Bruins retake title with defense

Kent Denver foiled in attempt to keep state lacrosse crown

Adam Dunivan, Special to the News

Thursday, May 18, 2006

GREENWOOD VILLAGE - After Cherry Creek's semifinal win Saturday, Rachael Zimmerman predicted that her team would be able to reclaim the girls state lacrosse championship from Kent Denver if the Bruins kept the streaky Sun Devils from scoring too many consecutive goals.

It was not easy, but she and her teammates responded well to that statement in the state title game Wednesday night at the Stutler Bowl.

The Bruins not only shut down a powerful Kent Denver offense, mainly behind the efforts of goalie Katie Gold, but also got a little streaky themselves en route to a 9-7 victory.

The win gave Cherry Creek its fifth title in the sport since 1998, and it has won three of the past four championships.

"We knew we were the underdog coming into this game, and that is just so much more motivation," Cherry Creek's Perrie White said. "Katie Gold played her best game of the season, and we just really wanted it."

The Bruins were successful in keeping Kent Denver from scoring in bunches. The Sun Devils scored consecutive goals on Gold only twice, both times in the second half.

The Bruins offense, though, gained some quick momentum in the first half, and it built a lead that Kent Denver could not overcome.

After Danielle Kachulis got the scoring started 10 minutes in, giving Kent Denver a 1-0 lead, the Bruins reeled off five consecutive goals on Erin Tochihara, who had made three stellar saves early in the game.

And it wasn't just the starting attack that contributed for Cherry Creek. Just as it did in a 20-6 win against Golden in the semifinals, the Bruins bench scored Cherry Creek's first goal, by Liz Hart, coming at the 13:48 mark.

Allison Scholbe, another role player off the bench, gave Cherry Creek a lead it never relinquished, on a penalty shot from the 8-meter circle 3 minutes later.

Hart and Scholbe accounted for four of Cherry Creek's nine goals.

"We are so deep that we know those shoes will be filled," Hart said. "(Coach Cayel) Dwyer always says he has no doubt about calling another girl in from the sidelines."

While the offense was clicking for the Bruins, Kent Denver could not solve Gold in the first half. The senior made five saves before allowing Kachulis' goal to start the scoring, then continued to dominate.

Gold added two more saves the rest of the half as her team held a 6-2 advantage.

Even with that lead, though, the Bruins knew Kent Denver had the talent to come back. Behind Molly Parker, the Sun Devils did make things interesting. Parker scored two goals to start the second half, cutting the lead to 6-4.

With 4:29 remaining, the senior faked a long penalty shot and drove in on two defenders to score her third goal of the half and make it 8-6.

But Kent Denver never got any closer, as Hart scored again on a penalty shot with 3:38 to go.

"They came out with a lot more of the 5 0/50 things like the draws and the groundballs," Kachulis said. "They were able to generate more opportunities. Those little things add up in the end."

Gold, the Rocky Mountain News' game most valuable player, finished with 12 saves against one of the best attacks in the state.

She said she was able to relax a lot after her team got the early lead but still had to keep on her toes.

"It was so much relief for me," Gold said. "We knew they were not a first-half team and we needed to take advantage of that. Even when they were coming back, I told myself, 'You got it, you got it.' "

First half - KD, Danielle Kachulis (unassisted), 16:10; CC, Liz Hart (Lise-Anne McLaughlin assist), 13:48; CC, Allison Scholbe (unassisted), 10:30; CC, McLaughlin (Lauren Johnson assist), 9:25; CC, Perrie White (unassisted), 7:22; CC, Scholbe (Kathryn Giancola assist), 5:39; KD, Shannon Cudahy (unassisted), 4:10; CC, Rachael Zimmerman (unassisted), 1:40.

Second half - KD, Molly Parker (unassisted), 24:12; KD, Parker (Cudahy assist), 22:12; CC, Mc- Laughlin (unassisted), 20:25; CC, White (unassisted), 9:00; KD, Kara Secora (Cudahy assist), 5:24; KD, Parker (unassisted), 4:29; CC, Hart (unassisted), 3:38; KD, Parker (unassisted), :33.

Shots on goal - Cherry Creek 11-5 - 16; Kent Denver 9-10 - 19. Goalie saves - CC, Katie Gold 7-5 - 12; KD, Erin Tochihara 5-2 - 7. Yellow cards - CC, Zimmerman; KD, Parker, Cudahy, Caroline Duke, Kate Gaffigan.