St. Louis Park senior Colin Monicatti probably shouldn’t have been playing Tuesday night.

Nursing a sprained Achilles tendon, the goalie wouldn’t be denied a chance to play in the program's first Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) section tournament.

Monicatti took advantage of the opportunity, making 17 saves and propelling his eighth-seeded Orioles past ninth-seeded St. Paul 10-8 Tuesday night in the Section 6 play-in game at St. Louis Park High School.

“It’s my senior year,” Monicatti said. “I didn’t want to miss what could be my final game.”

His shot at playing in the postseason seemed in doubt a couple weeks ago.

Monicatti made a cut while moving the ball up in transition. Mid-cut, his foot was stepped on and his body motion kept him moving. His ankle did not.

He was out for a full week prior to Tuesday’s game, but the decision was made to keep him in goal for the Orioles’ matchup against the Bobcats. A little tape and compression and Monicatti was good to go.

“I think [that injury] kind of fueled his fire,” St. Louis Park coach Kevin Reed said. “He’s been a great, consistent goalie all year long and he stepped up.”

Monicatti was particularly effective in the second half, when an onslaught of St. Paul shots made their way towards his goal stick and body. He came up with a couple huge saves while the Orioles had a man-advantage in the fourth quarter to keep St. Louis Park in the lead when the team most desperately needed it.

On the offensive end, Brody Ilstrup scored six of the Orioles’ 10 goals. That’s not a new thing. Ilstrup has 60 of the 149 total goals scored by St. Louis Park this season.

After Tuesday’s victory, the sophomore leads the state in goals scored. He has recorded at least one goal in all 14 games this year and is averaging 4.29 goals per outing.

Ilstrup isn’t new to the role. All year, teams have prepared defensively to stop him, and he’s done the same thing: score.

“I just try to get opportunities and bury,” Ilstrup said. “I guess today I just buried more than normal.”

Tuesday marked St. Louis Park’s first MSHSL section playoff game after moving up from the club level this spring, and the Orioles have not had the smoothest transition.

St. Louis Park won its third state club championship last spring, the seventh consecutive state title game appearance made by the program since 2008. 

The Orioles have a 6-8 record this season, a much different story than previous years.

Reed attributed the difference to a combination of things, including funding. He said St. Louis Park doesn’t have a large budget for the lacrosse team, which gives schools with more money a much bigger advantage in terms of off-season training and indoor practice time.

“It’s a tough thing,” Reed said. 

The competition has also been much tougher. The Orioles are competing in the Metro West Conference against teams such as undefeated Bloomington Jefferson, which is ranked No. 2 in the coaches poll, and No. 10 Chanhassen.

Two major wakeup calls came on faceoffs and possession. Ilstrup didn’t anticipate the skill difference between the two levels.

“It’s been a lot harder than I thought it would have been,” he added. “You have to possess the ball a lot more if you want to be successful.”

But after all the injuries and transitional challenges faced this season, the Orioles still find themselves alive in the Section 6 tournament. St. Louis Park faces top-seeded and No. 11-ranked Holy Angels Thursday in the quarterfinals.

A slow start stuttered the Orioles against the Bobcats. Coming out flat isn’t an option against the Stars, who average 15.43 goals per game.

“Coming into Holy Angels, we have to have hype coming into the game,” Monicatti said. “It should be fun.”

Brody Ilstrup scored six goals and notched an assist as he led No. 8 St. Louis Park past No. 9 St. Paul 10-8 Tuesday night in a Section 6 play-in game at St. Louis Park High School.

The sophomore attackman leads the state in goals with 60 after Tuesday’s victory.

The Orioles trailed 4-3 after the first quarter, but found their rhythm in the second and outscored the Bobcats 7-4 in the final 36 minutes. 

St. Louis Park goalie Colin Monicatti stopped 17 shots and had number of timely saves in the third quarter when St. Paul pressed hard.

The Bobcats (5-5) dominated possession in the fourth quarter, wearing out the Orioles' defensemen. But Monicatti was there to bail his team out, stonewalling the Bobcats on multiple man-advantages to help secure St. Louis Park's first postseason victory.

St. Paul’s Bjorn Holm scored three goals in the loss.

It was a battle of two first-year Minnesota State High School League sanctioned programs. The Bobcats are a co-op open to players from the seven public St. Paul city high schools. They made the jump from the club level to varsity this spring. The Orioles (6-8) made that same transition this year.

St. Louis Park faces top-seeded and No.11-ranked Holy Angels Thursday in the section quarterfinals.

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