Lacrosse state tournaments last season featured four new programs in both the boys’ and girls’ brackets, generating excitement among coaches who take pride in growing the sport.

While metro-area programs such as Benilde-St. Margaret’s (girls) and Chanhassen (boys) bolstered their profiles by reaching the state tournament, the Moorhead boys became the best example of the sport’s future.

A Spuds program that began in 2019 lost 17-1 to eventual state champion Benilde-St. Margaret’s in the quarterfinals but won respect.

“I stopped their coaches and captains in the handshake line and said, ‘Scoreboard aside, what you’ve accomplished is monumental for the state,’ ” Red Knights coach Rob Horn said.

The success of programs from outside the metro area is essential to growing the sport, Horn said.

Because, as Rosemount boys’ coach Lance Kuehn said, “The roaring ’20s of lacrosse growth we saw in the early 2010s is over.”

Horn concurred, acknowledging the sport is experiencing both “growth and regression,” the latter evident with the increased number of co-operatives forming among metro-area programs.

Benilde-St. Margaret’s girls’ coach Ana Bowlsby blamed the numbers crunch in part on the coronavirus pandemic that wiped out the 2020 high school season and stunted some programs’ growth.

“The effects are still evident,” Bowlsby said. “Both our programs here at BSM are fortunate enough to have three teams, and that’s rare.”

Two-class state tournaments?

Despite the numbers challenges some programs face, discussion among coaches about growing the state tournament from a one-class event to two classes remain informal but occur more frequently of late.

Reaching a state tournament is a great carrot for programs, and getting there increases interest within communities.

However, Minnesota State High School League bylaws require at least 96 participating teams before expanding to a two-class state tournament. There are 84 boys’ teams and 88 on the girls’ side this season.

“A lot of those discussions are about what could be,” Prior Lake girls’ coach Heather Pierson said. “It’s something to move toward as we see more growth in nontraditional areas.”

Section switching

Three lacrosse programs especially prominent on the girls’ side were placed in new sections beginning with 2022: Blake, Maple Grove and Rosemount. Now in Section 5 are six-time girls’ state champion Blake and Maple Grove, which qualified for the past five consecutive girls’ state tournaments. Rosemount, a state tournament participant last spring that began this season ranked third, now resides in Section 6 — home to two-time defending girls’ state champion Prior Lake.

The list: players to watch

Boys

Joe Ims, senior defender, Providence Academy

Tyler Kloeckl, senior faceoff specialist, Farmington

Connor Kvaal, senior midfielder, Irondale

Cade Reding, junior long-stick midfielder, Chanhassen

Linus Toward, junior attacker, Shakopee

Girls

Olivia Doyen, freshman goalie, Prior Lake

Leah Hodgins, senior midfielder, Chanhassen

Erin Lee, senior attacker, Blake

Emily Moes, junior midfielder, Lakeville South

Lauren Sheets, senior attacker, Lakeville South