 

The 24-team state bracket will be released by the Colorado State High School Activities Association on Sunday. First-round action begins next Tuesday with the state championship game slated for May 15 at the University of Denver.