Benilde-St. Margaret’s could not have found a better time to be hitting its stride. 

The Red Knights started the season winning one of their first eight games, but head into the section playoffs having won their last four games, including an 8-4 home victory over Edina in the regular-season finale on Thursday.  

“We kept telling (the players) that however they finish this game out, tonight is what they carry into the postseason,” Benilde-St. Margaret’s coach Colin Mulcahy said. 

The Red Knights’ success may have been hampered by a tough schedule. Benilde-St. Margaret’s has losses to four of the top-ranked teams in the poll provided by the Minnesota State High School Boys’ Lacrosse Coaches Association, falling to No. 2 Bloomington Jefferson, No. 6 Eden Prairie, No. 8 Blake and No. 10 Chanhassen.

The win over No. 13 Edina, which defeated Eden Prairie and Chanhassen this season, was the first time this season that the Red Knights excelled in all phases of the game, said Matthew Arnason, who scored three goals and had an assist in the win.

“We finally had our offense and defense come together at the same time,” Arnanson added. “It was nice to finally click like that and come together as a whole unit.”

Senior attackman William Tucker agreed, saying the win was also the first time Benilde-St. Margaret’s sustained its play for 48 minutes.

“We haven’t really strung a whole game together,” said Tucker, who had two goals against the Hornets. “This time we actually came out and played a full four quarters.”

Arnason’s hat trick was his fourth of the season and he leads the team with 21 goals. The senior midfielder said that being able to play in front of the raucous home crowd made the regular-season finale more special. 

“There are a lot of seniors on the team, and it means a lot playing our last game at home,” Arnason, who earned honorable mention all-conference honors as a junior.

If the crowd had been any less jubilant, the Benilde-St. Margaret’s bench could have made up for it.

The team was constantly yelling encouragement from the sidelines, including a specific chant for a man-advantage. 

“Every time we get a man-up call, we chant ‘Ups’,” Arnason said with a laugh. 

Tucker said the chant was conceived on a team trip to Illinois earlier in the season. 

“Someone just started yelling ‘Ups,’ and it stuck,” Tucker said. 

That level of intensity bodes well for the Red Knights as the postseason nears, and Mulcahy said that his team has forgotten about its rough start. 

“We’ve already moved on,” Mulcahy said with a laugh. 

Tucker said Benilde-St. Margaret’s is ready to take on any opponent in the playoffs.

“I think we made a great statement with sections (starting) next week,” Tucker said. “We showed all of Minnesota that we’re back.”

Senior midfielder Matthew Arnason scored three goals and added an assist to lead Benilde-St. Margaret’s to a 8-4 victory over Edina in the regular-season finale Thursday night at Benilde-St. Maragret’s High School. 

Arnason scored at the start of the fourth quarter, setting the tone for the Red Knights (5-8) as they tallied three goals in the final 12 minutes to pull away and defeat the Hornets for the fifth time in six games. 

Junior midfielder Michael Kelley and senior attackman William Tucker each had two goals and junior midfielder Griffin Ehlen scored one for Benilde-St. Margaret's.

Junior midfielder Jack Stanchfield, senior midfielder Keenan Canavor and junior attackmen A.J. Nelson and John Marple each had a goal for the Hornets (6-7), who are ranked No. 13 in the poll provided by the Minnesota State High School Boys’ Lacrosse Coaches Association. 

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