Daily Dish 4.28
It has been such a great week of lacrosse and we touched on it on the latest episode of the podcast. I apologize I didn’t get a slate breakdown for Thu-Sat. I was so deep into doing the power rankings post that I completely missed the slate preview. After I recap the last two nights of games, I will get a weekend slate preview up as well
WEDNESDAY
Maple Grove 8 - Elk River 5: This was a game I thought MG was going to win by more. As I always say, scores only tell part of the story and I did not see this game personally, but, this was a nice bounce back for Elk River after a 12-5 loss to Totino-Grace. Maple Grove is ranked #7 so they will continue to get everyone’s best game. I felt like ER was potentially a contender for section 8 and I think this proves they can stick with better teams.
Buffalo 6 - Orono 5: I think this says a lot about both teams. First, Buffalo is not the high flying offense they were a year ago. Still talent on the team but, looks like they will need to win games at a slower pace this year. There could be other things going on (injuries, suspensions) causing the drop in scoring but nonetheless, they will need to lean on their defense more than they did last year. Orono, has been an interesting team because they have played a lot of good teams close. A 3-3 second half vs Tonka, a 3-1 lead at BSM at Halftime and now a 6-5 OT loss to Buffalo. Obviously, they need to figure out how to piece a full 48 minutes together, but, there is something brewing in Orono. They have leaned on a great goalie and strong midfielder - I think if the supporting cast improves, they could be a solid team and maybe steal a game this year
Stillwater 12 - Eastridge 10: P-Mac and I both saw it first hand earlier this year, but Eastridge is extremely close. They have a lot of talented players and a good coach. It’s just hard to compete for 48 minutes with freshman and sophomores, regardless of how talented they are. Big game experience and physical tools matter in competitive games and I think that has been the one hiccup in Eastridge’s games this season. I watched a little of this game and I thought the two teams looked pretty evenly matched. Stillwater just had the athletes to run more at the end. Stillwater is interesting to me, mainly because I thought they looked so down in that first game vs BSM…. however, they have rebounded nicely and continue to take care of business.
Woodbury 10 - CDH 4: Scoring goals (replacing two D1 offensive guys) was a problem I thought Woodbury was going to have, but, it seems like CDH is dealing with it more. CDH lost two of their starting attackmen and a couple offensive middies to graduation, so, we knew there would be some adjustment. However, I thought the Chorlton brothers, who transferred in from Hastings, would minimize the impact on the Raiders more than it has. Woodbury just keeps grinding their way to wins. They are now 3-0 (and up on Irondale in a postponed game) and have a good matchup with Section 3 foe, Eagan, on Saturday. That should be a good one.
THURSDAY
Farmington 11 - Eagan 8: Shoutout to my Tigers for getting their first ever varsity win against Eagan. A long stretch of getting crushed by the Wildcats, the Tigers we finally able to get the job done. I think Farmington has top 10 potential this year and many in the public eye have been waiting to see them play upper echelon teams. Not sure if Eagan is that team or not, rankings wise, but they are a formidable foe in my eyes and a conference rival. Big win for the Tigers. Eagan has some really talented players and is well coached. I think they will be in the mix this year. This was only their second game so I expect them to improve.
Moorhead 7 - Shakopee 6 (2OT): This was probably the game of the night if you’re judging on excitement. A back and forth game and two good teams. Shakopee had a tough turnaround after a huge, emotional win vs Prior Lake only to get on a bus and travel 4 hours up to Moorhead to play a hungry Spuds team. Moorhead thinks they have a great group this year and could be better than the previous section 8 championship teams from the past two seasons. They did lose some production on offense, but, seem to have returned a bunch of great athletes at Midfield and Defense. They were able to slow Shakopee down and stay in the game. Some nice defensive strategies confused the Sabres enough to steal some possessions back. Tip of the cap to the Spuds, this was a very quality win and deserve a lot of credit. They will have a couple more tough tests heading down to the twin cities in the next few weeks. Shakopee gains a lot from this loss, in my opinion. A really adverse situation going on the road to Moorhead against a team that was hungry and waiting for you, and being able to grind through that and score late to send it to OT. Now that they have a loss, the pressure is off. This road trip will serve them well in the long run. Sabres are a really good team.
Lakeville North 12 - Eden Prairie 11 (OT): The other overtime game of the night and maybe even a bigger surprise than the previous game. The Panthers have looked nearly unstoppable in their first 4 games with their one-two punch of winning face-offs and a lethal offensive attack. Eden Prairie battled in this game and found a way to manage getting torched at the X. The Eagles goalie made some impressive saves to gain some possessions back. EP has some DUDES on defense - they are massive and athletic. I think this played to their advantage as the game wore on. One thing to note was Lakeville North senior goalie did not play in this game. Not sure if that was injury related or just a night off, but, curious to see how that develops. EP’s Kody Balon had 4 goals in the second quarter to help EP get back in the game, he is an impressive player and interested to see how he develops this season. Overall, the Eagles showed a lot of toughness in this game - they are a team to watch.
Jefferson 10 - New Prague 7: Jefferson needed this game to get back on track after two tough losses but I don’t think it was as easy of a game as they maybe thought it would be. New Prague is a growing/developing program and seem to be a much better team this year than last. A team full of sophomores, they could be dangerous in the next few years. I didn’t see this game, but, tip of the cap to NP for keeping it close against an established top program in the state. Jefferson finally got the offense going and will look to build on that as they head into their next game against Orono which could be a good one!
BSM 15 - Prior Lake 9: This was obviously the headline game of the evening with a rematch of last FOUR state final games. Two powerhouse programs. Two proud fan bases. Probably one of the bigger rivalry games now just due to the success of both teams over the last 8 years. BSM is a machine. They are aggressive, fast and precise. They do not make a lot of mistakes and Carsen Brandt is the most polished lacrosse player in the state of Minnesota. Prior Lake, with only one game under their belt left a bit to be desired (by their own admission) after their first game and what a tough challenge in game 2. I will say, this game wasn’t a blowout and was 12-9 pretty late in the game, so, PL battled. I just think the depth of BSM took control in this game in the long run. PL is working through personnel and figuring out who their top guys are going to be. They lost a lot of great players to graduation, and while the talent is still there, I think figuring out roles and game experience will be the key as the season wears on. Ben Mickett is right there with Brandt for top players in the state and he is a matchup nightmare for teams. Amazing athlete with an amazing shot. Full teams have been struggling to score 5 goals on BSM and Mickett did it by himself last night. As the supporting cast continues to rise…. PL should be just fine. Bet against them if you want, but, it’s not wise.
