Cougars soaked, but unblemished

Lakeville South wins second girls lacrosse championship in three years

It started with some chilly early April practices in Lakeville and ended in a downpour in Eden Prairie. But for Lakeville South, the 2024 girls lacrosse season could not have been more perfect.

The Cougars completed an undefeated season and earned their second state championship in three years with a 12-8 victory over Prior Lake on June 15 at Eden Prairie High School. It kept raining while the players received their individual medals and team trophy, but the Cougars didn’t mind.

“Actually, we like the rain,” senior captain Tori Tschida said. “We’ve done well in the rain. This year we were good when we had adversity. When the calls don’t go our way we’re kind of used to that, so we were ready for this (weather). We were able to just come out and play our best.”

The state final brought South the most adversity in a season where the Cougars won most of their games by wide margins. Prior Lake scored five consecutive goals in the second quarter and held a 6-4 lead. It likely was the latest the Cougars had trailed in a game all season, but they responded with two goals in the final minute of the quarter to go into halftime tied 6-6. They had a five-goal run of their own in the third quarter to take command of the championship game for good.

“We definitely kept a positive mindset,” said Tschida, who led the Cougars with 79 points this season and was tied for second on the team in draw controls. “What sticks in my head is the 2022 season when we were down six against Rosemount and came back to win (in the state semifinals). So being down one or two is nothing. I knew we could come back.”

Senior midfielder Sivanna O’Brien had four goals and two assists in the championship game. Katie Grubbs, also a senior midfielder, had three goals and Tschida two. South goalie Kate Baell made six saves.

In addition to being captains, as midfielders Tschida, O’Brien and Grubbs were counted on to control play in both ends of the field. They have been together in lacrosse for about 10 years and coach Joel Tornell has been with them the whole time. Tornell was named South head coach after the 2022 season when previous coach Patrick Crandall left to start a women’s lacrosse program at the College of St. Benedict.

The group made sure to get some photos together with the championship trophy after the awards ceremony even though the rain showed no signs of letting up.

“My senior captains controlled the game,” Tornell said. “My defenders played lights-out. My goalie was outstanding. The attacks moved the ball. It was a team effort all the way around, and that’s who we are.

“I have no idea who scored how many goals because all season long we said it was about the (wins). They killed it today.”

The Cougars drew on some lessons from last year’s state tournament, when they lost a two-goal lead against Benilde-St. Margaret’s in the semifinals, and ultimately lost the game on a goal with 10 seconds remaining. It denied them a chance for back-to-back championships but fueled their title run this year.

“I think last year was a case of us just kind of panicking,” O’Brien said. “We were really nervous – wanting to win really bad, and not just playing the way we know we should play.”

When the Cougars were under stress in this year’s tourney, “it was just a matter of keeping our cool, be steady and keep playing, and we’ll be fine,” O’Brien added.

Lakeville South won 15 of its 19 games by 10 goals or more but experienced a bit of pressure in its state semifinal game against Stillwater on June 13. After South took a big lead, the Ponies pushed back in the second quarter and cut the deficit to 9-6. South outscored Stillwater 8-2 in the second half and cruised into the state championship game with a 17-8 victory.

“Some of the games we’ve had this season have not been as difficult as that one was, and it was good for us to have to push and work through it,” Tornell said. “The captains (Tschida, O’Brien and Grubbs) took over that game and made it happen. They’ve been our rocks this season.”

This is the fifth time in the last six state girls lacrosse tournaments a South Suburban Conference team has won the championship. It’ll be tougher for Lakeville South next season without their 2024 captains, but it might be unwise to count the Cougars out. They will return two of their top five scorers, Ella Mills and Charlotte Fannin, top defenders Addie Hammes and Grace Buesgens, and Baell in goal.