Pine Creek hoping to forge path out of Southern League in Colorado girls lacrosse

Last spring the top four teams in the Southern League combined to win 45 games between them and nab four of the top 16 seeds in the girls state lacrosse tournament.

Air Academy (US Air Force Academy) upended third-seeded Kent Denver (Englewood) before falling to eventual state runner-up Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village), which had knocked out Pine Creek (Colorado Springs) in the second round.

Each of those programs returned some scoring power. Pine Creek graduated only three seniors and was sophomore-heavy in 2017, and Air Academy returned four of its five leading scorers. None of the group made it past the quarterfinals, though, something Pine Creek coach Roger Wallace hopes is about to change.

"I think that one thing that's good about our league is everyone has got each other's back," Wallace said. "We're all competitive as coaches and players and we all want to win. But I think there's going to come a time where another team rises to the top."

The Eagles finished 11-5 a year ago and are off to a 3-0 start in 2018. The team has only three seniors again this spring, and Brittney White and Madeleine Bourgois combined to score 96 goals as sophomores.

"They've really grown," Wallace said of his team. "We had a very successful season last year. We took that and the girls took that too and they just meshed so well in regard to who they are and what they are."

Bourgois scored eight goals in a 20-12 victory over Grandview (Aurora) in mid-March, and senior Kate Hatchell scored five goals in a 15-7 victory against Dakota Ridge (Littleton) before spring break.

"We're not relying on any one particular person," Wallace said. "That's the phenomenal thing about the character of these young ladies. It's a great feeling in regard to what's taking place."

Both the Eagles and Air Academy got caught up in the impressive run Cherry Creek made through the tournament on its way to the title game last spring. The Bruins scored a combined 36 goals in victories over the two teams and upended No. 2 Denver East in the semifinals before falling to Colorado Academy (Denver) in the championship match.

Pine Creek saw its game with Cherry Creek delayed by three hours because of a playoff soccer game that was played on the same field. Bruins juniors Pearl Schwartz and Hali Sibilia each had six points in the team's eventual victory.

Wallace said his team came away from that game understanding that there were some things that needed to be changed up, but he also has tremendous respect for what the Bruins have accomplished over the years.

"We can't take anything away from Creek because Creek has been there almost every year," he said. "I've been coaching at Pine Creek since 2000. We've seen the Cherry Creek's, the Colorado Academy's and the Air Academy's – they have all been great programs and are still great programs. Those are the teams we have to emulate."

Air Academy's Whitney Moran and Reagan Brenenstuhl have the Kadets off to a strong start with 33 combined goals in four games. That duo combined for 100 goals last spring.

Liz Phillips of Palmer Ridge (Monument) scored 41 goals and added 26 assists in 2017, and the senior has 14 goals this season. Freshman Hannah Dove leads the Bears with 17 goals.

Both of those programs did lose some key pieces to graduation, though. Wallace said while his program only has 20 players this spring and isn't very deep, the Eagles have been fortunate to have a young core to lead the way.

"It potentially could catch up to us in a couple years," he said. "But we've still got a great nucleus who we'll have next year."

With the season not quite a month old, here is a quick look at the rest of the state headed into the only full month of the season (returning all-state players based on current MaxPreps.com rosters):

Girls lacrosse
Defending state champion: Colorado Academy
Returning all-state players: Meg Hanson, Sr., Arapahoe (Centennial) (1st team); Kailee Lammers, Sr., Dakota Ridge (1st team); Grace McCabe, Jr., Denver East (2nd team); Lucy McHugh, So., Denver East (2nd team); Hannah Mill, Sr., Chaparral (Parker) (1st team); Sloane Murphy, Jr., Colorado Academy (2nd team); Angela Naughton, Jr., Columbine (Littleton) (2nd team); Lizzie Pierpont, Sr., Arapahoe (1st team); Pearl Schwartz, Sr., Cherry Creek (1st team); Lucy Shimek, Jr., Steamboat Springs (2nd team); Hali Sibilia, Sr., Cherry Creek (2nd team).
Overview: Cherry Creek is off to a 7-0 start, averaging 17 goals a game. Pearl Schwartz is second in the state with 31 goals, and Hali Sibilia leads the state with 24 assists. …. Three-time defending state champion Colorado Academy won its first four games. Senior Lauren Russell leads the team with 16 goals, and freshman Katharine Merrifield has added 15. … Evergreen which was 7-7 in 2017, also won its first four games. Sophomore Kaelyn Krum has allowed only eight goals. … Arapahoe opened with an impressive victory over Kent Denver, and has a big game with Denver East on Thursday. The Warriors return a pair of first-team, all-state talents in Meg Hanson and Lizzie Pierpont. … Speaking of East, sophomore Lucy McHugh has 14 goals in five games after making the all-state team as a freshman. … Chaparral, which was upset by Arapahoe in the quarterfinals last May, is 3-0 on the season. Senior Hannah Mill has 11 goals and 13 assists. … Pueblo West's Lauren Avila leads the state with 35 goals. Steamboat Springs sophomore Riley Schott has 29 goals, and Grand Junction's Katie Carozza owns 28.

MaxPreps Colorado girls lacrosse leaders