South girls rout Cretin-Derham Hall, remain unbeaten
What makes the Lakeville South attack so difficult to contain, coach Joel Tornell was asked.
Numbers, the Cougars girls lacrosse coach explained. As in, seven players capable of scoring goals at any time. Opponents can try to take away one scorer, or maybe even two, but good luck trying to defend against all seven.
Tornell’s only problem, it seems, is making sure all those scorers get opportunities. “It’s a burden I have to bear,” he wisecracked. “You feel sorry for me?”
Nobody does, least of all the teams the Cougars have played, or will play. Undefeated Lakeville South opened the state tournament with another drubbing, defeating Cretin-Derham 17-4 in the quarterfinals Tuesday at Chaska High School. South (17-0) plays Stillwater (13-3) in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Thursday at Eden Prairie High School, with the winner advancing to the championship game at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, also at Eden Prairie.
Tuesday’s victory was the 14th consecutive game No. 1-ranked Lakeville South has won by at least 10 goals. Cretin-Derham Hall paid a lot of attention to junior attacker Ella Mills, a 53-goal scorer, and the results were mixed. Mills scored one goal, but South senior midfielder Katie Grubbs scored six and Sivanna O’Brien, another senior midfielder, had four goals and four assists. Tori Tschida, Christina Swirtz and Emma Remington chipped in with two goals each in the Cougars’ runaway (the entire second half was played on running time because of Lakeville South’s double-digit lead).
“Everyone on our team is a top shooter,” Grubbs said. “Two of my teammates, Tori Tschida and Sivanna O’Brien, we’ve been playing together for coming up on 10 years and we have this weird connection. We just always understand where we are on the field. Most of the connection we have on the field, we made off the field.”
Grubbs noted that the playmaking ability of Tschida, O’Brien and others makes it a lot easier to finish when it’s her turn to score goals.
“I just happened to have a good day with shooting,” Grubbs said. “The reason I got goals today was my teammates.”
Thursday’s game will be close to a one-year anniversary of one of the toughest days in Lakeville South girls lacrosse history. The Cougars lost to Benilde-St. Margaret’s in the 2023 state semifinals, denying them a chance to go for a second consecutive state championship.
“We think about that every day,” Grubbs said. “It’s a big part of our motivation this year.”
Boys quarterfinals
Defending state boys champion Lakeville North breezed to victory in the state quarterfinals Tuesday at Eden Prairie, while fourth-seeded Eagan couldn’t overcome an early deficit against fifth-seeded Eden Prairie.
Lakeville North (13-4) won its eighth consecutive game, pounding Moorhead 17-3. It was 13-3 at halftime, and North scored its final four goals in the third quarter.
Junior attackman Blake Piscitiello scored six goals for North, bringing his season total to 70. His twin brother Carson scored four goals and senior midfielder Quinn Power also had four goals.
Lakeville North, the tournament’s No. 3 seed, will play second seed Stillwater in the semifinals at 3 p.m. Thursday at Chaska High School. The winner advances to the championship game at 6 p.m. Saturday at Eden Prairie High School.
In the only boys quarterfinal game that wasn’t a blowout, Eden Prairie grabbed the lead early and held on late to defeat Eagan 8-6. Eden Prairie jumped to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter on its home field before Griffin Joas put Eagan on the scoreboard with 7 minutes, 22 seconds left in the second quarter.
Joas and Sam Simon scored three goals each, with Simon bringing his season total to 65 goals. Wildcats goalie Charlie Heinlein made seven saves.
Eagan (13-4) pulled within 8-6 with 1:10 remaining, but Eden Prairie (12-5) was able to survive the last 70 seconds without further damage.
Eagan plays Centennial in a consolation semifinal game at 1 p.m. Thursday at Chaska High School.
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