9 on all-Centennial; girls lax to welcome Steamboat

Postseason seeds were released for girls lacrosse and girls soccer on Monday and Mullen grabbed one in each sport.

The Mustangs are seeded No. 15 in girls lacrosse and No. 6 in girls soccer.

Girls lacrosse, which is 10-5 and has won seven matches in succession, will open in the first round on Tuesday at home, 6 p.m., at Brother Bernard Kinneavy Field at De LaSalle Stadium against No. 18 Steamboat Springs. The Sailors are 9-4 overall and were 7-1 in the Mountain League for second place behind Aspen.

Mullen is headed by senior Emerson Johnson, who has 53 goals and 10 assists. A couple of sophomores, Molly Gilbert and Elise Bialecki, have combined for 67 goals and 19 assists, and senior Grace Archibald has put up 16 goals and 13 assists. Freshman Haley Vanek has made an immediate impact with 15 goals and 16 assists.

Senior Izzy Cisneros has played nearly every minute in goal, permitting only 7.7 scores per outing.

Second-year coach Melynda Brown’s program was 8-7 a year ago and missed the playoffs.

The Sailors’ clearly have a one-two punch in aptly named Riley Schott, a junior who has 55 goals, and Lucy Shimek, a senior who has scored 47 times. Only one other Sailor has as many as 11 goals.

Tuesday’s winner will advance to the second round of the 20-team bracket on Friday in Greenwood Village at Cherry Creek, the number 2 seed and Centennial League winner. The Bruins are 14-1 and were 7-0 in league, one game better than the Mustangs. Cherry Creek beat the host Mustangs 13-3 on April 4.

In addition, rain is expected Tuesday evening.

The Mustangs also did extremely well in all-Centennial League honors: Johnson, Gilbert, Cisneros and Gabby Rueth, a defender, were named to the first team; Bialecki was chosen for the second team; and Vanek, Charlie Beck, Megan Fenwick and Sydney Bullen earned honorable-mention citings.

As for girls soccer, the 4A Mustangs are 12-2-1, their best mark since going 12-6 two years ago, and will host No. 27 Montrose on Wednesday, 4 p.m.

Senior Kaylah Wanna is the top Mullen producer at 20 goals and 10 assists, although Mullen also has offered depth. Senior Macy Clem has 11 goals and four assists; sophomore Anna Seaman nine goals and seven assists; and senior Jaime DeBerardinis seven and 12.

Overall, Mullen owns a 67-16 season scoring advantage.

The Mustangs’ defense, passing and receiving has been good, and keeper Emma Ryan has permitted an average of only one goal per match.

Montrose (9-6) is coming off a 4-1 setback to Durango and has dropped four of its past five matches.

The winner will take on the Green Mountain vs. Lewis-Palmer winner in the second round on Saturday.

And just like girls lacrosse on Tuesday, inclement weather is expected on Wednesday.

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