June 28th to July 6th
Men’s Elite: Thursday, July 3rd - Sunday, July 6th
Masters (33+): Saturday, June 28th - Monday, June 30th
Supermasters (40+): Saturday, June 28th - Tuesday, July 1st
Grandmasters (50+): Saturday, June 28th - Monday, June 30th
High School Boys (U-19): Sunday, June 29th - Wednesday, July 2nd
Women’s Elite: Thursday, July 3rd - Sunday, July 6th
High School Girls (U-19): Sunday, June 29th - Wednesday, July 2nd
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On Friday, May 30th, The Lacrosse Outreach Foundation will host a HUGE Celebration of Women’s Lacrosse at Sheridan High School in Denver, Colorado! More than a dozen NCAA Division I, Division II, Division III, and Junior College coaches from around the country will coach FREE skills clinics and share their passion and knowledge of the game! Clinics are from 3:30pm until 6:00 pm (registraion is free until May 15th and $10 after, register below). After the clinics, join us for a huge pep rally, a pasta feast - The LAX Family Dinner ($8 per person, register on this site by May 15th) and the free recruiting panel where you can learn about paying for college, getting into college, and what it takes to play lacrosse at the college level.
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Dick’s Sporting Goods Park has opened up it’s fields for the newest summer lacrosse league for high school girls, SUMMER OF SEVEN! Games will be on Thursday nights from June 5th to August 28th, and the format will be 7 v 7 plus a goalie including playoffs and a championship. All participants must be in high school or scheduled to enter in 2008. Team registration in now open, please email Rocky Mountain Cats Lacrosse at catslax@gmail.com for more information.
BALTIMORE– US Lacrosse has announced the four team rosters for the 2008 National Senior Showcase, to be played June 20-21 at Benedictine University in Chicago. The annual all-star game features outstanding senior boys high school players representing the North, South, West and East regions of the country.
The National Senior Showcase (NSS), sponsored by Warrior Lacrosse, is an annual offering of the US Lacrosse Men’s Division Coaches Council. Lacrosse players across the nation apply to be chosen for their regional team.
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Head coaches of high school girls and boys varsity teams may submit their numerical team rosters to Lacrosse Magazine for assistance in identifying players whose pictures were taken by LM photographers at games throughout this season. Rosters may be faxed to 410-889-0744. Please use a cover sheet.
DENVER — The Boulder boys lacrosse team upset Colorado Academy 8-7 in the first round of the state playoffs Friday.
Junior Beau Kukura led the Panthers in scoring with three goals and one assist. Kukura’s biggest goal was the game-winner with just a few minutes left on the clock.
The game was tied at four goals apiece at halftime and the Panthers came out strong in the third quarter scoring three goals in a two-minute span to take a 7-4 lead. Colorado Academy rallied to tie the score before Kukura tallied the game-winner.
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No. 2 seed Air Academy looked very much like an undefeated team with a chance at a state girls lacrosse title Friday.
No. 15 Columbine took a 1-0 lead early but never led again as the Kadets (16-0) scored 12 straight to blow the game wide open for a 17-3 win.
The Kadets will host No. 10 Chaparral (9-6), which beat No. 7 Mullen 11-10 on Thursday, sometime next week.
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Freezing cold temperatures, strong winds and snow flurries didn’t stop more than 21,000 people from enjoying a little lacrosse on Saturday. The second annual Toyota LaxFest kicked off at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park at 8:00 in the morning. Boys and girls teams in grades two through eight from the state of Colorado showed up to play at the premier sports park in the nation.
“It’s an unbelievable facility,” said Colorado Youth Lacrosse Association president Chris Clark about the complex. “[NDP Lacrosse] has done a phenomenal job of getting things set up for us.”
The event also included teams from southern Wyoming and one team from California. Over a twelve-hour period, 328 teams cycled through as part of the biggest lacrosse event ever west of the Mississippi River, bringing the Colorado lacrosse community together for one day in one location.
“It’s wonderful to see all these teams come together,” said Amy Moore, whose nephew, Josh, plays midfield for the Highlands Ranch Rams.
“One of the great things about lacrosse in Colorado is that it is a really close community,” added Colorado Lacrosse Club president and Colorado Lacrosse Foundation board member Heather Faircloth. “I think it’s good for the coaches and players to meet and they get the opportunity to do that here.”
