The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Punch ticket to the post season
[ by Than Acuff ]For the first time in the short history of the Crested Butte Titans lacrosse program, they are headed to the state tournament. The Titans came close to making the tournament last year missing it by one spot but, with a better record on the season this year, they head into the post season as the 20th seed and face Ponderosa, the 13th seed.
“We knew we were going to be close, but we didn’t know for sure,” says head coach Carter Brock.
Crested Butte had a great start to the final week of the regular season playing in a blizzard in Breckenridge against the Summit Tigers. While the Tigers struck first in the opening minute, the Titans responded almost immediately as Bennett Crabtree fed AJ Hegeman for a goal.
Two-and-a-half minutes later the Titans struck again as Luke Walton knocked down a Summit pass and Hegeman scooped up the ball to sprint up field leading to a goal from Donovan Gagen for a 2-1 Titans’ lead. Then, on the ensuing faceoff, the Titans battled for a loose ball to get it to Walton, who fired from distance to beat the Summit goalie for a 3-1 lead heading into the second quarter.
Crested Butte showed no signs of slowing down in the second quarter with Walton firing from distance for his second goal 90 seconds into the second quarter. A solid ride by Crested Butte then created a Summit turnover and Wyatt Cook seized on the opportunity to score and when Crabtree beat his man, and others, to score, the Titans took a 7-2 lead into halftime.
“We had one of our best starts of the season,” says Brock. “We just wanted to try and stay consistent and clean up our act and the defense kept the momentum up so the offense could go to work.”
Dawson Eastep drove from behind the Summit net to score in the third quarter and then Cook dished the ball to Walton for another rocket from distance in the fourth quarter to finish the game with a 9-4 win.
Crested Butte then closed out the regular season with Senior Night at home against the Glenwood Springs Devils on Friday, May 1. It was a rough start for the Titans as the Devils jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first quarter and never let off the throttle to hand the Titans a 10-2 loss. Walton and Crabtree had the Titan goals in the game and while the result wasn’t what the players or coaches were looking for, there was still something to celebrate.
“We got off to a slow start and just couldn’t get going on offense,” says Brock. “But we were still enjoying the day. It was a special day to honor the seniors and all the work they’ve put into the program.”
On Sunday, they were rewarded for their work and dedication when the tournament seedings came out and the Titans found out they’d be making their first trip to the post season. If they win the first-round game against Ponderosa, they will advance to face fourth seeded Aspen on Friday, May 8.
“We’ve got to respect Ponderosa, they’re a Denver team with a solid well-established program,” says Brock. “I’m feeling good. We got some things to clean up that we’ll go over on film.”
