Team outlook
Class 5A
Boulder Panthers
Coach: Nick Voigt
Last season’s result: Missed the state postseason by .01 point
Spotlight player: Senior Max Burhop is back for his senior season after he averaged four goals per game last spring.
Notable: Burhop returns his 60 goals from last season, which was nearly half of the team’s (134). He is joined by sophomore Luke Nathan, who was second in goals last year with 18. Other expected contributors include juniors Jude Scarbrough, Gavin Johnson and sophomore Nic Norris. “Although we are young,” Voigt said, “we have a really great core of returning players and are excited for the season.”
Fairview Knights
Coach: Matthew Kelley
Last season’s result: Missed state playoffs
Spotlight player: Senior defender Sam Millison leads a strong backline for the Knights. He is committed to the University of Tampa.
Notable: The Knights bring back a strong defense led by Millison, Michael Dickinson-Tooman — a junior committed to the University of Delaware — Jack Michaels and Will Chanin. The Knights also have a talented midfielder in Ben Viverito and a standout goalie in sophomore Sam Rich, who made 141 saves on 285 shots on goal last spring. “We expect to be even stronger on defense this year and we will have an entirely new offense,” Kelly said. “We expect to be right in the mix in the conference and in the state.”
Monarch Coyotes
Coach: David Auday
Last season’s result: Reached the opening round of the state playoffs
Spotlight player: Senior Derek Duplechin led the team with 39 goals last year. In his first two games of the spring, he already has seven goals.
Notable: The Coyotes, the only local team to reach the 5A postseason, return a strong goalie tandem in James Swando and Pierce Zickerman. A “luxury most teams don’t have,” Auday said. Other returners include senior attacker Duplechin and Graysen Jolly, who led the team with 57 points last spring. Griffyn Weber, a middy, and sophomore Flynn Leonard are also back after they were named second team, all-5A League No. 2 last year.
Class 4A
Dawson Mustangs
Coach: Pete Devlin
Last season’s result: Reached the state quarterfinals
Spotlight player: Senior attacker Leo Bellanca had a breakout junior season, scoring 57 goals to go along with 26 assists.
Notable: The Mustangs were back in the hunt for a state title last season after a tough few years following the emergence of a new district team at Erie. Now, they return their top two scorers in Bellanca and Holden Walker and also get back their leading assist man from a year ago in Jack Diamond. Also returning are senior defender Finn Carpenter and midfielder Owen Belt, both of whom were vital last spring as the Mustangs reached the quarterfinals before bowing out to Denver South.
Erie Tigers
Coach: Nick Mandia
Last season’s result: Won the Northern League and reached the state semifinals
Spotlight player: Freshman LSM Braylon Englehart. “Braylon is a solid athlete already as a freshman and he has a really high IQ, which makes him very coachable,” Mandia said.
Notable: The Tigers may have the best attack tandem in the classification in Charlie O’Brien and Liam Connors. O’Brien is headed to the University of Vermont and Connors the University of Denver. They’re joined by goalie Colin Selters and defender Karson Evens, who are both committed to D-II Limestone University in South Carolina. In their opening win over Fairview, O’Brien had four goals and Selters had a save percentage of 73%.
Holy Family Tigers
Coach: Lee Williams
Last season’s result: Reached the first round of the state playoffs
Spotlight player: Senior defender and LSM Luke Mills. He was a big part of the reason the Tigers were able to reach the state postseason for the second time in program history last spring.
Notable: Heading into their fifth year as varsity program, the Tigers are coming off a first-round exit in the postseason. “That won’t happen this year,” Williams vows. “This year feels different with more young talent and hungry upperclassmen.” In their opener last week, they beat Telluride 11-10 in overtime.
Jefferson Academy Jaguars
Coach: Dean Brink
Last season’s result: Reached the first round of the state playoffs
Spotlight player: Junior midfielder Connor Scarboro. Named a captain, he is looking to direct a team that lost 10 seniors from last spring.
Notable: “With a group of young guys and no seniors, I am looking to expand the JA lacrosse program in not only skill but numbers,” said Brink, a 2021 alum of the JA lacrosse program. “I am excited to coach these guys and I am looking forward to a good season.” Other expected contributors include Rocco Purnell, Matthew Bernardy and Kaleb King.
Point me to the postseason
The regular season ends May 6 and the state playoffs in both classifications run from May 9-22. In 5A, there will be four automatic qualifiers (league winners) and 20 at-large bids based on the CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index. In 4A, there will be six automatic qualifiers and 18 at-large bids. The semifinals (May 20th) and finals (May 22) will be held at the University of Denver’s Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.
Bringing it home: recent state champions
2022 — Arapahoe (5A boys), Cheyenne Mountain (4A boys)
2021 — Mountain Vista (5A boys), Cheyenne Mountain (4A boys)
2020 — No champions crowned (COVID-19 pandemic season cancellation)
2019 — Cherry Creek (5A boys), Golden (4A boys)
2018 — Regis Jesuit (5A boys), Cheyenne Mountain (4A boys)
