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Blake's Crowe flying high

By Loren Nelson, Editor, 05/19/11, 8:58AM CDT

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Senior's five-goal performance powers No. 1 Bears past No. 2 Eden Prairie


Blake senior Hillary Crowe looks for an opening as Eden Prairie defenseman Riley Allen and goaltender McKenzie Johnson block Crowe's path. Photo by Helen Nelson

Hillary Crowe grew up in Eden Prairie, just a few doors down from Eagles girls co-head coach Beth Patterson.

“We taught Hillary how to play … for goodness sakes,” Eden Prairie co-head coach Judy Baxter said. “We’ve known her for a long time. She's a great player.”

Crowe eventually moved with her family to a different Eden Prairie neighborhood, but in an event much more earthshaking to the state girls lacrosse landscape, she transferred to Blake before her freshman season.


Blake goaltender Bailey Dunning makes a save on Eden Prairie's Heidi Colford. Photo by Helen Nelson

Now a senior, Crowe still has friends playing for Eden Prairie, which just so happens to be the Bears’ biggest rival. The teams have alternated winning state championships since 2007, when girls lacrosse was first sanctioned by the Minnesota State High School League.

Last season Blake beat Eden Prairie 11-10 in the state title game.

“It’s fun (playing Eden Prairie) because I know a lot of the girls,” said Crowe, who scored five goals in the No. 1-ranked Bears’ 14-12 victory over No. 2 Eden Prairie on Thursday, May 19. “But I’m still a very competitive person, so I leave all that aside. I step on the field with, obviously, a competitive mindset to take it to them.”

Tall, strong, speedy, smart and most any other adjective associated with an exceptional athlete, Crowe is all but impossible to stop when she is slashing full speed toward the goal. A hockey standout who will play at Harvard next season, Crowe considers lacrosse her No. 2 sport.

That’s somewhat fitting because, Crowe, who has 40 goals this season, is often the Bears’ No. 3 option on offense.

Blake’s offense typically runs through junior Meghan Bauer (48 goals) and jet-fueled freshman Lydia Sutton (25 goals) before turning to Crowe.

“To have her as a third option, if you want to call her a third option, most teams would dream of having her as No. 1,” Blake coach Laura Mark said. “We are really lucky.”


Blake's Meghan Bauer is hounded by Eden Prairie's Carley Tibbetts. Photo by Helen Nelson

Crowe scored on low shots, free shots and, seemingly, most anyway she wanted against the previously unbeaten Eagles (10-1) in the regular season finale for both teams at Blake's middle school campus in Hopkins.

Her prettiest goal came early in the second half when she unleashed a shot while running full speed from the side of the field past the front of the goal.

She also scored what proved to be the eventual game winner with 9:36 remaining.

“They were faceguarding Megan Bauer, then they started to faceguard Lydia Sutton,” Mark said. “That’s when other people have to step up. Hillary Crowe is a great player in her own right.”

Crowe, who has 11 goals in her last two games, was among several Blake players and coaches mingling and chatting with Eden Prairie’s contingent long after the game. As members of the state’s two undisputed power brokers, there’s a healthy respect between the teams.

“Blake is a great team, and we know that,” Baxter said. “They have a lot of really skilled athletes. It is tough to stop all of their guns.”

The playoffs start next week. It would take a stunning upset to keep Blake and Eden Prairie from meeting in the state title game for a fifth consecutive season.

“They didn’t lose a whole lot from last year, and they were good then,” Baxter said. “I think we have the ability to come back and give them another good game. So that’s what we’ll have to be working toward, to see them again.”


Blake's Lydia Sutton ducks for cover as she runs between Eden Prairie goaltender McKenzie Johnson, left, and defenseman Carley Tibbetts. Photo by Helen Nelson

Statistics, Summary

1. Hillary Crowe, Blake
The senior forward and co-captain, who lives in Eden Prairie, scored five goals to giver her 40 this season. A hockey standout who has committed to play at Harvard, Crowe scored what proved to be the winning goal with 7:59 remaining. She has 11 goals in her last two games.

2. McKenzie Johnson, Eden Prairie
The sophomore goaltender made 21 saves, most of which were stunning stops on close-range shots. With Blake leading 10-8 in the second half, Johnson made point-blank stops in succession on Meghan Buaer, Grace Nolan and Anne Slusser to keep the Eagles within striking distance.

3. Lydia Sutton, Blake
The freshman midfielder with jaw-dropping speed scored three goals and added two assists, taking full advantage of the slivers of space created by the extra attention Eden Prairie gave Bauer, the Bears’ scoring leader.

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Game Recap

Hillary Crowe scored five goals as the No. 1-ranked Blake girls remained unbeaten with a 14-12 triumph over No. 2 Eden Prairie on Thursday, May 19, at the Blake Middle School in Hopkins in a rematch of last year’s state title game.

The defending state champion Bears (11-0) trailed 6-4 in the opening half but tied the score at 7 by halftime.

The score was tied at 11 with 14:34 remaining when Blake’s Lydia Sutton, Crowe and Anne Slusser scored in succession to give the Bears a 14-11 lead with 7:49 left.

Sutton, a freshman midfielder, and Meghan Bauer, a junior midfielder, each scored three goals for the Bears.

Junior midfielder Christine Easton scored four goals and senior midfielder Taylor Uhl scored three for the Eagles (10-1).

Eden Prairie goaltender McKenzie Johnson, a sophomore, was superb in making 21 saves. Most of her toughest stops came in the second half, when the Bears repeatedly buzzed the Eagles goal.

Eden Prairie and Blake have traded state titles each year since 2007, when the Eagles won the first Minnesota State High School League-sanctioned state tournament.

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How They've Fared

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