Girls lacrosse: Mead falls in 4A title game on a buzzer-beater
May 17—DENVER — Mead's girls have reigned over the Class 4A lacrosse scene since their inception last year, and up until the final buzzer of Friday's state championship against No. 2 Evergreen, that rang true once again.
It took a controversial no-call in the final 30 seconds at DU's Peter Barton Stadium to take the top-seeded Mavericks down with an 11-10 final. The Cougars, having gotten away with a push against Mead sophomore attacker Morgan Elson, scored twice in the last 22 seconds to gain victory.
They were awarded two free position shots as time expired to earn their second state title in four years. Ryn Gardner took it home for Evergreen, while the Cougars scored four straight goals in the final 6:33 to avoid overtime.
"I think one of the hardest things in sports is there's only so much you, as a coach, can control, even with your players," head coach Katie Bergmann said. "You can prepare them as best as you can, and then whether they take it on the field or not is totally up to them.
"We tried to control those last four minutes. We tried to keep the ball in our stick and stay in control. Unfortunately, that just didn't happen. We lost control and, right or wrong, agree or disagree, that's their judgment call and that's on them to make the call. If they didn't see it, they didn't see it, so we can't leave it up to one call."
Bergmann acknowledged that the Mavericks had plenty of opportunities in the final minutes to put the game away, but couldn't contain either Gardner or Addison McEvers as they watched their own massive scoring streak melt away.
When the Mavericks went down 7-4 in the first 30 seconds of the third quarter, they turned to their hefty arsenal to put themselves back in control. Senior middy Sierra Ryan sunk her first goal of the night on a sneak shot from behind the crease, then Rory Carr complemented her with a goal of her own six minutes later.
Two more ladies got in on the scoring action up until the midway point of the fourth quarter. Ryan, in just that short time frame, recorded a hat trick to nearly match the four goals that Connors had put up throughout the contest.
Senior goalie Anne Booth, likewise, contributed an elite performance in the crease with 11 saves. Mead ended its season with a 17-2 record, with its only other loss coming at the hands of 5A state championship contender Fairview during the last game of the regular season.
Booth began her career with the Knights before the St. Vrain Valley School District initiated its own team, and she stuck around to watch her former teammates take on Colorado Academy for the later championship on the same field.
She can't wait to see what the future will look like for the Mavericks.
"It's meant the world to me. I've met some of my best friends through this team, and it breaks my heart I have to leave this way. I know that they're going to continue to do great things without me," Booth said. "I think that that's one of the toughest ways you could possibly lose in a game. I think it shows just how dedicated our team was, just because we fought to the very end."
