When the Eagan boys’ lacrosse team played East Ridge in the season opener, junior midfielder Joey Hofmann wasn’t there to see it.

Hofmann was playing on the Wildcats’ junior varsity team at the time and didn’t play in Eagan’s double-overtime loss to the Raptors. 

On Wednesday, Hofmann was suited up on varsity for the rematch and he took nearly every faceoff for the Wildcats. During Eagan’s past two wins, the junior has won more than 65 percent of his faceoffs, and his ability in the circle was key to defeating East Ridge 11-4 in the Section 3 championship at Park High School in Cottage Grove.

Heading into this season, the Wildcats (9-7) felt like they were a team that would make it to the state tournament. That confidence began to dwindle, though, when senior Nick Johnson, Eagan's second-leading scorer in 2015, was injured in a preseason scrimmage.

Johnson was among a number of key players that were hurt in the early part of the season. The Wildcats struggled to overcome those issues and started the season 1-3.

Following the bad start, Eagan coach Bob Felter and his team decided to make some changes.

Among those decisions was bringing up Hofmann to take the majority of the Wildcats’ faceoffs and moving sophomore Isaac Peifer from midfield to attacker.

As the season has progressed, the moves have paid off. Eagan has won eight of its past 11 games, including three straight wins in the section playoffs to secure a spot in the state tournament.

In the section semifinals, the Wildcats shocked No. 1 seed and previously undefeated Woodbury with an 11-6 win. The upset victory came after the Royals defeated Eagan 12-10 in the regular season.

Hofmann said the win against Woodbury gave the team confidence heading into the game against East Ridge (11-5).

“Woodbury was a huge test for us,” Hofmann said. “It showed us how much intensity we need to win big games. We matched that intensity tonight.”

Felter’s changes could be seen easily in the Wildcats’ win on Wednesday. Peifer scored two goals, continuing his strong offensive season as Eagan’s second-leading scorer this year.

Hofmann, meanwhile, dominated the faceoff circle throughout the game and was crucial to Eagan jumping out to a 6-0 lead. East Ridge coach Aime Caines said Hofmann’s ability to win faceoffs got his team out of their routine.

“They controlled us all game, starting in the faceoff dot,” Caines said. “He (Hofmann) just continued to win the faceoffs cleanly. It really gave us a hard time.”

After the Wildcats darted out to an early lead, Eagan was able to slow the pace and control play, never letting the Raptors gain any momentum. Senior midfielder Evan Woodward, who scored more than 40 goals this season, had just one goal in Wednesday’s loss.

Felter said after win that he truly saw his team as a state tournament contender heading into the season, but he didn’t see his team making the state tournament in its current makeup.

“In my 16 years of coaching, this is the weirdest season I’ve ever had,” Felter said. “We’re entirely different than we were at the beginning of the season. But we are where we thought we’d be.”

This is the Wildcats’ first trip to the state tournament since 2010, when they took third place. In next week’s tourney, Eagan could face a number of teams it has already played, including Wayzata and South Suburban Conference foes Prior Lake and Lakeville North.

With his current lineup, Felter is confident that the Wildcats can make some noise at state.

“We have seven guys that can score,” Felter said. “You need that to win a championship. Our guys are finding their roles.”

After losing to East Ridge in double overtime in the season opener, the Eagan boys' lacrosse team got its revenge Wednesday.

The No.4-seeded Wildcats jumped out to a 6-0 lead and never looked back, finishing strong to defeat No.3 seed East Ridge 11-4 in the Section 3 Championship at Park High School in Cottage Grove on Wednesday.

Five different players scored Eagan's first six goals. Junior midfielder Brandon Wuertz and sophomore midfielder Isaac Peifer each had two goals for the Wildcats (9-7).

East Ridge's only scoring came in the second and fourth quarters. Senior midfielder Evan Woodward, sophomore midfielder Joey Arndt, senior attacker Zach Heiting and freshman midfielder Jack Mohler each registered goals for the Raptors (11-5).

Eagan's state tournament appearance comes after the Wildcats defeated both the No. 1 and No. 3-seeded teams in Section 3, and opens state tournament play on Tuesday at Minnetonka High School.

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