Anoka lit the fuse for its high-octane offense early Wednesday night and then kept the strikes coming as the Tornadoes ripped through visiting Elk River 12-5 at Goodrich Field.

Junior Preston Olson finished with four goals (all in the first half), and senior Riley Baumgartner finished with six points (2 goals, 4 assists) to lead the Tornadoes past their Northwest Suburban Conference rival.

“Once we get one, it gets the momentum rolling,” Baumgartner said. “We’ve got people whooping and hollering on the sidelines and in the stands, and that fuels it. And when we see the other team hang their heads a little, that’s when we put the pedal to the metal.”

The Tornadoes paced themselves with multiple goals in all quarters and strung together five unanswered scores in a stretch that spanned the half.

And while the Anoka offense patiently moved the ball around the box before picking its spots, the Tornadoes' zone defense took away space and opportunity from a more-than-competent Elks squad that never really got going.

“We wanted to play hard between the boxes, and to fight for every ground ball,” Anoka coach Brad Sundem said. “All those intangibles…toughness, grit, and to outrun the other team for four quarters. It was nice to see it.”

The Tornadoes scored just 46 seconds into the game, seizing the upper hand that propelled them to a 7-2 halftime lead that essentially put the contest out of reach for the Elks.

“(Elk River) is a very good team, we’ve seen that they are able to put in a couple goals at a time, and so are we,” Sundem said. “Lacrosse is a game of momentum, and it can go either way. But if we can grab the momentum and keep it, then all the intangible things we pride ourselves on, that holds on to it for us. It keeps us up, and them down.”

Helping hold the Elks offense to just a little more than half its season average was a disciplined zone defense that stood its ground with positioning and teamwork. Too many times for Elk River, there wasn't any space and it was forced to settle for less-than-perfect shots.

“Defense in any sport tends to get overlooked,” said Baumgartner, a University of St. Thomas commit. “But if (the defense) wasn’t doing their job, than anything we do upfront is meaningless if we can’t keep the momentum.”

Anoka stood its ground firmly at Goodrich Field on senior night and kept its high-flying offense running smoothly as the Tornadoes tore through Elk River 12-5 on Wednesday.

Junior captain Ollie Nigh put Anoka on the board just 46 seconds in, and the Tornadoes would never trail. Junior Preston Olson notched four goals (all in the first half), and senior Riley Baumgartner finished with two goals and six points as Anoka overwhelmed the Elks. Rhett Olson also recorded a hat trick for the Tornadoes.

Elk River senior Nolan Kivley and junior Hunter Kivley each finished with a pair of goals to lead the Elks.

The win over Elk River (8-3, 8-2) gives Anoka (10-1, 9-1) a boost in the race for a Northwest Suburban Conference championship, as the Tornados, Elks and Robbinsdale Armstrong entered the night tied for first place with identical 8-1 league marks.

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