There are lots of ways to try to beat Rosemount. Run-and-gun is not one of them.

The Irish have one of the state’s most prolific offenses, led by twin dragsters Conner and Carter Yepsen. Rosemount is the high school lacrosse version of the Showtime Lakers, the Gretzky-led Oilers or Peyton’s Broncos.

Prior Lake’s plan was pretty much the same as any team’s when facing No. 1-ranked Rosemount -- play sound defense, be deliberate on offense, slow the game as much as possible.

Sounds easy enough, and it looked that way, too – at least it did in a first quarter dominated by the No. 4 Lakers (they led 3-1 heading into the second). Slowly, though, the game picked up speed. The teams started trading goals. Rosemount began to chip away at Prior Lake’s early lead.

Uh, oh.

“We knew going into this game that we had to match their (offense),” Prior Lake sophomore Ben Ward said after the Lakers’ 12-10 victory on Friday night at the Savage Sports Center. “And we knew we had to match up well defensively, and I think we did a good job of doing that.”

Ward, a sophomore who has committed to play at the Air Force Academy, scored five goals, one more than Rosemount leading scorer Conner Yepsen. Ward scored twice in the fourth quarter, when Yepsen was shut out.

“Everyone tries to lock down Cullen (Sowder), but people are going to know who Ben Ward is,” Prior Lake coach Chris Fleck said. “He’s only a 10th grader, but he’s quite a player. That’s why Air Force likes him.”

Yeah, the “secret” is out on Ward, who leads the unbeaten Lakers (6-0) with 16 goals. 

“Both Sowder and Ward are both talented players,” Rosemount coach Lance Kuehn said after the Irish dropped to 4-1. “If you lock down one it leaves the other one open. We got caught ball watching a few times.”

Prior Lake led 12-8 late in the fourth, but the intensity in the final minutes was ratcheted up after goals by Rosemount’s Mason Hille and Matt Johnson. Lakers goaltender Aaron Wiederhoeft finally said enough of that, and he took it upon himself to clear the defensive zone and run precious seconds off the clock all in the same wild and crazy play that saw him dodging all the way to midfield before drawing a penalty. That sequence pretty much ended the Irish’s already fading comeback hopes.

“I was just in the moment,” Wiederhoeft said. “I just ran it because there was so much time left. Just get it down the field as fast as I can.”

Being chained to the net can get boring after a while, especially for a guy with boundless energy like Wiederhoeft. Sometimes, you just have to go for a run.

“I feel like a tiger just waiting to attack its prey,” he said. “It’s fun.”

It’s fun watching him, too.

“Aaron is a beast,” Ward said. “There is no stopping him. I think he wanted a goal, too.”


Prior Lake sophomore Ben Ward scored five goals Friday against Rosemount. Photo by Loren Nelson

First Report

Sophomore midfielder Ben Ward scored five goals, and senior goaltender Aaron Wiederhoeft made a dazzling run up the field in the closing seconds – drawing a penalty at midfield in the process – as No. 4-ranked Prior Lake upended No. 1 Rosemount 12-10 on Friday night at the Savage Sports Center.

After a deliberate first quarter controlled by Prior Lake – the Lakers led 3-1 – the South Suburban Conference showdown exploded into a shootout. The Lakers (6-0) and Ward managed to outduel one of the state’s most prolific offenses in the Irish (4-1) and the high-scoring Yepsen twins, Conner and Carter.

Conner Yepsen scored four goals for Rosemount, but none in the final quarter. Meanwhile, Ward scored twice in the final quarter as the Lakers held on for the victory.

Wiederhoeft made several difficult stops, and he ran the ball up the field in the closing seconds, dodging and darting around Rosemount defenders before finally taking a hit and drawing a penalty. That all but clinched the victory for the Lakers.

Jordan Lee and Cullen Soweder each added two goals for Prior Lake. Mason Hille scored twice for Rosemount.

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