ENGLEWOOD — The last time senior midfielder Allie Hartman graced Englewood High School for a girls lacrosse state semifinal, Fairview’s season ended on a questionable call with a loss to Valor Christian.
A year later, with her new burnt orange digs, she and 4A Mead found a way to reverse those semifinal fortunes. She even got to play the hero.
With the game tied up at 12-12 and no room left for error, the second-seeded Mavericks held the ball with little pressure from No. 3 Evergreen. As the final two minutes ticked down in regulation, the onus fell on Hartman to either end the game, right then and there, or settle for overtime.
Her coach, Katie Coleman Bergmann, shouted out her calling card — “Raptor” — signifying Silver Creek High School, which Hartman attends. She didn’t waste her opportunity, and her driving shot soared past Evergreen’s goalie with five seconds left, tickling the back of the net and giving the Cougars no time to respond.
Following a lengthy lightning delay, the Mavericks punched their ticket to the Class 4A state championship in a dramatic 13-12 finish in their first year of existence as a program. They’ll face off with No. 1 Castle View at 5:30 p.m. at the University of Denver on Friday night with the chance to make history.
“It feels so good because last year on the Fairview team, it was a similar type of game with Valor,” Hartman said. “Unfortunately, we were on the other side of it, losing in overtime. But being able to come out on the other side, on top, just in the last few seconds too, guaranteeing it, feels really, really good.”
Hartman, along with a handful of other players, had to make the move from Fairview to Mead when the St. Vrain Valley School District initiated its pilot program in the offseason. Since its inception, the Mavericks — comprised of veteran players and those brand new to the sport — have stormed their way onto the 4A lacrosse scene, much to the chagrin of well-established programs like Evergreen.
Junior midfielder Sierra Ryan remembers the sting of last year’s loss well.
“It’s a really emotional moment for the girls on Fairview,” Ryan said. “I’m just proud of us. We’ve worked really hard this season, and this is a fresh team. I think sometimes we don’t get the recognition we deserve because we’re new, but we have a ton of great athletes on this team.”
Goals came in sheets during the early minutes of play, much like torrential rain that epitomized the first half as flash after flash illuminated the darkening sky to signal the impending weather delay.
The Mavericks struck first with a shot from senior attacker Ellie Wilson, then the Cougars netted five of the next six goals. Mead ignited its own small run, the momentum having fully swung in its favor, to draw the score to a slight 6-5 Evergreen lead.
Then the weather made like AC/DC. Thunder struck.
When the two teams reconvened following a 1-hour, 36-minute lightning delay, they didn’t seem to lose any steam. Each netted two goals through the final 7:37 of the first half.
Evergreen led just 8-7 at the short break, thanks in part to a clutch save from junior goalie Anne Booth as the clock struck zero to end the first half. She kept up those heroics in the second half as Mavericks sophomore midfielder Lucy Connors netted the first two goals of the second frame to retake the lead, if only briefly.
The teams spent the remainder of the late night trading blows until the horn mercifully sounded at 10:51 p.m. following Hartman’s last-second dagger. The Mavericks, now 15-2, will look to add to their already impressive resume with a potential state championship in year one.
Coleman Bergmann can’t wait to see how it plays out.
“I feel like the season just flew by,” she said. “These girls set goals for themselves all year. They wanted to win their conference. They wanted to be undefeated at home and to just watch them slowly check off one by one and then get one step closer to a state championship is phenomenal. … The ability to even get this far and check so much off their list as a first-year program, I think, is going to give us a foundation to build on for years to come.”
