MEAD RAINS GOALS
Mavericks smack Fruita Monument in Class 4A second-round affair
Goals poured in like the rain that dampened Mead girls lacrosse's second-round game of the Class 4A state playoffs on Thursday. Fruita Monument didn't know what hit it.
In a showing as relentless as the soggy weather, the secondseeded Mavericks wasted no time asserting their dominance in the first-ever home playoff game — following a first-round bye — for the St. Vrain Valley School District's pilot program. They defeated the No. 15 Wildcats 19-1 after forcing a running clock just 16 minutes into the action.
Senior midfielder Mia Welty led the way with four goals and an assist as junior middy Sierra Ryan came alive with three goals and two assists. Senior midfielder Allie Hartman (two goals, two assists), sophomore midfielder Lucy Connors (two goals, one assist), senior attacker Allie Wilson (two goals) and junior attacker Grace Weber (two goals) also contributed big offensive minutes for the Mavericks.
The win, while impressive, was nothing out of the ordinary for a program that nabbed 4A and 5A players alike from Fairview and Dawson when it sprung into existence during the offseason. The team welcomed veteran players and those new to the sport, many making the transition over from basketball.
“I remember three weeks before tryouts, we didn't even know if we were going to have enough to have a varsity team, much less a JV team,” head coach Katie Coleman Bergmann said. “To see their growth as individuals and a team from start to finish is incredible. But then when you put playoffs into it and see where we're going and the success we're having, it's even more special.”
Others, like Connors, played an instrumental role in Fairview's run to the Class 5A state semifinals last year after she collected 22 goals and 25 assists as a freshman. She hails from quite the talented lacrosse family. Her brother Liam plays an equally vital role for Erie, SVVSD'S boys team, as he's trying to help lead the Tigers to their own state title.
The Niwot student had no choice but to join her district team, and the Mavericks are better off for it.
“Liam started playing in like third grade and I was playing soccer, but then I started playing lacrosse because of him. Our parents grew up on the East Coast, so that's how they knew about it,” Lucy said. “At first, I was really hesitant about the switch because we were really good and I think (Fairview) had a really good shot if we had the same team this year. But now I'm really happy and really excited that I came to play for Mead.”
Now that the Mavericks (13-2 record) have gift wrapped their first possible playoff victory, they'll look to add a bow when they head back home on Saturday to take on the winner of No.
7 Aspen and No. 10 Roaring Fork on Saturday for the Class 4A quarterfinals.
If Thursday’s contest proved anything, it’s that the Mavericks’ opponents should be afraid. Very afraid.
“It really shows a testament of the team’s resilience to some of the challenges
we faced this season,” Welty said. “The rain was obviously not ideal, but coming out and being a collective team and beating our second-round team, it was really cool to do. … This team has a really good camaraderie and it shows how we all come together even though there’s a girl from every St. Vrain school represented on the team and girls from other districts.”