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Boys top games: Edina and Lakeville North both looking to stay hot heading into sections

By Luke Hanlon, SportsEngine , 05/22/23, 9:15AM CDT

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May 25: The Hornets and the Ponies have both vastly improved their records from a season ago.


Photo by SportsEngine

We task our reporters with identifying several intriguing games throughout the state to assemble our Top Games of the Week. The matchups are presented in no particular order, and when there are additional games we want to highlight, we’ll include them with brief notes.

Edina vs. Lakeville North

7:30 p.m., Thursday, May 25

Around this time last year, this game would’ve been an afterthought. Edina finished the regular season 5-8 before losing in the first round of the section tournament. Meanwhile, Lakeville North wrapped up its regular season at 5-7 and lost in the section semifinal.

Now a year later both teams will bring a 10-1 record into the final week of the regular season. What a year a difference makes. 

The Hornets (10-1, 6-0), ranked No. 4 in the May 16 May 16 Minnesota State High School Boy's Lacrosse Coaches Association poll, capped off an undefeated Lake Conference season last Thursday with an 8-7 win against Wayzata thanks to an overtime goal from Lyle Dietrich. That game-winner capped off a four-goal performance from Dietrich, bringing his season total to 10. Cooper Anderson is usually putting up those performances, as he has scored four or more goals three separate times this season, leading to his team-high 28 goals. Anderson turned to the roll of distributor in the team's win over the Trojans, setting up teammates to tally three assists.

The No. 3-ranked Panthers (10-1, 5-1) dropped their first South Suburban Conference game of the season when they lost to Shakopee 15-6 last Tuesday. But they bounced back with a 16-6 win against Farmington to finish tied with Shakopee and Eastview/Apple Valley atop the conference standings. That win was propelled by Carson and Blake Piscatello, who combined for nine goals and 16 points. That’s been nothing new for the Panthers, as Carson and Blake have combined for 117 points this season. Blake’s 38 goals are the seventh-most in the state, while Carson’s 33 assists are second in the state.


Holy Family Catholic vs. Mound Westonka

6:30 p.m., Thursday, May 25

Mound Westonka comes into the final week of the regular season with an undefeated Wright County Conference record, looking to secure the conference title. Holy Family Catholic only has one conference loss, which was a 14-7 defeat to the White Hawks (8-3, 5-0) on May 8. All seven goals for the Fire (6-5, 5-1) were scored by Jack Lund and Keyan Schugel in that game.

That Shugel duo has combined to score 54 out of the Fire’s 104 goals this season. Lund and Schugel will need to be at the top of their game if the Fire are going to beat the White Hawks. But before Thursday’s regular-season finale, the Fire must beat Hutchinson to stay in the Wright County Conference title race. 

The White Hawks were set to play Southwest Christian on Tuesday before taking on the Fire on Thursday, but that game was postponed, so a win on Thursday would secure an undefeated Wright County record this season.

To do that, the White Hawks will be looking for a similar performance out of Maxwell Anderson the last time these two squads met. Anderson scored five goals and added an assist in the game. He's scored five or more goals in three games this season, racking up a team-high 39 goals, good for sixth best in the state. 


Wayzata vs. White Bear Lake

7 p.m., Tuesday, May 23

Both Wayzata and White Bear Lake have battled through tough conferences this season and are a few close losses from being atop those conferences. 

Wayzata has lost three games in the Lake Conference this year, including a 5-4 loss to Eden Prairie and an 8-7 overtime loss to conference champions Edina. Now the Trojans (8-4, 3-3) will be looking to bounce back against the Bears (7-4, 7-2) to get some momentum rolling into the Section 5 tournament.

If the Trojans are going to win on Tuesday, and possibly go on a deep section run, it’ll likely be because of their defense. The Trojans have allowed 5.4 goals per game this year, and they’ve allowed 10 or more goals only once this season. On the offensive side, Cullen Britz has led the way with 18 goals and assists apiece to lead the Trojans with 36 points. 

The Bears only have two losses in the Suburban East Conference, and they each came by a goal to the top two teams in the conference. On May 3, the Bears fell to Woodbury 7-6 in overtime, which was followed up by a 10-9 loss to Stillwater on May 5. That pattern of close losses has followed White Bear Lake this season, losing four games by a combined six goals. 

Their regular-season finale against the Trojans will be a clash of styles, as the Bears will look to overpower the strong Wayzata defense with their explosive offense. The Bears have scored 12.6 goals per game this season and have scored 10 or more goals in nine of their 11 games. Mario Bailey has been the focal point of that offense, leading the Bears with 35 goals and 57 points this year.


Other games to keep an eye on

St. Michael-Albertville vs. Chisago Lakes, 6 p.m., Tuesday, May 23. Chisago Lakes (10-0, 4-0) has three games this week in an effort to cap off an undefeated season. Its toughest game on paper is against St. Michael-Albertville (4-7, 1-5), who will be looking for its first win since May 11 to spoil the Wildcats’ chance at a perfect regular season.  

St. Paul/Two Rivers vs. TrIMAC, 6 p.m., Tuesday, May 23. TrIMAC is led by the state’s leading scorer Joey Stolpestad. The senior midfielder has tallied 62 goals and 24 assists to give him 86 points heading into the final week of the regular season. St. Paul/Two Rivers has its own set of scorers, as Jimmy Somerville, Emmett Eischens and Thomas Lutz have all scored more than 20 goals this season.


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