4-6 Spring Roundup
Boys lacrosse shows quite well in loss to CA; girls tennis completes delayed dual victory at Arapahoe; girls lacrosse loses at Cherry Creek.
Indeed, it was another loss, but the scoreboard didn’t convey the real story.
Mullen boys lacrosse went down by 10-8 to always good Colorado Academy on a cold Wednesday night at Brother Bernard Kinneavy Field at De La Salle Stadium in Class 5A nonleague. CA is ranked No. 7 among big schools, Mullen was coming off multiple forfeits because of internal problems and hadn’t played since March 25.
So color head coach Matt Cawley as encouraged.
“A very nice showing,” he said. Pointing to CA afterward, he added: “That’s one of the elite teams right there.”
Now 1-6, Mullen made two second-half moves that kept it interesting. With three quick scores early in the third quarter, it climbed within 6-5 and scored twice late to make it 10-8 with 1:44 to go.
But Mullen ran out of game, Cawley said, “and I’m very pleased with the fight … we’re way better than our record.”
Nicky Bond led the way with five goals. And in goal, senior Noah Wanja was, at times, spectacular, piling up 17 saves, including stopping CA multiple times when it came in alone.
“It is uplifting for the team,” he said of the effort. “There’s a lot we can take from this game and carry it throughout the season. It’s moving on from here and taking what we’ve learned from past experiences and using it for the future.”
Mullen will be idle until Wednesday, April 13, when it will host Boulder at 6 p.m.
COLORADO ACADEMY 10, MULLEN 8
Colorado Academy – 2 4 3 1 -- 10
Mullen -- 1 1 3 3 -- 8
Mullen goals – Nicky Bond 5, Chris Bougie 2, Owen Hearty.
Mullen assists – Ethan Karr 2, Chris Bougie, Connor Warren.
Mullen saves -- Noah Wanja 17.
Girls Tennis
The Mustangs completed their match from Tuesday on Wednesday and earned a 4-3 road victory at Arapahoe in the Centennial League.
Six of the seven matches were able to beat Tuesday’s significant winds.
Mullen’s Lexi Yost (No. 1) and Savanna Hanley (No. 3) won in singles.
In doubles, the Mustangs’ Paige Nielsen-Madeline Crites (No. 1) and Clara Dailey-Claire Lenich (No. 3) were victorious.
On Thursday, April 7, look for an interesting matchup -- the defending 4A champion Mustangs will host Cherry Creek, the 2021 5A champion, at Pinehurst Country Club, 3:30 p.m., in league.
MULLEN 4, ARAPAHOE 3
No. 1 singles – Lexi Yost, Mullen def. Margaux Dufrene 6-0, 6-1.
No. 2 singles – Ella Nichols, Arapahoe def. Marin Smith 6-0, 3-6, 6-2.
No. 3 singles – Savanna Hanley, Mullen def. Berkeley McKinnon 6-0, 6-0.
No. 1 doubles – Paige Nielsen-Madeline Crites, Mullen def. Ali Taliaferro-Addi Gonzales 6-0, 7-5
No. 2 doubles – Avery Johnson-Aliya Fiske, Arapahoe def. Aubranne Leugers-Renne Hoyt 6-3, 6-1.
No. 3 doubles – Clara Dailey-Claire Lenich, Mullen def. Kira Dyer-Maddie Malcolm 6-0, 6-1.
No. 4 doubles – Lizzy Walker-Lindsey Rundell, Arapahoe def. Avery Walters-Grace Brouillette 6-4, 6-1.
Girls Lacrosse
The Mustangs fell behind early and didn’t recover in a 22-5 loss to Cherry Creek at the Stutler Bowl in Greenwood Village.
Mullen is 3-2 overall, 1-1 in the 5A East League.
Trailing 14-3 at halftime, the Mustangs gave up another eight goals as they were hit with 29 shots.
Charlie Beck’s three goals led Mullen.
Next is a league matchup at rival Regis Jesuit on Friday, April 8, 6 pm.
CHERRY CREEK 22, MULLEN 5
Mullen 3 2 -- 5
Cherry Creek 14 8 -- 22
Mullen goals – Charlie Beck 3, J.J. Johnson, Haley Vanek.
Mullen saves – Maggie Martinez 7.
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