Wildcats’ lacrosse rally topples the champs

Eagan moves into top 10 in boys rankings

When Eagan fell five goals behind in the fourth quarter against defending state boys lacrosse champion Lakeville North, it was not time for the Wildcats to panic – or even call timeout, for that matter.

Instead of rattling cages, juggling the lineup or changing up strategy, Eagan coach Tony Mattia just let his team keep playing. It worked, as Eagan scored seven goals in the fourth quarter and the last six of the game to win 14-13 on Monday at Wildcat Stadium and move into the top 10 of the state rankings. Eagan is 4-0, with two victories against teams that were in the state tournament last year (Lakeville North and Moorhead).

After being unranked in the preseason state poll, Eagan moved up to sixth this week. Lakeville North (2-2) started the season at No. 2 and the Panthers are now fourth after consecutive one-goal losses to Edina and Eagan. Edina is the new No. 2 team behind top-ranked Benilde-St. Margaret’s.

Eagan attackman Griffin Joas completed the comeback by scoring the winning goal with one second remaining. He had two goals and three assists for the game. Sam Simon scored five times with one assist, and Ethan Wollak had three goals and two assists.

As for not calling timeout when North’s lead grew to 13-8 in the fourth quarter, “you’re limited because you get only two a half. We were hoping this was going to be close and maybe we would need a timeout at the end,” Mattia said. “But the fellows do like to get up and down the field, and sometimes timeouts get in the way of that. We let them work through it and be themselves.”

Eagan was one of two teams to defeat Lakeville North in the regular season in 2023. That, too, was by one goal.

Joas and Simon were two of the Wildcats’ top three scorers last year, and A.J. Clark and Wollak both had more than 10 goals. Charlie Heinlein played about one-third of the minutes in goal last season.

But there were spots where new starters figured to be tested against an early schedule that included St. Thomas Academy and Northfield in addition to Lakeville North and Moorhead. “We have a lot of returning talent, but also some unknowns,” Mattia said. “We have a couple of first-year (varsity) players that are getting a lot of minutes. They’re coming in and they’re growing.”

Heinlein and defenders Ryan Hanson and Seth Kolehmainen faced a major challenge from a Lakeville North that returned several of the most explosive offensive players from the 2023 state champions. Senior midfielder and faceoff specialist Will McLoone was expected to be in for a tough night against North senior Quinn Power, a 2023 All-State and All-America player who also might be the best in the state at winning faceoffs. McLoone was credited with eight faceoff wins in 26 draws but had some key wins in the second half to help sustain Eagan’s rally.

“Power is no joke, and Will was an unknown at the (faceoff) X,” Mattia said. “Last year he was behind a very good faceoff man, but he’s talented in his own right. I know Will’s gassed right now, but he gave it his all out there today.”

North junior midfielder Lane Johnson scored four goals, and Power and Blake Piscitiello had three each. Blake Piscitiello also had two assists, while his brother Carson had a goal and three assists.

After comfortable victories over Rochester and Northfield, the Panthers lost 9-8 to Edina on April 18. Blake Piscitiello scored five goals in the Edina game.

Eagan won 15-5 at Moorhead on April 20 as Clark scored six goals, Simon four and Wollak three. Joas had a goal and five assists.

Monday’s game kicked off the South Suburban Conference portion of the schedule for Eagan and Lakeville North. The South Suburban could claim to be the state’s strongest conference in 2023 as SSC members Lakeville North and Prior Lake played for the state championship (North won in overtime) and Shakopee reached the semifinals.

Difficult games are sprinkled throughout the Eagan schedule, although none might be tougher than what the Wildcats faced Monday against the defending state champion.

“As you can tell, it took absolutely everything they had to be able to put this one away,” Mattia said.

Boys lacrosse notes

• Farmington, which was runner-up to Lakeville North in the 2023 Section 1 boys tournament, started 4-0 with victories over Chisago Lakes (a 2023 state tournament qualifier), Northfield, Rochester and Shakopee. Chicago Lakes and Shakopee were 2023 state tournament qualifiers.

Sophomore attackman Parker Nivala scored six goals as the Tigers defeated Rochester 18-5 on April 20. Henry Ulrick had five goals and one assist and Jack Rosa had a goal and five assists in Farmington’s 12-2 victory over Shakopee on Tuesday.

• Undefeated and fifth-ranked Bloomington Jefferson defeated Eastview/Apple Valley 8-5 in a non-conference game April 20. The loss was the first in four games for The Valley, which opened with victories over Hill-Murray, Duluth and Hastings by a combined 45-12. Eastview/Apple Valley improved to 4-1 overall with an 8-7 victory over Rosemount in South Suburban Conference action Tuesday.

• The South Suburban Conference has eight boys lacrosse programs this spring. Eastview and Apple Valley are in their third season as a co-op. Burnsville and Bloomington Kennedy formed a co-op that plays an independent schedule. Kennedy/Burnsville is 1-3 after four games.

Girls lacrosse

• One of the first games on the South Suburban Conference girls lacrosse schedule also was one of the biggest. Third-ranked Lakeville South defeated second-ranked Prior Lake 10-3 on Tuesday, improving to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the SSC. Either Lakeville South or Prior Lake has won the conference every year since 2015 (there was no season in 2020 because of COVID-19). Last year South defeated Prior Lake 14-13 in a game that decided the conference championship. The Cougars went on to finish third in the state tournament.

Tori Tschida scored four goals, Charlotte Fannin three and Katie Grubbs two for South in Tuesday’s game, where the Cougars outscored Prior Lake 6-0 in the second half.

South started its 2024 season with victories over East Ridge (11-8) and Chanhassen (16-6). Also coming up is a home game against defending state champion Benilde-St. Margaret’s on May 2. In last year’s state semifinals, BSM scored the winning goal with 10 seconds remaining to hand South its only loss of the season.

• Rosemount is 4-1 after defeating Eastview/Eagan 20-1 on Tuesday. The Irish will play host to 2023 state runner-up Edina at 2 p.m. Saturday.

• Other winners in SSC girls play Tuesday were Lakeville North, which defeated Apple Valley 15-5, and Farmington, which got past Shakopee 11-10. North is 3-0 overall after its victory and Farmington is 3-2.

• Eight teams are playing South Suburban Conference girls lacrosse. Eastview and Eagan remain a co-op program. Burnsville is in a co-op with Bloomington Kennedy, with the team playing in the Tri-Metro Conference.