East 2
Kent Denver 3
Key's goal key goal for Sun Devils
By Nick Groke
Special to The Denver Post
Englewood - A musical
chairs-style
slew of games has matched many of the state's top boys lacrosse teams
in the final week of regular season play.
And Kent Denver, which already
dispensed
Fort Collins, Heritage and Golden since April, finally was left with a
place to sit and rest before the state playoffs after it edged East 3-2
on Saturday at Justin DeSorrento Memorial Field.
With both defenses fastened and
stingy, the
Sun Devils' Max Key scored his second rebound goal midway through the
final period for the game-winner.
"In my 22 years coaching against
East,"
Kent Denver coach Tom Graesser said, "that was the best defensive game
I've ever seen from two teams.
"Our goals weren't pretty, but they
were
enough."
Kent Denver (14-1) and East (10-2)
will
host first-round playoff games Wednesday. East, which beat Regis 5-4
last week, finished atop the Southern Conference; Kent won the
Foothills.
"You've got to go for the toughest
opponents going into the state tournament," East coach Jon Barocas said.
Kent Denver goalkeeper Sean
Collamore and
his counterpart at East, Will Paddock, anchored their defenses and kept
the game tied 1-1 at halftime.
Kent's Tim White picked up a loose
ball and
scored on an open net early in the third, but East buckled down
defensively and struck back when Mark Hild took an Adam Swarsen feed
and scored over Collamore's shoulder to tie it at 2.
Josh Shipman's shot in the fourth
was
stoned by Paddock, and Key scooped the rebound and scored high to win
it.
"In lacrosse, you don't look for
rebounds,
but you take them when they're there," Key said.
East, desperate for opportunities as
the
final quarter waned, saw shots from Zach Tedeschi and Nik Stoffel sail
just high. And after Kent's Robby Pride intercepted an East pass near
his own goal, the Sun Devils ran out the clock for the win.
"You can't avoid it," Graesser said
of
being the team to beat in the playoffs. "So the reality is, the kids
have to play their best no matter what. I guess it goes with the
territory."
East 0 1 1 0 - 2
Kent Denver 1 0 1 1 - 3
First period - KD: Key (Pride).
Second
period - E: Skaalerud (Swarsen). Third period - KD: White (unassisted);
E: Hild (Swarsen). Fourth period - KD: Key (unassisted).
Shots - East 4-4-5-5-18; Kent:
4-3-5-5-17.
Saves - East (Paddock) 2-3-7-4-16; Kent (Collamore) 3-2-4-3-12.
