Eden Prairie's Sean Patterson’s kept finding himself face-to-face with Edina goaltender Patrick Jackson on Wednesday night.

“It comes back to bite me — I’ve gotten stuffed a few times — I’ve been trying to read the goalie as much as I can," Patterson said. "And when you’re in that close it’s just a quick decision -- you should be able to score.”

Patterson seemingly had X-ray vision, beating Jackson with the same fake three times in the top-seeded Eagles' 14-9 win over No. 2-seeded Edina in the Section 3 finals at Robbinsdale Armstrong High School in Plymouth.

“We try to keep the game under our control and run our systems,” Patterson said about his career-high nine points. “It could be anyone any game getting all the points, it’s not really anything to brag about.”

No. 3-ranked Eden Prairie now advances to the state tournament where it will have the opportunity to defend its state title.

“At the end of the day this is one step towards our ultimate goal,” Eden Prairie coach Ryan Ward said.

The Eagles seemingly has been fielding star-laden teams since the birth of the sport in Minnesota. But this season they had to adjust to a number of young players getting their first varsity minutes.

“I’m happy with our lacrosse IQ. Guys are getting defined roles and we’re getting a lot of secondary contributions,” Ward said. “That’s big. We’re gonna need that. Those guys are so important."

Sacred Heart-commit Patterson is a player who was nameless until last year’s state semifinal win over White Bear Lake, where he scored six points. One year wiser, he has taken his share of the leadership role on the team. 

“He’s a guy who’s been finding his groove,” Ward said. “I could tell at the start of the game he was gonna have a huge game. I could just tell how he was playing and the look in his eyes.”

“It’s a little different coming in this year with a bigger role to fill,” Patterson said. “It’s something I’m looking forward to do and looking forward to trying to get another championship.”

Taking it one game at a time, the Eagles’ eyes are set on one goal.

“We don’t want to look to far ahead — but yeah that’s what we’re gunning for — we’re here to win a state championship,” Ward said

First Report

Sean Patterson had a career-high nine points to lead No. 1 seed Eden Prairie to a 14-9 victory over No. 2 Edina on Wednesday night at Robbinsdale Armstrong High School in Plymouth.

The Eagles started on a scoring tear, with Charlie Venable scoring on a one-timer from Patterson 4 minutes into the opening quarter. From there, Eden Prairie averaged nearly a goal a minute to close the quarter with a 6-1 lead.

Eden Prairie scored a series of fast break goals that kept the Hornets on their heels and unable to create any type of run.

Edina’s John Marple gave the Hornets some momentum, scoring two goals and adding two assists, contributing to every Edina goal in the first half.

Patterson completed a hat trick halfway through the second quarter, with assists coming from J.D. Spielman and Ronnie Spielman. Patterson closed the first half by faking a high shot on Patrick Jackson and finishing low with 9 seconds left. Patterson finished with five goals and four assists.

The Hornets rallied in the fourth quarter by scoring three consecutive goals to get within 13-9 with 3:28 remaining, but the rally ended there.

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