J.D. Spielman was on the run, and he had options. Lots of them. When the double team came, he could dump the ball off to a teammate. 

But the double team never came.

So Spielman kept running toward the goal. He had two more teammates flanking the net, but they were well-defensed. 

“I was supposed to hit one of them, but they stayed with their guys,” Spielman said. 

By now there was just one thing left for Spielman to do. 

“I heard everyone say shoot it, so I just shot it,” Spielman said.

Sometimes the last option is the best option. Spielman’s goal with 42 seconds remaining lifted No. 4-ranked Eden Prairie to a 6-5 victory over No. 6 Blake on Wednesday at the Blake School in Hopkins.

“He’s a big-time player,” Eden Prairie coach Ryan Ward said. “He thrives in the moment. You get people who shy away from it, kind of get the big eyes, but he wants it, and he loves it. He lives for it. 

“You love to see that out of a player.”

Spielman scored the winning goal in the final minute of last year’s state championship game against Eastview and had another clutch closing seconds goal earlier this season in a win over Wayzata. The bigger the moment the better.

“I like having the ball on my stick toward the end of a game, but that’s just me,” Spielman said. “I’ve always been that way.”

After Spielman’s clutch goal, his third of the night and 22nd of the season, there was plenty of time left for Blake to launch one last attack in a bid to force another tie. Now it was time for senior Ronnie Spielman, J.R.’s older brother, to play his role. Ronnie was among the Eden Prairie defenders who did an excellent job of pushing the ball wide and keeping the Bears from unloading a quality shot.

“Ronnie played a great game tonight, probably his best game of the year,” Ward said. “You know, he’s not getting as many goals and as much of the glory that J.D. does, but man, he’s doing a lot of the intangibles. He rode that guy out at the end… a lot of the things that don’t show up on the scoresheet. So he played a great game tonight.” 

Like J.D. with the ball in his stick, Ronnie likes the challenge of playing airtight defense. Especially when his team needs that one last stop.

“He is just outstanding at defense,” J.D. said about his brother. “He has good feet because he plays (defensive back) in football. He has good feet, he can hit. It’s not all about the stuff that shows, it’s all the little stuff that adds up into a team and determines the outcome."

First Report

Sophomore midfielder J.D. Spielman scored the winning goal with 42 seconds remaining as defending state champion and No. 4-ranked Eden Prairie secured a dramatic 6-5 victory over No. 6 Blake on Wednesday at the Blake School in Hopkins. 

The winning goal was Spielman’s third of the game and another in a series of clutch performances for the Eagles’ standout. Last year Spielman scored in the winning goal in the closing seconds of the state title game against Eastview, and earlier this season he scored a highlight-reel goal in the final minute to tie the score in an eventual win over Wayzata.

Blake (4-3) fired a shot wide in the closing seconds, but struggled to get a good look at the net as it set up for the tieing goal. Senior midfielder Ronnie Spielman, J.D.’s older brother, was among the Eagles defenders who played a key role keeping Bears’ players from bringing the ball into prime scoring areas.

Senior attackman Charlie Venable added two goals for Eden Prairie (6-2).

Sophomore midfielder Connor McDonough scored three goals to lead the Bears, who had their four-game unbeaten string snapped.

Eden Prairie’s Max Fahey and Blake’s Nick Washuta were both outstanding in goal and two of the primary reasons the game was such a low-scoring affair.

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