Hunter Halling goes airborne for a shot that resulted in one of his four goals against Eden Prairie. Photo by Mark Hvidsten
It was only the second time since 2011 that Edina had defeated Eden Prairie, but the Hornets seemed far from satisfied with a mere regular-season victory.
“This is just one matchup,” Edina coach Travis Wells said after his Hornets edged the Eagles 12-9 on Tuesday night at Edina’s Kuhlman Field.
“We’ll see them again in two weeks, and then we’ll (presumably) see them again (at the state tournament).”
Wells added that his team was undaunted by the Hornets' previous woes against their Lake Conference rival.
Edina players share their coach's sentiment that the season is still young, and the true tests will come in the postseason.
“It’s just the regular season,” senior attacker A.J. Nelson said after the win.
“We’ve got to (win) twice more,” Nelson added, echoing Wells' prediction that the Hornets will meet the Eagles beyond the regular season.
Eden Prairie has ended Edina's season the past two years in the Section 2 finals, but the Hornets may get a shot at the Eagles in the state tournament after moving into Section 6 this year.
The Hornets (6-0, 4-0) used two key runs to down the Eagles Tuesday night, scoring three and four unanswered goals in the first and third quarters, respectively.
Senior attacker Hunter Halling tallied four goals in the win, and said that the Hornets did not experience early scoring struggles that had plagued them.
“Sometimes we start a little slow in the first half, but tonight we came out okay,” Halling said. “It’s just a game of runs, really.”
Nelson was the primary facilitator of those runs, scoring twice and dishing out five assists for the Hornets, ranked No. 3 in the latest state coaches’ poll.
Nelson assisted on three of Halling’s goals, and said that the pair of seniors’ level of play rises with each score.
“We kind of feed off each other’s goals and assists,” Nelson said.
Halling leads the Hornets in goals with 16, while Nelson leads in assists (13) and points (21).
Top-ranked Eden Prairie went on a run of its own late in regulation, with junior attacker Nicky Leivermann scoring three goals in the final four minutes.
Even with Leivermann’s outburst, it was too little too late for the Eagles (4-1, 2-1), who have three upperclassmen sidelined with injuries.
“We know they have a lot of weapons,” Wells said. “So we expect to see (Eden Prairie) attack us in different ways next time.”
Nelson said that even with the lead shrinking, the Hornets never believed they were in real danger.
“We trust our goalies,” Nelson said. “We have two of the best goalies in the state, we’ve got a great (defense), and we’ve always bounced back all year whenever we get scored on.”
JD Spielman, with a Nebraska hat, sits with Eden Prairie teammates prior to the start of the game. Spielman said he is out three months with an injury to his right kneecap. Photo by Mark Hvidsten
First Report
Seniors Hunter Halling and Jack Stanchfield scored four and three goals, respectively, to lead Edina to a 12-9 victory over Eden Prairie in Lake Conference action on Tuesday night at Kuhlman Field in Edina.
The Hornets (6-0, 4-0) got two goals and five assists from senior attacker A.J. Nelson, and Parker Rickert and John Marple each scored once for Edina, ranked No. 3 in the latest state coaches’ poll.
The top-ranked Eagles (4-1, 2-1) suffered without starting midfielder J.D. Spielman, who was sidelined with an injury to his right kneecap.
Junior attacker Nick Leivermann scored four goals and Connor Olson scored three to lead Eden Prairie, and midfielders Collin Penn and Jake Myhre each scored once in the loss.
