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Eagle Valley shows progress against Summit

Ian Smith
ismith@vaildaily.com
Vail, CO Colorado

EAGLE, Colorado ” Eagle Valley girls lacrosse may be in its first year in CHSAA, but the Devils own no plans to ease into competitive lax.

The Devils are off to a 2-2 start and despite Monday’s 11-6 setback to Summit County (3-0) it’s clear they’re headed in the right direction.

A hot-start against the Tigers nearly propelled Eagle Valley to its third win of the season. In the opening minutes of the game, an aggressive offense pushed the Devils to a 3-0 advantage. Amanda Morgan, Stephanie Renzelman and Kyla Arguello all scored in the outburst.



“I’m very happy with our effort,” Eagle Valley coach Sarah Resch said. “We got up 3-0 in the first 10 minutes.

“Our passing was on. We caught everything. Our stick skills were fantastic at the beginning.”

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Summit caught its breath and worked its way back into the game. Jaclin Limone made the score 4-2 when she sprinted past the Eagle Valley defense for a goal. Minutes later, the Tigers tied the game when Sydney Snyder rifled a shot to the back of the net.

“We had to focus on playing our game and going after the groundballs,” Summit coach Kristin Elliott said.

The Tigers took a 5-4 advantage into halftime and continued to put pressure on the Devils’ defense after the break. Jenna Holman corralled an errant pass in front of the net and scored to push the lead to 7-4.

Trailing 8-4, Eagle Valley kept fighting. Renzelman, who led the Devils with three goals, converted a long possession into a goal to make it 8-5. Unfortunately for Eagle Valley, Summit’s ability to keep the ball in its offensive zone wore the Devils down.

“We’re going to be working on getting the ball out of our defensive end,” Resch said. “That’s our big thing we are going to work on. Our stick skills are fantastic when we are not tired. It’s hard to scoop the ball when you’re tired.”

Quick progress

Monday’s loss to Summit gave Eagle Valley reason for optimism. The Devils played with the Tigers early. Summit is in its sixth year of playing at the varsity level, while Eagle Valley is in its first.

“They are better than other teams we’ve played so far,” Elliot said.

Renzelman played on the Eagle Valley club team for three years before the Devils made the move to CHSAA this season. Already, she’s seeing lots of progress now that Eagle Valley is playing a full schedule.

“Our catching is a lot better,” Renzelman said. “We used to be terrified to shoot. Now, we’re not.”

The Devils are off until March 31 when they play at Grand Junction.

Sports Writer Ian Smith can be reached at 748-2935 or at ismith@vaildaily.com.


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