A year ago Wheat Ridge’s boys lacrosse team entered the postseason as an underdog, knocking off Monarch in the first round before getting bounced by eventual state champion Arapahoe.
So when the ninth-seeded Farmers looked at the 2010 playoff bracket and saw they were hosting 24th-seeded Summit, the team understood that looking past their opponent could lead to trouble.
“I think our guys came out ready. We were in the same situation last year,” Wheat Ridge coach Chris Knott said after his team rolled to a 15-4 victory over the Tigers on Friday, May 7, at Trailblazer Stadium in Lakewood. “Our guys, knowing that going into it, worked hard this week to make sure we didn’t get a letdown.”
The win set up a showdown on the road with Fort Collins in the second round on Tuesday, May 11. The Lambkins proved to be good enough on a wet night, emerging with a hard-fought 8-2 victory.
“Sometimes we struggle in big games,” Farmers junior Sander Aplet said. “We needed a big confidence boost for Fort Collins.”
Aplet scored four goals against Summit to pace Wheat Ridge. Nick Ossello added three goals and three assists. Pete Aplet, Ryan O’Connor and Chris Roach added two goals each. Cole Martin and Andy Field also scored.
“That’s how it’s been all season for us,” Sander Aplet said. “We have quite a few guys that are scoring and contributing. It’s a team effort out here.”
Wheat Ridge (11-6) jumped out to a 4-0 lead after only six minutes. Summit finally got on the board with three minutes left in the first quarter, but Martin took a pass from Pete Aplet and scored only seven seconds later.
“When you have a great face-off guy like we do, it doesn’t take much,” Knott said of Ossello. “He was working it all night. Our face-offs were just outstanding and it gave us the opportunity to get a lot of fastbreaks.”
Wheat Ridge led by 11 in the final minute of the third quarter, allowing Knott to use his younger players in the second half. Summit scored two goals to cut the deficit to nine, but Sander Aplet scored twice in a 27-second span in the fourth quarter.
“That’s one of the things we talked about, being able to come out and get up quick and get everybody in and get the experience under our wings,” Knott said. “Hopefully we’re around for the next few years and hopefully this year a lot longer.”
Fort Collins draws top-seeded Arapahoe in the quarterfinals scheduled for Saturday, May 15, at Regis High School in Aurora.