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Totino-Grace, Eagan mirror images

By Loren Nelson, Editor, 06/09/10, 3:28PM CDT

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State semifinal opponents rely heavily on midfielders, defense

Eagan coach Bob Felter was planning on wearing a helmet to practice on Tuesday, June 8.

“I can’t see the damn ball when we're inside,” he said.

Gymnasiums aren’t Felter’s ideal practice locations, but you won’t hear him complaining about Tuesday’s downpours or the inherent dangers of conducting practice indoors.

The Wildcats, after all, are just one of four Minnesota State High School League teams still playing.

No. 3 seed Eagan (12-4) plays No. 2 Totino-Grace (14-3) at 8 p.m. on Thursday, June 10, in the second of two MSHSL state tournament semifinals at Mounds View High School. Top-seeded Benilde-St. Margaret’s (14-1) plays No. 4 Wayzata (11-6) at 6 p.m. in the other semifinal matchup. The championship game is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Friday, June 11, also at Mounds View.

The state tournament semifinals and finals originally had been scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, but conflicts with graduation for four of the eight state tournament teams (girls included) forced Monday’s reshuffling of dates and sites for both state tournaments.

The move from Chanhassen to Mounds View for the semifinals makes for a considerably shorter commute for Totino-Grace. The private school’s campus is in Fridley and an easy 4.6-mile drive to Mounds View High. It’s a 30-mile drive from Totino-Grace to Chanhassen High.
    
“The location was definitely an improvement for us,” said Totino-Grace coach Justin Hoban, whose Eagles defeated Stillwater 12-2 at Mounds View on June 1 in a Section 4 semifinal. “We go to Mounds View, which is in our back yard. We feel very comfortable there.”

As an additional bonus, Hoban said a few of his players were nursing injuries suffered in the Eagles’ 8-4 Section 4 final triumph over Blaine. The additional two days of rest should assure that his lineup is intact.

For Felter – the site, the day – none of it really matters.

“I don’t think it will affect us in any way,” he said. “We were ready to go (Tuesday).”

Both teams are similar in that they rely heavily on standout midfielders (Totino-Grace’s Giuseppe Palermo and Eagan’s Will Hersman) who double as their leading face-off men and top goal-scoring threats. Palermo, who is committed to play at NCAA Division I Quinnipiac (Conn.) next season has 42 goals while Hersman, who plans to play Division III football (he’s also a standout cornerback) and lacrosse at the University of St. Thomas next season has 41 goals.

“They definitely pose a new challenge to us,” Hoban said. “They have some solid defensemen and some guys who can put up some big points on offense. It has been quite a while since we’ve played a team with midfielders who do so much scoring.”

Eagan’s top defensemen are seniors John Opshal, Shane Potocnik. They don’t have the name recognition or padded resumes of Totino-Grace’s all-state duo of seniors Kyle Mork and Joe Hockert, but the Wildcats’ no-name tandem was stellar in shutting down Apple Valley’s high-scoring combo of Chris Fischer and Lucas Graves in Eagan’s 10-4 triumph in the Section 3 final. The Wildcats have allowed 15 goals in three playoff games.

“I wouldn’t trade our defensemen or our goalie (sophomore Lucas Peterson) for anybody,” Felter said.


Totino-Grace attackman such as Derek Derosier (left) will do battle with a formidable Eagan defense that includes senior John Opsahl (right). Photos by Helen Nelson and Shawn Beauchane

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