Daily Dish 4.19
Last night featured a bunch of high profile games that would make any MN Lacrosse fan excited! A few of the games featured teams that we expect to be among the state’s best, getting their first action of the season
BSM v Orono
Things kicked off with Orono having a 3-1 lead at halftime over BSM. The game ended 13-3 Benilde, so, kind of ended as we expected but a couple things from watching a bit of the tape. Orono is a much improved team. They have some guys who can play, but, just lack depth. Not sure if there is a pipeline there, but, they are very much a team somewhere near the top 20ish, maybe even top 15. The other is that BSM is not right. We know how much talent is on that team and they just haven’t seemed to look as dominant as they were in the past couple seasons. They are dealing with injuries to a handful of starters and are adjusting to a new coaching staff. I don’t expect them to down for long, but, they do look mortal at this point.
Lakeville North v Minnetonka
Lakeville North, who many believe are poised for a big rebound season left nothing to the imagination last night against Minnetonka. Probably the most entertaining game of the season thus far, Lakeville North was BUZZING from the opening whistle. Not sure if it was excitement for the first game or what, but, they looked fast, aggressive, skilled and hyped up. They looked like the Lakeville North team from 2021 that finished 3rd in state. Tonka, despite looking completely shell shocked with the way LVN was playing and with a 7-3 halftime deficit, dug deep and found a way to hang in that game and chip away in the second half. Back and forth, Minnetonka made it 10-9 midway through the fourth. But, LVN was able to get one right back to crush the momentum. Lakeville North was able to snag a couple goals late while Minnetonka was pressing out and seal a 13-10 victory. Lakeville’s Face-Off/Midfielder, Quinn Power, looks like the best in the state and is a threat offensively as well. He made a huge impact. Austin Winship and Leo Piscatello on the offensive side for LVN look healthy, fast, and dominant. They will be a tough matchup. Minnetonka’s Ben Schuster is a quick twitch middy that demands the ball and leads the Tonka offense. They will lean on him this season to run their offense.
Woodbury vs STA
I will be the first to admit that I thought Woodbury was going to be down this year. While I know lacrosse is a team sport, Woodbury lost so much scoring and a generational talent in Conor Hooley, I thought this may just be a rebuild sort of year for them. I was wrong. What a huge win for the Royals to open the season against a Section 3 foe. STA has been mentioned as one of the state’s potential top 10 teams with an elite senior class on the offensive end, but, Woodbury showed they are built tough at defense, only allowing 5 goals. There are no stats available for this game yet and their stream was brutal/unwatchable so, hard to comment on specifics, but, it looked like the game was only 3-2 Woodbury leading at halftime. Not sure if it was first game sloppiness or just strong defense. Nonetheless, a big win for Woodbury for section seeding implications and to springboard their 2023 campaign to get back to the state tournament.
Shakopee v Buffalo
This was probably the premiere matchup of the night and our our DTA game of the week - click the link to read more. Game recap and media will be posted soon.
