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Eden Prairie eases through doubleheader

By Elliott Fifer, Star Tribune, 04/21/11, 10:17PM CDT

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Eagles squads have little trouble with Lake Conference foe Edina


Eden Prairie's Emma Claire Fontenot worked her way toward the goal with Edina's Madeline Rodriquez defending during second half action. Eden Prairie won 16-7. /Kyndell Harkness, Star Tribune

Much like any other year, the Eden Prairie girls’ lacrosse team is going to be tough to beat.

Despite the cold wind and rain, the Eagles used great team speed and a solid passing game to defeat Edina 16-7 in their first big test of the young season.

Co-captains Taylor Uhl and Christine Easton turned in a strong performance in the midfield, combining for 10 of the Eagles’ goals and setting up teammates for plenty of shots at the Edina net.

“Our balance is probably our strength. We have great defenders and great attackers, and tonight I think our midfielders stepped up especially,” said Uhl, a senior three-sport star who effortlessly ran past Hornets defenders with her exceptional speed. “We knew this was going to be a big game. A ton of us had to step up, and everyone did their job tonight.”

Eden Prairie lost 11-10 to second-seeded Blake in last season’s state title game but has bounced back by starting the 2011 campaign with four decisive victories. After defeating Lake Conference rival Edina (1-1), Uhl kept no secrets about the team’s motivation for this year as a whole.

“We’re looking for revenge, definitely,” Uhl said. “A state title is what we want.”

Boys’ lacrosse

Eden Prairie 17, Edina 3: In the second game of the doubleheader, the Eagles’ boys team got quick goals from midfielder Jake Woodring and attackman Chris Moulton, and the rout was on.

Moulton led all scorers with four goals — all in the first half — as the Eagles (2-0) dissected the Hornets (0-4) defense all game long with their offensive firepower, which coach Ryan Ward attributed to the depth of his team.

“We’re able to use a lot of guys and wear teams down,” Ward said. “I think a lot of teams have one or two players, or one mini-line, and we’ve got a couple lines we’re confident in. The guys played well tonight, and the balls were going in.”

Up next for the Eagles is a showdown with the defending state champion and top-ranked Benilde-St. Margaret’s on Monday. The Red Knights are 4-0.

“It’s a great test for us early in the year, and that’s all we’re going to look at it as,” Ward said. “It’s just a measuring stick to see where we’re at.”