EDEN PRAIRIE — It was a familiar, but not necessarily preferred, finish for Stillwater after landing fourth in the girls lacrosse state tournament on Saturday, June 15 at Eden Prairie High School.
Third-seeded Benilde-St. Margaret’s held off the fourth-seeded Ponies 15-13 to secure the third-place trophy. It was the sixth fourth-place finish in 12 state tournament appearances for the Ponies (13-5), who also placed third in 2014 and 2016.
“In the heat of the moment it’s a little sad, not finishing with a win, but big picture this team has come a long way and our seniors are a great reason for that,” Ponies coach Carly Fedorowski said. “Ending fourth in the state is still an incredible accomplishment and out of all the teams in the state and to be able to play on the last day of the season in Minnesota. We just have to be grateful we were able to extend the season a couple extra days, because not everyone gets to do that.”
After losing to eventual state champion Lakeville South in the semifinals, it was a spirited third-place game for Stillwater as the Ponies carried a 12-11 lead into the fourth quarter. The Red Knights (16-2-1) rallied, however, with three of the next four goals to prevail.
The Ponies climbed within 14-13 late, but was unable to convert on the ensuing possession and Benilde-St. Margaret’s was able to run out much of the remaining time before eventually scoring on an empty net in the final seconds.
“We came out and tried to set something up and they made a really good lacrosse play and got the ball back and went down and ran the rest of the clock out,” Fedorowski said. “It came down to one possession and they got that ground ball when they needed to. In that big moment, they capitalized.”
Ava Mosley supplied five goals to lead the Ponies while Maycie Neubauer, who was the team’s lone selection to the All-Tournament Team, added four goals and an assist. Lydia Glass also contributed two goals and two assists.
But Julia Evens helped control the game for the Red Knights. The senior, who was this year’s Ms. Lacrosse Award winner, totaled five goals while Charlize Vang added four goals and two assists.
“Julia Evens is an unreal player,” Fedorowski said. “She is a heckuva athlete and one of the best lacrosse players in Minnesota. There’s not much you can do to stop her.
“We gave it our all and it wasn’t for a lack of effort. She’s just a very good player and we did everything we could to try and limit her chances to score or be involved on the play. We did everything we could.”
The coach was pleased with the effort, even while hoping to turn around the final outcome.
“It was a great game on both sides of the field,” Fedorowski said. “I knew it was going to be close and it really came down to who had the ball last.
“We had our chances throughout the whole game to run away with things, but they’re a great team and they capitalized on their chances and we missed a few chances.”
The start time for the game was moved up an hour and the teams were able to avoid much of the rain that showed up a little later.
“We were prepared for rain,” Fedorowski said. “We actually lucked out because we started an hour earlier and it was just a few sprinkles and I’d take that over super hot weather any day. As soon as our game ended it started down-pouring.”
The coach was pleased with the team’s preparation for the finale, following the disappointment that is unavoidable after a semifinal setback.
“Going off last year, we learned from it as a coaching staff,” Fedorowski said. “We lost that key game to go to the championship and then got blown out in that third-place game. It’s hard to change the mindset of all the girls to be excited going into that game, but we had a really good practice on that Friday and that was a key. It was their last practice together so having fun and keeping that energy up while also staying focused on the opponent we were facing on Saturday. It wasn’t too much of a change from what we’ve been doing all season, don’t leave anything out there — empty the tank and go have fun, because we play the best when we have fun.”
• After topping the Ponies in the semifinals, Lakeville South went on to defeat Prior Lake 12-8 in the state finals. The Lakers defeated Benilde-St. Margaret’s 11-10 in overtime of their semifinal showdown.
Stillwater 5 2 5 1 — 13
Benilde-St. Margaret’s 5 3 3 4 — 15
Goals — St, Ava Mosley 5, Maycie Neubauer 4, Lydia Glass 2, Cassidy Keykal and Mady Richert; B-SM, Julia Evens 5, Charlize Vang 4, Katie Kroft 2, Maggie Graczyk 2, Lauren Hillins and Maddie Kaitsas.
Assists — St, Glass 2, Keykal, Rayna Malmberg and Neubauer; B-SM, Graczyk 4, C. Vang 2, Hillins 2, Jun Vang 1 and Kaitsas.
Saves — St, Rio Atkinson 4; B-SM, Grace Ortizcazarin 2.
Lakeville South 17, Stillwater 8
At Eden Prairie, the Ponies put up a stronger showing than when the teams met earlier in the season, but the top-seeded and undefeated Cougars were too strong in the second half while pulling away for a 17-8 victory in the state semifinals on Thursday, June 13 at Eden Prairie High School.
South (19-0) defeated the Ponies 16-4 earlier this season, but Stillwater coach Carly Fedorowski took a more positive attitude into the rematch. When they met the first time it was Stillwater’s third game in just four days.
“Obviously they dominated that game, but I was excited that happened because I knew we weren’t as prepared as we could be,” Fedorowski said. “I knew we needed to put more work into the scout and we did that, but the biggest thing was draw controls and Tori (Tschinda) and Sivanna (O’Brien) have a great connection and Tori is probably the best draw-taker in the state. It was just trying to disrupt their game plan and if we could disrupt the little things we knew we could stick around in that game.”
After falling behind early, a strong second quarter helped the Ponies pull within 9-6 at halftime, but the Cougars used an 8-2 run in the second half to extend their lead.
“The second quarter was our best quarter,” Fedorowski said. “Halftime came at the wrong time, because we found our groove and were on a roll there.”
Stillwater was assessed five yellow cards in the game and that only made the task more difficult.
“They scored five or six goals man up, so you take away those opportunities and it’s a different game,” Fedorowski said. “I’m definitely proud of how hard we fought the whole game, but they’re a very good team and there’s just not much you can do when you’re playing that great of a team and they’re getting those draw controls and maintaining those possessions as well.”
South had assists on 13 of their 17 goals.
“They don’t miss their chances,” Fedorowski said. “If they’re getting a feed they’re scoring off it. We did a really good job one vs. one. We made them feed the ball or assist, but they were just not missing. You have to play a perfect game to beat that team and we just came up short.”
Stillwater 2 4 1 1 — 8
Lakeville South 7 2 4 4 — 17
Goals — St, Lydia Glass 2, Mady Richert 2, Ava Mosley, Myah Krueger, Rayna Malmberg and Maycie Neubauer; LS, Ella Mills 4, Tori Tschida 4, Katie Grubbs 3, Mackenzie Stroemer 2, Emma Remington 2 and Sivanna O’Brien 2.
Assists — St, Glass, Malmberg and Neubauer; LS, Tschida 4, O’Brien 3, Remington 2, Charlotte Fannin 2, Christina Swirtz and Katie Grubbs.
Saves — St, Rio Atkinson 8; LS, Kate Baell 7 and Elia Giles 0.
Contact Stuart Groskreutz at stuart.groskreutz@apgecm.com
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