Eden Prairie coach Ryan Ward said his team has gotten 'a taste' of winning the past few seasons.

Apparently, 'a taste' is an entire buffet in the Eagles' world.

Coming off of back-to-back state championships, Eden Prairie is ranked No. 1 in the coaches poll and remains undefeated this season after an 11-7 home win against 11th-ranked Lakeville North on Saturday evening.

While the 5-0 record is nice thus far, star junior middie J.D. Spielman put the whole mindset of the Eagles’ squad in simple perspective.

"I feel like we're coming along good (this season)," Spielman said. "But why be good when you can be great?"

Spielman was a walking metaphor during the Eagles' victory over the Panthers.

While Eden Prairie played well in the first half, the game was knotted 5-5 at the break. Then Spielman looked like he was tired of the Eagles being just good.

The 5-foot-9, 175-pound junior, who originally committed to play lacrosse at Ohio State but is now focusing on obtaining a Division I football scholarship, exploded for four goals and an assist in the third quarter. He capped the game for good with a season-high tying fifth goal early in the fourth quarter.

"J.D. decided somebody needed to step up and score some goals (in the second half)," Ward said. "So he took it on his shoulders (to score), which he tends to do."

Spielman, who uses a quick spin move and a ferociously fast shot to make defenders look silly, has 17 goals and is tied for the third-most in the state after Saturday. He scored 38 last year on the way to picking up several honors including being an all-conference and all-metro selection, as well as being named to the US Lacrosse national high school All-America team and the state high school coaches association’s All-State First Team. 

According a KSTP report, Spielman has received offers to play football from the Gophers, Iowa, Michigan and Nebraska. A versatile player for the Eagles, Spielman finished with more than 600 yards and five touchdowns as on offense, nearly 50 tackles and two interceptions on defense and had two touchdowns and averaged 33 yards returning punts last season as Eden Prairie won its fourth consecutive Class 6A state title. 

While Spielman is mulling his football future, he is also leading the Eden Prairie lacrosse team as it attempts to win its third consecutive state title. 

Spielman and senior attackman Sean Patterson, the Eagles’ captains, said their team has plenty of work to do before any talk of a three-peat is legitimate. However, Patterson said he thinks the squad is better now than at this point last season.

Staying focused on the ultimate goal of a championship can be tricky for any team, not to mention one with as much tradition as the Eden Prairie. 

But Patterson said he and his teammates are up to the challenge in both mind and body.

"We're pretty close to where we want to be physically, as long as we stay away from injuries," said Patterson, who scored three goals against the Panthers to increase his season total to 16. "Mentally, we just gotta stay hungry every day and not be complacent."

Eden Prairie junior midfielder J.D. Spielman matched a season-high with five goals to spring the Eagles to a 11-7 win over Lakeville North in a nonconference matchup Saturday evening at Aerie Stadium in Eden Prairie. 

The teams entered halftime with the score tied 5-5, but the the Eagles (5-0) took control with five goals in the third quarter - including four from Spielman, who also had an assist on a goal from senior attackman Nic Perkins - and led 10-6 at the start of the fourth. Spielman added his fifth goal in the fourth quarter.

Senior attackman Sean Patterson finished with three goals for the reigning back-to-back state champion Eagles (5-0), ranked No. 1 in the latest coaches poll.

The No. 11 Panthers (3-2) got two goals from junior midfielder Justin Knippel, while senior attackman Roman Rohrbach and junior midfielder Luke Anderson each finished with a goal and an assist.

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