Colorado lacrosse season headed down to wire

With only a few days remaining in the regular season, every lacrosse team in the state is hoping to make one last big splash before the postseason brackets are released this weekend.

Take Battle Mountain (Edwards), which is vying for a top-four seed in the 4A boys field. The fourth-ranked Huskies have two games remaining – Wednesday at home against No. 10 Steamboat Springs, with the Mountain League playoffs taking place Friday in Aspen.

The squad has lost only three games all year, by a combined six goals, and coach Jerry Nichols said that there is enough parity in 4A this season that any one of a number of programs could rise to the top.

"Almost anybody can win it at any time," he said. "I'm not seeing any one team completely walking away from everybody. I think it's going to be a really fun playoff season."

Battle Mountain's three losses have come to undefeated Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch), a two-loss Aspen squad and last year's 4A state champion, Ponderosa (Parker). The team has had its share of close victories as well – Battle Mountain overcame a 10-4 deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat the Dawson School (Lafayette) 11-10 in overtime on March 11, and the Huskies fought back to top Thompson Valley (Loveland) after trailing 6-1 at halftime.

The team was on the other side of the coin last spring in the 4A playoffs. Aspen scored four fourth-quarter goals to force overtime in the quarterfinals before coming away with the victory.

"We have quite a few players who were on the losing end of that. We had a couple games this year that really helped with that aspect from our perspective," Nichols said of his team's 2015 rallies. "It kind of showed that anybody can do that, anybody can come back … but we don't want to have to do that. We want to play four solid quarters."

Senior Wyatt Dilling leads the Huskies with 30 goals this season, and junior Cole Delain has 29 goals and 18 assists. Senior Clayton Davis is third on the team in points with 17 goals and 23 assists.

The winner of Wednesday's Battle Mountain-Steamboat Springs contest will face No. 2 Aspen for the Mountain League title and likely a stronger seed in the 4A field. The loser will take on Grand Junction.

"The seedings are going to be probably less interesting because there are so many good teams in the top eight or even 10," Nichols said. "Everybody wants to get as many home games as you can, because it's definitely better to play at home. But I think the matchups from the second round on are going to be very, very tight. I don't think any team is going to be looking past anybody."

Here is a look at the 5A and 4A boys classifications and the girls field headed into the final week:

Class 5A Boys

Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) is the last undefeated team in the classification headed into the final week, with games against Grandview (Aurora) and No. 4 Kent Denver (Englewood). The Bruins took down both Arapahoe (Centennial) and Regis Jesuit (Aurora) in the past 11 days, the latter being a rematch of the 2014 title game.

Maxwell Tennant, Michael Morean and Asher Nolting each scored twice against the Raiders, and Tennant added four more scores against the Warriors.

Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch) has won eight in a row in the month of April since falling to Regis Jesuit, including a 9-8 triumph over Kent Denver last Saturday behind three goals from Colin Munro. The Golden Eagles had one more league game against Palmer (Colorado Springs) before closing the regular season with Arapahoe in a rematch of last year's quarterfinals.

A victory over Kent Denver on April 29 would likely all but lock up a top-three seed for Regis Jesuit. The Sun Devils close with the Raiders and Bruins, and losses in both games could allow Front Range League teams such as Columbine (Littleton) or Chatfield (Littleton) to have a chance at the No. 4 seed.

Class 4A Boys

Valor Christian also sits alone in the unbeaten ranks, with the Eagles coming off a 15-9 victory over defending state champion Ponderosa last Friday. Senior Ryan Russell had five goals in the victory and Grayson Goodyear added four.

Valor still has to get past No. 3 Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado Springs) on Wednesday, but a victory would virtually assure the team the top seed in the 4A bracket. The Indians, in turn, face Ponderosa on Friday and Littleton in a make-up game Saturday. Senior Mitch Paige had 16 goals in his previous four games headed into a Monday matchup against St. Mary's (Colorado Springs).

Second-ranked Aspen, a semifinalist a year ago, has only two losses this season – both to 5A programs. The Skiers close the regular season against Summit (Frisco) before facing either Battle Mountain or Steamboat Springs in the Mountain League title game. Seniors Tyler Tick and Ryan Fitzgerald have combined for 96 goals this season.

Unclassified Girls

Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) is still atop the heap in the girls rankings with just one loss, but the Bruins have a little unfinished business to tend to before turning their attention to the postseason.

On Wednesday, Cherry Creek hosts Air Academy (US Air Force Academy) in a rematch of the 2014 championship game, which went in the Kadets' favor by an 11-10 margin. The Bruins close the regular season Friday against No. 3 Denver East.

The team is coming off impressive victories over two other ranked foes – Arapahoe (Centennial) and Mullen (Denver) – during the past week. Senior Caroline Perry scored five goals against the Warriors and four more against Mullen to up her season total to 36.

East's only in-state loss thus far has come to Colorado Academy (Denver), currently ranked second. Sarah Nick leads the Angels with 38 goals.

Centaurus (Lafayette), which dropped games to East and Colorado Academy last week, is still fighting with Mullen and Arapahoe for a top-four seed as well. Mullen and Arapahoe play Tuesday afternoon, with the winner finishing second in the Centennial League behind Cherry Creek.

Fruita Monument, playing in the Mountain League, also only has one loss on the season. The Wildcats have won 11 games in a row and have three players with more than 30 goals on the season.