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Orono claws its way into title game

By Loren Nelson, Editor, 06/18/10, 11:58AM CDT

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Defending state champion Spartans get all they can handle from St. Cloud South

Orono coach Josh Scott stopped short of describing it as a tongue lashing.

His players, after all, had just won their biggest game of the season.

Still, an impassioned Scott -- surrounded by his players sitting cross-legged on their home artificial turf field --held court for a long, long time after his Spartans outlasted St. Cloud South 5-3 on Friday, June 18, at Orono in the semifinals of the Minnesota Boys Scholastic Lacrosse Association state tournament.

“They need to come out a lot better,” Scott said about his message, “or they are going to get their (butts) kicked tomorrow night.”

The Spartans (13-2) play St. Louis Park (16-3) at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 19, at Concordia University in St. Paul. The game is a rematch of last year’s state championship showdown won by Orono.

In what was brewing as the upset of the season, St. Cloud South (15-3) held a 2-1 lead at halftime and was ahead 3-2 lead going into the final quarter.

Much of the Tigers’ success can be traced to the mortar-and-brick efforts of sophomore goaltender Alex Ampe and the straightjacket secured to Orono scoring leader Bo Maki.

“This game they were just all over me no matter where I was,” said Maki, a senior who ranked second in the state in scoring during the regular season. “I was out way past the box and they were all over me. Other than that, it was pretty routine.”

Maki did manage to score two goals – Orono’s first and last – despite being subjected to the best (or worst, depending on your perspective) of the Tigers’ suffocating defense.

Locked in a rare (for lacrosse) goaltender’s duel, Orono’s Weslee Kavanaugh said he wasn’t worried about his teams lack of offensive punch

“It was a little bit of pressure, but I knew our team was going to score eventually,” Kavanaugh said. “Bo (Maki) is a good player. You can try to stop him, but he is going to find a way to do something, contribute to the team somehow.”

Sure enough, Maki’s second goal put the Spartans ahead 5-3 with about a minute left, essentially clinching Orono’s win.

“We played exactly the way that we wanted to play,” St. Cloud South coach Tyler Hein said. “We tried to take (Maki) out of it, but he got two. What can you do?”

Sophomore goaltender Alex Ampe couldn’t have done much more for the Tigers, as time after time he snared shots headed for the upper corners or stepped in front of low shots ticketed for the back of the net.

Scott acknowledged that the Spartans ran into a hot goalie, a dangerous commodity in the playoffs.

 “Don’t get me wrong, I’m ecstatic that we’re in the state championship again,” Scott said. “I’m very proud of them.

“But we still have a game to play.”

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Three Stars

1. Alex Ampe, St. Cloud South
In an amazing virtuoso performance, the sophomore held Orono to a single goal in the first half and was nearly as dominant in the second half. Not only did he continually frustrate the Spartans' top shooters, Ampe routinely broke down Orono's defense with clearing passes that sailed well over half the field.

2. Weslee Kavanaugh, Orono
The athletic junior (Kavanaugh is also a football standout) earns automatic placement in the Three Stars by winning the goaltender's duel with St. Cloud South's Ampe.

3. Bo Maki, Orono
The Spartans' scoring standout (pictured below) managed to score two goals despite having at least one St. Cloud South defenseman Krazy-glued to his hip all night. After a subpar game (by Maki's lofty standards) the senior attackman vented his frustrations by staying on the field and working on his shot as players and coaches from both teams headed to the parking lot.

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