More than 160 games were played on 18 fields, including teams managed by Colorado Mammoth transition player Josh Sims and Colorado Mammoth general manager Steve Govett.
Toyota LaxFest featured much more than just lacrosse. Toyota stepped up to offer a win-a-car contest, which put a 2009 fully-loaded Toyota Corolla up for grabs.
“Toyota has been really involved with the event,” said NDP director of operations Brian Tatum. “They are really the reason we’re able to pull this off each year.”
The contest was held at three locations throughout the complex. Winning the car required a contestant to hit six target holes in a specific order.
“If they’re giving away a car, I’m definitely going to give it a try,” said Dave Dreier, the coach of the 7th grade girls Panthers, “but I think I could only hit about four of the targets.”
Toyota LaxFest also debuted the 2008 Toyota Accuracy and Dick’s Sporting Goods Multi-Sport Challenge national contests, which will be featured at tournaments throughout the country this summer. The national contests offer participants the opportunity to win a trip to Florida, as well as a VIP pro lacrosse experience and a shopping spree.
In one year, Toyota LaxFest grew by 24 teams. NDP Lacrosse management says it expects continued growth on an annual basis.
“Increased participation strengthens the reputation of lacrosse in Colorado,” Tatum said about Toyota LaxFest. “The teams and players here are getting better, and a big event like this sends a message to the east coast.”
Not even 50 mile-per-hour wind gusts could stand in the way of stick-checks, saves, clears and highlight-reel goals at Toyota LaxFest.
“It’s a great opportunity for the kids playing,” added Rich Morgan, the scheduler for the Colorado Youth Lacrosse Association. “It’s a celebration of lacrosse in Colorado.”
Telluride, Colo. - One of the fastest growing sports in the country is also one of the fastest growing sports in Telluride. Lacrosse, once limited mainly to the East Coast and a few scattered prep schools, has journeyed all the way to the one-horse Western Slope of Colorado. Club teams in Grand Junction, Montrose, Eagle and Telluride give kids the opportunity to learn this fast-paced sport.
And why not? It’s one of the sports genuinely invented by North Americans. When they arrived, French missionaries discovered that Native Americans were playing lacrosse. Now it’s all over the country, in middle schools, high schools and colleges, and there’s even a professional league.
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Steamboat Springs — It didn’t take a lucky shot, an advantageous referee’s call or a bizarre twist of fate.
The Steamboat Springs High School girls lacrosse team won its first game of the season, beating Mountain Range, 6-3, on Wednesday in Steamboat, by simply outplaying the Mus tangs.
Sailor senior Mollie Wun der scored two goals in the first half and sophomore Hannah Poland scored three in the second as Steamboat built and maintained a comfortable lead.
“To get a win is great, and not just for me,” Wunder said. “It’s great because we have a lot of new players this year. I know what it feels like to win and letting them know what it feels like is great.”
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ASPEN — Ricky Frias and the Aspen lacrosse team gave Eaglecrest no time to catch its breath Saturday.
The senior scored three goals in the first four minutes - and finished with eight in the game - and he and running mate Charlie Olson, who picked up eight assists, led the Skiers to a convincing 17-10 victory.
“The boys came out and put their heart and hustle into the game from the first whistle,” Aspen coach Mike Goerne said. “We got the lead, and we kept it.”
Goerne admitted he didn’t know what to expect when his team lined up against the Centennial school. Early on, however, it looked like the Raptors were the ones looking unsettled.
Frias and Olson connected one minute into the game on a perfectly-executed give-and-go. The duo, in what would become a familiar sight for Eaglecrest defenders, struck again two minutes later when Olson passed off to Frias from left of the net; Frias wound up and fired a sharp grounder into the bottom corner.
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EDWARDS — Battle Mountain lacrosse entered Saturday’s game against Grand Junction without five starters, and that was only half of what was missing for the Huskies.
“I couldn’t get my kids up for the game,” said Battle Mountain coach Bob Daino, who was glad to escape with a 9-7 win in Edwards.
“After the Aspen game Wednesday (which they won 13-9), the kids were so high. Today, we should have won by 15 goals, and the kids were just walking in their sleep,” he said.
