A five-game winning streak feels great, to be sure.
Thompson Valley High School lacrosse players celebrate their one-goal victory over Colorado Academy on Wednesday at Patterson Stadium. The Eagles’ 9-8 win was the team’s sixth straight triumph. Reporter-Herald/Steve Stoner
But the Thompson Valley High School girls lacrosse team had to be thinking, “There must be something more,” especially after thumping its five previous foes by a margin of 101-22. And that something special came to pass in Wednesday’s 9-8 victory at Patterson Stadium against Colorado Academy, a signature victory for the second-year program.
Now 6-1, the Eagles are in very good position to claim a hard-to-find playoff berth by season’s end, even if a few games against some state powerhouses go the other direction. Thompson Valley will have a hand up on the Mustangs when seedings are decided, a nice feather in the cap against the team that won the lacrosse title in 2000.
| Date | Opponent | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3/10 | at Air Academy | L, 13-8 | |
| 3/12 | at Valor Christian | W, 22-4 | |
| 3/17 | DAKOTA RIDGE | W, 18-6 | |
| 3/22 | at Evergreen | W, 19-9 | |
| 4/02 | at Mountain Range | W, 23-2 | |
| 4/05 | OVERLAND | W, 21-1 | |
| 4/07 | COLORADO ACADEMY | W, 9-8 | |
| 4/09 | PALMER | ||
| 4/14 | at Thomas Jefferson-South | ||
| 4/16 | KENT DENVER | ||
| 4/21 | DENVER EAST | ||
| 4/28 | MOUNTAIN RANGE | ||
| 4/30 | at St. Mary’s Acad, CO | ||
| 5/01 | at Conifer | ||
| Coach: Liz Melahn |
Maggie Mawhinney scored four goals for the Eagles, Emma Sunness scored twice and freshman goalie Molly Reger snuffed numerous 1-on-1 threats to preserve the win, celebrated with yelps, broad smiles and high-flying leaps at the final buzzer.
“This motivates even more. This shows we can beat one of the top teams in Colorado, and makes us hungry for it,” said Mawhinney, a sophomore who entered the game as the state’s leading scorer. “We ran at practice, did ground balls over and over again and played as hard as we could. It was chemistry — we have an amazing goalie — and we played with heart.”
Mawhinney’s last goal came with 10 minutes, 28 seconds remaining, on a play where she wheeled around the goal before lacing a shot in. That put the Eagles ahead, 8-7, and Kiera Gayler added an insurance goal off a perfect pass from Sarah Zimmerman a minute later.
The Mustangs (3-2) scored with 2:55 left, but Thompson Valley held firm after Reger made a huge save at 2:20, after a turnover.
“This is, seriously, what we’ve been practicing for. I can’t believe it, but I knew we could do this,” Reger said. “I watch the stick (of the shooter), but it’s pretty much instinct. You’ve got to believe you can get to it.
“I was more anxious than anything. I just wanted us to kick some butt.”
The game went 10 full minutes without a score — Colorado Academy had a case of the bobbles but staked its way to a 3-0 lead before a long run and shot by Lanie Matsumoto got the Eagles on the board.
“We haven’t been playing teams of this caliber, so to go from games that are slow to a team that can play at your level is difficult. But the defense held them off for 10 minutes,” said TVHS coach Liz Melahn, who made sure her players knew she’d overheard a Mustangs assistant predict five quick goals for the visitors. “If you’re holding them off, it’s no big deal. We had the energy. You couldn’t have a bigger stamp (of approval) for these girls than this game.”
Kaley Lund also had a goal, and Reger closed with 31 saves.
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