Prep notebook: Eagle Valley girls lacrosse upsets Roaring Fork 13-12
Before Friday, the Rams only loss this season was to the No. 1 team in the state
Ben Roof/Courtesy photo
Just when you thought the 4A Mountain East league was stacked enough, Eagle Valley’s girls lacrosse team goes and does this.
On Friday, the Devils pulled off a 13-12 upset over Roaring Fork, handing the No. 8-ranked Rams their first league loss of the season. In fact, before the game, Roaring Fork’s only loss on the season was to the No. 1-ranked team in 4A, Castle View.
“So proud of the team for fighting so hard for the win,” head coach Genna Randall said.
The king of the hill league battle backstory reads something like this: first, Battle Mountain handed perennial titan Aspen it’s first league loss since 2015 — a 50-plus-game win streak — only to fall to Roaring Fork 11-4 on April 18. Now, by rolling over the Rams, the Devils — who sit at 3-6 in the league — have demonstrated their record isn’t necessarily indicative of their talent.
“It was by far the best game that the girls have played this season in terms of our defense, shot selection, and patience on offense,” Randall continued.
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Isabel Thomas scored five goals and tallied an assist, Sienna Rinn added four goals and three assists, and Gracie Nestlerode and C.J. Yurcak each had two goals for the Devils.
“We had multiple players score multiple points and girls like Lila Richards and Lily Thomas on defense that kept our zone tight,” Randall continued. “Our goalie, Emma Ross, has really come into her own over the course of the season and showed her growth in confidence this game especially with the help of our assistant/goalie coach Mark Tamberino.”
The back and forth game was tied 8-8 at halftime. With five minutes remaining, the Rams called a timeout holding a one-goal advantage. Isabel Thomas tied things up on a penalty shot before Rinn received a pass from Yurcak for the go-ahead.
“We talked about needing to get the ball on defense in the timeout and successfully got a couple of turnovers and ultimately was able to convert those opportunities into goals,” Randall said.
With the win, Eagle Valley improved to 5-8 overall. The Devils will close out the regular season against Steamboat Springs and Telluride on May 3 and May 4, respectively. The six league champions will automatically qualify for the postseason, with 18-at-large bids determined from the CHSSA Selection and Seeding Index. Currently, Eagle Valley is No. 19 in those rankings.
“I’m so proud of the girls for their mental toughness, teamwork and resilience this season and so happy they got to see their hard work pay off with this hard fought win,” Randall said.
Boys lacrosse notes: VMS takes down Summit 13-7
Vail Mountain School cruised to a 13-7 road win over Summit on Monday, the Gore Rangers’ fifth-straight win. Mason Gellar scored six goals and had an assist, Charlie Vidal added four goals and an assist, and Eirk Jaerbyn, Connor Wadey and Max Vidal each scored goals in the win.
Vail Mountain (7-2 overall, 7-2 league) will try to keep the streak going at Steamboat Springs (8-2 overall, 6-1 league) on Thursday.
Baseball notes: Battle Mountain takes down Roaring Fork
Battle Mountain survived Roaring Fork’s late rally Monday in Edwards to claim a 9-5 win over the Rams. The Huskies burst out to a 6-1 lead after three innings, but the Rams stormed back with four runs in the top of the sixth. The home squad retaliated with three of their own to secure the second win of the year.
Cooper Irwin and Aaron Santillano each went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs to lead the Huskies offensively. Irwin also went five and two-thirds innings on the mound, striking out 14. Franco Moreno collected the save.
The Huskies host Aspen (3-6 overall, 0-3 league) on Thursday at 3 p.m.