For the first time in eight years – since the MSHSL began sanctioning girls’ lacrosse state tournaments – Blake will not be playing for a state championship.

Undefeated Lakeville South, using a mix of speed and versatility to control the flow of play, beat Blake 11-9 to advance to Saturday’s state championship game. The Bears had won the last five state titles and six overall.

“Beating Blake has been our mantra all season,” said Lakeville South coach Patrick Crandall. “We’re still kind of under-the-radar. This is huge for our program.”

Trailing 5-2 midway through the first half, Crandall made a tactical decision that paid huge dividends. He moved high-scoring forward Maddy Canney, who was being face-guarded strongly by the Blake defenders, back to defense. The move allowed other Lakeville South players room to move and forced Blake into numerous offsides violations.

The Cougars then scored 9 of the game’s next 10 goals, taking an insurmountable 11-6 lead with 7:57 left in the game.

“They were switching up their attack and that threw a wrench into what we were trying to do,” Blake coach Linda Hokr said. “We didn’t catch on quickly enough.”

Late in the game and seeing its amazing run of championship success in danger of ending, Blake (15-3) put on a spirited rally, cutting the lead to 11-9 with a little more than a minute left. Lakeville South (18-0) ended that threat the way it had all game long: By playing keep-away with the ball.

“I think we felt we had the upper-hand in this game even though we were playing Blake,” said Canney. “We were seeded higher, which gave us a lot of confidence. But we don’t want it to end yet. We’ve got a bigger game left.”

A new girls’ lacrosse state champion has been assured.

Undefeated Lakeville South played keep-away from five-time defending champ Blake in the second half, pulling away for an 11-9 victory Thursday at Minnetonka High School.

Blake (15-3) led 5-2 midway through the first half but the Bears failed to maintain offensive momentum for any length of time thereafter as Lakeville South 9 of the next 10 goals.

Maddie Brown scored three goals for Lakeville South (18-0), who routinely turned defense into offense thanks to some brilliant length-of-the-field runs by defender Janna Haeg.

Blake made a spirited rally in the final minute, cutting the Lakeville South lead to two,

Blake's defeat means it will not play in the state championship game for the first time since the sport was sanctioned by the Minnesota State High School League in 2007.

Check back later for more on the game.