By Joshua Cole
WSL Special Correspondent

DENVER — There is no girls’ lacrosse team better in the West: In 14 years, Cherry Creek has been to the state-title game 14 times and won nine championships.

The latest victory came Wednesday night, with No. 1 Cherry Creek dismantling No. 3 Denver East, 18-8, for the Colorado High School Activities Association title at the University of Denver’s Peter Barton Stadium.

Cherry Creek’s Big 3 seniors ended their high school careers with dominating performances. Stanford-bound Annie Anton had a game-high seven points on one goal and six assists. Boston University-bound Kameryn Downing and California-bound Shelby Barrett had six points each, Downing getting only goals and Barrett finished with five goals and one assist.

The victory was the fourth championship in five years for Cherry Creek, which finished the season a perfect 19-0. Denver East (16-2) was playing in its first state-title game.

Cherry Creek junior Kiki Boone and sophomore Anya Gersoff had two goals each, and junior Bailey Zerr and freshman Tori Link scored the Bruins’ other goals.

Junior goalie Berit Eppard saved 12 shots.

At the start of the second half, Cherry Creek scored eight of the first nine goals – and seven straight – as Denver East won draws but failed to keep possession.

Denver East had two goals each from Amherst-bound senior Helen Gaffigan, senior Kelley McCarroll-Gilbert and junior Tierra Romero. Junior Lizzie Larson and sophomore Ellie Moran also scored.

Denver East players’ frustration with the tightly-called game grew in the second half, and players threw the ball away on open scoring chances, which hadn’t happened as frequently any other time of the year, head coach Bobby Romero said. Denver East had no yellow cards in Saturday’s semifinal win, but the Angels drew four yellow cards in the championship game.

“We had the momentum coming back when it was 4-3, and these calls just kind of got to the team,” Romero said. “We played the same game today as we played on Saturday. It was in their heads.”

Anton, WSL's top-ranked player, scored her only goal with 13:14 left in the game by dodging a defender, switching to her weaker left hand and shooting into the right corner.

Her best play, though, was on defense. With Cherry Creek up 5-3 late in the first half, she stick-checked the ball away from a Denver East player, got the ball into the offensive zone and eventually set up Downing with a pass from behind the goal. Before the takeaway, Denver East was threatening to erase Cherry Creek’s initial 4-0 lead, holding on for extended possessions in the offensive zone and getting good scoring chances.

After it, Cherry Creek played with more confidence and built an insurmountable lead.

“Moments like that, you feel like you have control over the entire game and can turn the game around,” Anton said. “It just brings the whole team up.”

Denver East had nine free positions in the first half but didn’t take advantage. Cherry Creek’s defenders swooped in to push attackers out of shooting position, and Eppard stopped most of the rest.

Every game throughout the season, Eppard switched at halftime with sophomore goalie Cassidy Chaney. However, Eppard played most of the semifinal and all but the last minute of the championship game.

“We’ve got amazing girls shooting on us every day in practice, and we’re going head to head working to get better and competing for playing time,” Eppard said. “I've got the bruises to prove it.”

She, along with the rest of Cherry Creek’s team, will have something else proving her success: Her name etched on the state championship trophy.