Osseo/Park Center may be out of the the Northwest Suburban Conference title race, but the Crocs will still relish the opportunity to knock off league leader Blaine in the regular-season finale.
This matchup also gives Osseo/Park Center a quality test before heading into a difficult Section 8 tournament, where conference rival Maple Grove is one of the favorites to earn the state bid. The Crocs lost to the Crimson 12-6 in the section final a year ago and fell to their rival 10-6 earlier this season. If Osseo/Park Center is going to make its first appearance at the state tournament, a positive performance against the Bengals would be give the squad momentum.
Gabrielle Holton leads Osseo/Park Center (8-2, 8-2) with 33 goals on the season, while Rachel Manning is the team's leader in assists with 25.
Blaine has faltered only once this year, a 16-10 loss to No. 4 Blake on May 18. Outside of that defeat, the No. 8 Bengals have been sprinting away from teams this spring, and trend that is fueled by the state’s third-leading scorer in Abby Jones (60-11-71). The defense is anchored by goalie Autumn Graleske and has done its part by allowing double-digit goals only in the loss to the Bears.
Ending the regular season with a win would give Blaine (10-1, 10-0) a boost going into the Section 7 tournament, where it looks to secure its third straight trip to the state tournament.