Grand Junction held a 6-5 lead against Battle Mountain before the Huskies rallied behind some inspired play by attackman Coleby Henzlik.
“We were losing faceoffs like crazy, and finally, I got Coleby in there, and he won a few and turned the tide,” Daino said. “He’s fabulous. I can’t ask enough of him. He’ll do anything.”
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ASPEN — Ricky Frias and the Aspen lacrosse team gave Eaglecrest no time to catch its breath Saturday.
The senior scored three goals in the first four minutes - and finished with eight in the game - and he and running mate Charlie Olson, who picked up eight assists, led the Skiers to a convincing 17-10 victory.
“The boys came out and put their heart and hustle into the game from the first whistle,” Aspen coach Mike Goerne said. “We got the lead, and we kept it.”
Goerne admitted he didn’t know what to expect when his team lined up against the Centennial school. Early on, however, it looked like the Raptors were the ones looking unsettled.
Frias and Olson connected one minute into the game on a perfectly-executed give-and-go. The duo, in what would become a familiar sight for Eaglecrest defenders, struck again two minutes later when Olson passed off to Frias from left of the net; Frias wound up and fired a sharp grounder into the bottom corner.
Frias took matters into his own hands and stick with 8 minutes, 11 seconds remaining in the first when he rifled through a host of Raptors, jumped to gain some separation and scored.
“After beating [Battle Mountain] by double digits in the snow, we didn’t expect to lose to them [Thursday],” Frias said. “After that game, we wanted to come out and prove we’re better than how we played.”
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DENVER – Two days after re-claiming supremacy in Colorado, Kent Denver staked its claim as the best high school boys lacrosse team in the Western United States.
On a chilly Friday afternoon at Justin DeSorrento Memorial Field on the Kent Denver campus, the No. 2 Sun Devils knocked off top-ranked St. Ignatius Prep, 10-6. With the victory, Kent Denver improved to 13-0 and snapped the Wildcats’ 39-game winning streak.
“It’s a huge win,” Kent Denver junior middie Patrick Murphy said. “It’s nice to now get the recognition to now be the best in the West.”
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Brian Langtry, center, who leads the Mammoth with 28 goals this season, looks to lead the Colorado offense against the San Jose Stealth in Saturday’s NLL West Division finale. (Andy Cross, the Denver Post )
Roll dodges and cradles take center stage this weekend on all levels, from the youngsters in the LaxFest, to the collegians at the University of Denver, to the Colorado Mammoth playing Saturday for the National Lacrosse League West Division title.
Boys and girls teams, grades 2 through 8, are eschewing their usual regular-season game sites across the Denver area to play Saturday on 18 fields at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City. With 325 teams, LaxFest starts at 8 a.m. and is the largest youth lacrosse event west of the Mississippi River.
The University of Denver (9-5, 4-1 in the Great Western Lacrosse League) plays its final GWLL game Saturday at 1 p.m. at Air Force Academy (3-8, 1-3).
The 18th-ranked DU women (10-5, 4-0 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation), fresh off a 13-9 upset of No. 19 Stanford, play a key MPSF contest at California (9-6, 4-0) on Saturday and at St. Mary’s (2-13, 0-4) on Sunday.
The Mammoth (9-6) had its game at San Jose moved to Saturday because of the NHL playoffs. Colorado and the Stealth (8-7) split games this season.
Colorado is riding a two-game win streak after routing cellar-dweller Edmonton by scores of 15-4 and 13-8 last weekend.
Mammoth all-star Dan Carey, still recovering from a concussion, has not played since April 3.
“He’s feeling good, he’s working out and he hasn’t had symptoms in a while,” general manager Steve Govett said. “We’re cautiously optimistic, but we don’t want to put him in harm’s way.”
Jamie Shewchuk has filled Carey’s void with a career-best 24 goals.
Defenseman Jim Moss has recovered from a neck strain and is expected to play, along with defenseman Matt Leveque (back). But speedy transition player Josh Sims (ankle) is doubtful.
Team captain Gavin Prout leads the league with a career-best 65 assists and is ranked second in points with 90. Brian Langtry leads the Mammoth in goals with 28.
The Stealth counter with all-stars Jeff Zywicki and Colin Doyle. Zywicki, the league leader in shooting percentage at .241, ranks third with 45 goals. Doyle has 25 goals and 54 assists.