Lacrosse Season Shows Team of CA Ambassadors
What started off as a year of rebuilding replace a stalwart crew of departing seniors turned out to be a year of great success.
What started off as a year of rebuilding replace a stalwart crew of departing seniors turned out to be a year of great success. Led by senior attackmen Max Allen and Schuyler Grey (who combined for an impressive 150 points) the team rallied behind its leadership and goal-scoring prowess. Joel Berdie dominated the midfield by winning a state best 170 face-offs and contributing 20 goals and 18 assists to the highest scoring team in Colorado. The “Brotherhood” lived up to its selfless identity by amassing assists on 69% of their goals. They showed their true mettle in a very exciting match against highly touted and state runner-up rival Kent Denver. The team held the lead for most of the game and looked like it would pull off the upset until Kent took its first lead late in the game and went into its very “stall” game with 4:30 left on the clock to secure the victory. CA finished with a 12-4 record highlighted by an impressive overtime victory in the last game of the season over Rock Canyon and a hotly contested play-off win over Fairview. Though there were many big holes to fill from the previous year’s roster, the underclassmen stepped up and not only filled those holes; they made a statement that CA lacrosse has potential for years to come.
Junior midfielders Chase Fuller (35g, 20a), CJ Clinkscales (16g, 16a) and TJ Keller (16g, 12a) found new roles for themselves as they all blossomed into elite players, while sophomore attackman Will Baird complemented the Allen/Grey offensive machine with 23g and 5a. The defensive side of the field found all new players to replace CA’s very stubborn 2010 team. Losing two All-American defense men is a tough hurdle to overcome, but Christo Eliot, who never played defense before this year, anchored the defense of Zane Kelley (previous goalie), Clayton Vitek, Michael Zimmerman, Reid von Gunten and freshman sensation LSM Sam Sweeney. The entire defense was backed by the outstanding goaltending by Avvery Boyd. There were many accolades given to the individuals on the team; 2nd Team All-Conference: Trevor Anderson, TJ Keller and Will Baird. 1st Team All-Conference: Max Allen, Avvery Boyd and Sam Sweeney. Honorable Mention All-State: CJ Clinkscales. 2nd Team All-State: Schuyler Grey and Chase Fuller. 1st Team All-State: Joel Berdie. Special recognition went to Christopher Eliot as an Academic All-American and to Joel Berdie as Colorado Academy’s 3rd All American in 2 years! The season was exciting from start to end, with another trip to the round of 16 in the state playoffs. The Brotherhood will change its identity again next year, but the mission will remain the same: represent themselves, the sport, the team and CA with pride, dignity sportsmanship and leadership. This team was more than group of athletes. They were true ambassadors of all that Colorado Academy instills in its students.
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