Eden Prairie senior Ronnie Spielman took one for the team, quite literally – a fourth-quarter shot to the back of his neck that required an ice pack to ease the pain and reduce the swelling.

Spielman scored one for the team, too, pumping home a crucial goal in the fourth quarter that allowed the No. 2-seeded and defending state champion Eagles to outlast unseeded White Bear Lake 8-7 on Tuesday in a boys’ state lacrosse tournament quarterfinal at Chaska High School.

Spielman and freshman attackman Nick Leiverman scored back-to-back goals in a span of 29 seconds early in the fourth quarter to give the No. 3-ranked Eagles (15-2) an 8-6 lead.

Spielman and Leiverman are normally the fourth and fifth options in the Eagles’ offense behind J.D. Spielman, Charlie Venable and Sean Patterson. But White Bear Lake’s zone defense allowed for little dodging and a lot of ball movement.

“Playing a zone is not hard work, you just have to be smart, you have to have good sticks, you have to let the ball do the work,” Eden Prairie coach Ryan Ward said. “We started to figure it out a little bit.”

Assists were recorded on all but two of the Eagles’ goals as the rare open shots came from various spots around the field.

Spielman’s goal, his 13th of the season, came just 1:31 into the final quarter. It gave the Eagles their first lead.

“I saw enough net where I felt like I had a good enough chance to make it,” Spielman said. “I just want to take my part. I got my chance and executed.”

Leiverman scored his second goal just seconds later to put the Eagles ahead 8-6 with 10 minutes left. Leiverman had 22 goals this season, fourth-most on the team.

“You know what, any team that is going to win it all has got to get complimentary scoring,” Ward said. “We can’t rely on Charlie and J.D. to do it all. So when some of those other guys, when they find themselves open, they’ve got to step up and put it in the back of the net.”

And take one to the back of the head, too, if needed.

"I just do what I can to help our goalie," Spielman said, still toting that ice pack.

-- Loren Nelson

First Report

Senior Ronnie Spielman and freshman Nick Leiverman scored 29 seconds apart early in the fourth quarter to propel No. 2 seed and defending state champion Eden Prairie past unseeded White Bear Lake 8-7 on Tuesday in a boys’ state lacrosse tournament quarterfinal at Chaska High School.

White Bear Lake’s Connar Dehnert fired a shot just before the final horn after leaping to catch a length-of-the-field pass from goaltender William Rahmert, but Eden Prairie senior goaltender Max Fahey calmly stepped in front of the shot to secure the victory.

The goals by Spielman and Lieverman put the No. 3-ranked Eagles (15-2) ahead 8-6 just 2 minutes into the fourth quarter. Dehnert scored with 2:43 to pull the Bears within one and set up the dramatic finish.

Leiverman, J.D. Spielman and Charlie Venable each scored twice to lead the Eagles. David Costello scored four goals – all in the first half – and Dehnert added two for the No. 11-ranked Bears (14-2).

-- Loren Nelson