Rosemount’s offense this season has epitomized a popular saying from the blockbuster hit movie Miracle.

Pass. Shoot. Score.

The No. 1-ranked and top-seeded Irish did just that against No. 8 Mahtomedi on Tuesday night, scoring eight goals in the first quarter en route to a 16-6 win in the quarterfinal round of the boys’ state lacrosse tournament at Chaska High School.

Star Tribune All-Metro Player of the Year Conner Yepsen fueled the Irish’s torrid start by scoring four goals in the first quarter, including a one-timer assist from his twin brother and fellow Robert Morris commit Carter Yepsen.

“They’ve really help build the program the last five years,” Lance Kuehn said about the Yepsen twins. “Getting guys to do more, doing more themselves — that’s a true sign of leadership, maturity, and what they bring to our program.”

Conner Yepsen won six of nine draws, two of them resulting in fast break goals in the opening quarter.

“When we’re going in putting up numbers on the fast break it puts us in a good place,” Rosemount goaltender Shaun Skrbec said.

The Irish, who finished the regular season with 130 goals, have the most prolific offense in the state. Skrbec’s role is to reciprocate with equally stellar play.

“I really look for support for them,” Skrbec said. “If they get a goal, I make sure I get a big save.”

In a quarterfinal round in which the other three games were decided by a combined four goals, Rosemount made a clear statement that it isn't satisfied merely reaching the state tournament for the first time in program history.

“We knew that if we were going to make it, we’re gonna make it a serious run,” Kuehn said. “We aspire to reach the end. That’s our main goal and our focus and purpose this week.”

To reach the state championship, the Irish continue to chase their unattainable goal of perfection.

“Does that mean we execute everything better than anyone else — absolutely not,” Kuehn said about the team’s No. 1 rank. “They got six goals on us. That means six times we were’t doing the right thing.”

“We just make sure we perfected things that we need to work on,” Skrbec said. “Just making sure everything is looking a lot cleaner.”

Rosemount, which beat Mahtomedi 16-6 early in the regular season, continues to feature an attack that is an unstoppable force.

“I don’t mind giving everyone our playbook — people see it — and it’s still tough for you to stop it,” Kuehn said. “One of your six guys will let up. We’ll send the same things at them this entire week — we execute so well it’ll be tough for others teams to stop us.”

Rosemount faces Lakeville North on Thursday night in the semfinals at Chanhassen High School. The Irish beat the Panthers 19-6 earlier in the season.

“They know what we’re gonna do, we know what they’re gonna do,” Skrbec said. “We’re gonna look for them to give us a closer game, but we’re gonna come out and make sure we get that win and do our best.”

-- Trevor Squire

First Report

Rosemount senior midfielder Conner Yepsen, the Star Tribune’s All-Metro Player of the Year, scored two goals in the first 71 seconds and had four by the end of the first quarter as the top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Irish cruised past Mahtomedi 16-6 on Tuesday in the quarterfinal round of the boys’ state lacrosse tournament at Chaska High School.

Rosemount (15-1) led 8-2 at halftime and 11-3 heading into the final quarter.

Sophomore attackman Luke VanOverbeke also scored four goals for the Irish, who have scored 15 or more goals 10 times this season.

Sophomore attackmen Ethan Grover and Matt Schwartz each scored twice for unseeded Mahtomedi (9-7).

The Irish beat the Zephyrs 16-6 early in the regular season.

-- Loren Nelson