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Good to the last stop

By Loren Nelson, Editor, 05/03/11, 9:10AM CDT

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No. 1-ranked Benilde-St. Margaret's outlasts hard-charging Blake in thriller


Blake senior George Ordway, right, attemps to run past Benilde-St. Margaret's senior Adam Clark. Photo by Helen Nelson

Put Benilde-St. Margaret’s and Blake on the same lacrosse field, stir vigorously and voila!

Sit back and enjoy.

Lacrosse, Minnesota high school style, does not get any better.

Red Knights versus Bears is combination akin to peanut butter and chocolate, Simon and Garfunkel, Yin and Yang.


Benilde-St. Margaret's junior Christian Horn beats Blake goaltender Grant Dressen with a shot late in the fourth quarter. Photo by Helen Nelson

The teams’ latest performance -- starring the state’s top two goal scorers, two of Minnesota’s most respected goaltenders and a combined half dozen or so big, strong and nasty shutdown defensemen -- was so wildly entertaining fans exiting the football stadium at Benilde-St. Margaret’s High School were complaining of frayed nerves and fatigue.

Simply put, “It was a great game,” Blake’s Rob Horn said. “The second game will be even better.”

Christian Rekow’s goal with less than 2 minutes remaining and a defensive stop at the other end featuring defenseman Adam Clark allowed No. 1-ranked and unbeaten Benilde-St. Margaret’s to slip past No. 3-ranked and previously unbeaten Blake 10-9 on Tuesday, May 3, at Benilde-St. Margaret's High School.

“It was nice to come out on top this time,” said Clark, referring to last year’s eerily similar regular season meeting between the teams that was decided in the closing seconds in favor of Blake.

Nice, but not all that comforting.

Since both teams are in the same Minnesota State High School League section, there’s a strong possibility they will meet again in the postseason. Last year, Benilde-St. Margaret’s, fully motivated by its regular season loss to the Bears, pounded Blake 13-3 in the Section 5 championship game.

“We were gunning for them,” Clark said about last year’s playoff rematch. “We said, ‘There is no way we are going to let them beat us again.’ They are having that feeling right now, for sure.

“There’s that feeling they beat us first last year and we beat them second. We’re kind of nervous about that. We beat them first, they might beat us second.”

With the Red Knights (8-0) seemingly on their way to a lopsided victory, Blake (6-1) scored four unanswered goals in a span of just more than 2 minutes in the fourth quarter to erase an 8-4 deficit. Blake senior attackman George Ordway, who ranks second in the state in goals with 27, behind Benilde-St. Margaret’s junior Will Hoesley’s 33, scored two of his four goals in the fourth quarter.


Benilde-St. Margaret's fans show their support for the Red Knights. Photo by Helen Nelson

“I thought we showed a lot of perseverance tonight, which is great,” Ordway said. “Obviously it sucks to lose, and we are disappointed that way. But it’s not the end of our season.”

With 37 seconds left, Blake, trailing 10-9, called a timeout and set up a play that would, of course, start with Ordway. The Red Knights countered with, as usual, Clark on Ordway and double-team help as required.

“We knew that George was starting to run by (Clark) a little bit more in the fourth quarter,” Horn said. “So we were just trying to create some space for George.”

Ordway never found a big enough opening to slash to the net and shoot, so he dished a pass instead. The Bears didn’t fire a shot before eventually losing the ball.

“We knew they were going to start the ball with Ordway,” Red Knights coach Colin Mulcahy said. “So we told everyone to take a step off their guy and be ready to slide to him. Adam Clark played phenomenal on him all night long.”

Both Clark and Ordway said they enjoyed the challenge of squaring off against each other. There was even some time for the occasional small talk between the combatants  as they, too, watched the game unfold in awe.

Blake goaltender Grant Dressen, trapped out of the goal in the fourth quarter, raced back into the crease just in time to make a leaping chest save on a shot by the Red Knights’ Taylor Topousis. 

“I went to George and I went, ‘I just have no words,’ ” Clark said about his reaction to Dressen’s spectacular save. “He was like, ‘My god.’ ”


Benilde-St. Margaret's goalie Thomas Gilligan is pressured by Blake's Joel Pinedo. Photo by Helen Nelson

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Game Recap

Senior midfielder Christian Rekow scored the winning goal with 1 minute, 27 seconds remaining as the No. 1-ranked Benilde-St. Margaret’s boys hung on to beat No. 3 Blake 10-9 on Tuesday, May 3, in a matchup of unbeatens at Benilde-St. Margaret’s High School.

Rekow, who scored the game winner from just outside the crease and while falling face first to the turf, finished with three goals for the Red Knights (8-0).

Defending state champion Benilde-St. Margaret’s led 8-4 early in the fourth quarter, then Blake (6-1) scored four consecutive goals to tie the score and set up a frantic, back-and-forth finish.

Will Hoesley led Benilde-St. Margaret’s with four goals. He has a state-best 33 this season.

Blake senior attackman George Ordway scored four goals for the Bears, including two in the fourth quarter. He ranks second in the state with 27 goals.

The Bears led by as much as 3-1 in the early going, but Benilde-St. Margaret’s -- taking advantage of a series of man-up opportuntities -- scored three goals in the final minute of the first half to lead 5-3.

The teams reside in the Minnesota State High School League’s Section 5 and could face each other again the playoffs. Last season they met twice, with Blake winning 11-10 during the regular season and Benilde-St. Margaret’s cruising to a lopsided victory in the section championship game.


Blake's George Ordway, left, scored four goals against Adam Clark and Benilde-St. Margaret's. Photo by Helen Nelson

Three Stars

1. George Ordway, Blake
It’s rare that a player from a losing team gets the top star, but it was Ordway who rallied the Bears from a four-goal fourth-quarter deficit by scoring twice and creating numerous chances for his teammates. The senior scored four goals and added an assist while spending most of the night being hounded relentlessly by Benilde-St. Margaret’s standout defenseman Adam Clark.

2. Will Hoesley, Benilde-St. Margaret’s
The junior attackman again showed his knack for getting open around the goal. And once Hoesley gets the ball, there’s a strong probability it will be deposited in the net. He scored four more goals, pushing his state-leading total to 33.

3. Christian Rekow, Benilde- St. Margaret’s
The senior midfielder scored the winning goal with 1:27 left while navigating through heavy traffic to the left of the goal and falling face first to the turf as he unloaded the close-range shot. Rekow finished with three goals and an assist.

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