Five Goal First Quarter Ignites Rams to Showdown Victory
Denver, CO – On a brisk evening at INVESCO Field at Mile High Stadium, the #7 Colorado State Rams raced out to a 5-1 lead after one quarter of play and held the #17 Colorado Buffaloes at bay for the rest of the contest, taking the 5th annual Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Showdown 8-4 on Saturday night. It was the teams’ third game at INVESCO in the series and approximately 4,800 fans were in attendance as the Rams took the third seed for the upcoming RMLC playoffs next weekend. CSU held the edge in virtually every statistical category and won the Showdown’s bronze helmet for the fifth year in a row.
After the Buffs scored the first goal of the game with 11:13 left in the first quarter, CSU rattled off five straight to end the first period, taking a commanding lead into the break. Freshman Cooper Kehoe (Robert Louis Stevenson HS; CA) scored 2 of his game-high 3 goals during the run as the Colorado State attack controlled much of the action early in the contest. The Rams also managed to win all 7 first quarter face-offs thanks to the stellar wing play of Tom Fender (Thunder Ridge HS; CO) and Mark Moskovics (Monarch HS; CO), who combined for 9 groundballs on the evening.
The teams were even in the scorebook for the remaining three quarters, but that was mostly due to the efforts of Colorado goaltender Kevin Moriarty. The junior from New Jersey had 14 stops on the night, several of which were out and out spectacular as he kept his team in the game. The Rams outshot CU 46-25 and held a 45-35 edge in groundballs, but Moriarty’s play stymied several good opportunities to push the lead further.
Moriarty was named the game MVP for the Buffaloes while Kehoe ended up with 3 goals, netting him MVP honors for CSU. Sophomore Kevin Wolff (Don Bosco Prep; NJ) finished with 1 goal and 2 assists while Ryan MacDonald (Smoky Hill HS; CO) and Paul Larson (Columbine HS; CO) each had 2 points as well. Colorado’s leading point getter was freshman James Blackburn and sophomore Tyler Snyder who each pitched in with 2 points on the evening.
Colorado State also got a very impressive performance from sophomore close defenseman Andrew Stein (Columbine HS; CO), who played extremely well on the defensive side of the field. Along with Fender and fellow sophomore Chris Rosa (Pomona HS; CO), the Rams close defensive unit was stingy and kept CU’s offense from getting into much of a flow throughout the game. Possessions were a key part of the win for the Rams, who also finished with 11 wins on 15 face-off attempts.
While the unseasonably cold weather may have kept some fans at home, a hearty crowd of 4,800 still showed up to cheer on their respective sides. CSU seemed to have the much bigger portion of the crowd for this year’s event, which was put on once again by the Colorado State Lacrosse Alumni Association. The CSULAA worked closely with INVESCO Field at Mile High Stadium and Major League Lacrosse’s Denver Outlaws to ensure another first-class event that all parties enjoyed.
By virtue of the victory, Colorado State (10-5 overall; 1-2 RMLC) finishes in third place in the regular season conference standings. They will get a rematch against #18 Utah in Salt Lake City, UT next Friday in the RMLC semifinals. The Utes defeated CSU in a classic 11-10 game at the end of March that went 5 overtimes, by far the longest game in either team’s recent history. Colorado (3-6; 0-3) will face #4 Brigham Young in the other semifinal. The winner of those two games will play for the RMLC championship on Saturday evening in Utah. BYU is the reigning RMLC champion, having defeated Colorado State 12-10 in last year’s title game. The Rams last RMLC crown came in 2006.
