With teams across the state wrapping up their regular season heading into Memorial Day weekend, they will have little time to regroup before section play begins, which will be as soon as Saturday for some teams.
Many of the perennial powers in both boys and girls' lacrosse have maintained their places at the top of the rankings, but with some new blood entering the fold, some sections will likely have new winners making it to the state tournament.
Here are some of the sections we're keeping an eye on as postseason play begins.
Chanhassen players took a moment after shoveling the field before the Storm began their season on April 19 with a 15-8 win over defending state champion Eagan. The Storm earned the top seed in the Section 2 playoffs. Photo by Mark Hvidsten, SportsEngine
Since 2010, Eden Prairie has had its way with just about every team in Section 2. The Eagles haven't missed the state tournament since 2010. This season, however, that streak appears to be in jeopardy.
Eden Prairie comes in as the No. 3 seed after finishing the regular season just one game above .500 with a 6-5 record. The Eagles will look to knock out top-seeded Chanhassen and No. 2 seed Minnetonka.
The Storm, ranked No. 2 in the state coaches' poll, have exceeded expectations this season. They lost just once, finishing the regular season with a 10-1 record. Chanhassen, however, enters the section tournament without having played any of its section foes in the regular season.
The No. 5 Skippers (9-2) come in as a threat to make the state tournament after knocking off Eden Prairie 9-2 on April 26 and 7-4 on May 15. Minnetonka also defeated Orono in the season opener 14-8 on April 19, which is the No. 4 seed in the section. The Spartans (6-7) rebounded nicely after an 0-4 start to the season.
Much like Eden Prairie, Wayzata has been the frontrunner for the past few years in its section. The No. 7 Trojans (10-3) are the top seed in Section 8 and will look to win their fourth section crown in the past five years.
The biggest challenger to Wayzata's reign appears to be second-seed St. Michael-Albertville. Though the No. 10 Knights have had their past two seasons end via losses to the Trojans, St. Michael-Albertville comes in with a perfect 13-0 record and appears to have one of its best teams in school history.
Elk River, the No. 3 seed, appears to also be a threat as well. The Elks went 10-2 in the regular season and beat Rogers, the No. 4 seed, 8-7 on May 18.
Though Lakeville North finished behind No. 1 Prior Lake and No. 3 Apple Valley in the South Suburban Conference, the Panthers (10-2) enter this contested section tournament as the No. 1 seed and will look to make their first state tournament since 2013.
Lakeville North has some worthy competition in Section 1, including league foe Farmington. The Tigers (5-8) are the defending section champion and finished the regular season with a 7-6 win over No. 3 seed Lakeville South Thursday.
Mankato (9-3) rounds out the top seeds as the No. 4 seed after winning the Big 9 championship this season.
Eden Prairie lost its first game against in-state competition since 2014 when the Eagles lost to Prior Lake 6-5 on May 19. The Eagles are looking to get back on track in the Section 2 tournament. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine
Though this section features three top-10 programs, the team that will catch everyone's eye is No. 2 Eden Prairie.
The Eagles (11-2) lost their first contest to a Minnesota-based team since 2014 when they fell to No. 1 Prior Lake 6-5 on May 19. Eden Prairie bounced back Thursday when the Eagles defeated No. 4 Blake 16-4.
Chanhassen (11-1) comes in hot as the No. 6 Storm have rattled off 11 consecutive wins. They will look to be the first team to ever knock off Eden Prairie in section play.
Minnetonka (6-6) comes in as a No. 3 seed but has struggled against Eden Prairie and Chanhassen this season. The No. 7 Skippers were outscored 30-12 in their two losses to the Eagles this season (14-4 on April 26 and 16-8 on May 15). Minnetonka also fell to the Storm 6-5 on April 27.
Tag(s): Boys' Boys' MSHSL Conferences Mankato Northfield Owatonna Rochester Rochester JM/Lourdes Rochester Mayo Becker Buffalo Delano/Rockford Hutchinson Monticello Rogers Sartell/Sauk Rapids St. Cloud St. Michael-Albertville Blake Breck Providence Academy TrIMAC Duluth Grand Rapids/Greenway Hermantown/Proctor Holy Angels Holy Family Minneapolis Orono Rocori St. Paul/Two Rivers Eden Prairie Edina Hopkins/St. Louis Park Minnetonka Wayzata Hastings Hill-Murray Mahtomedi North St. Paul Simley St. Thomas Academy Tartan Benilde-St. Margaret's Bloomington Jefferson Bloomington Kennedy/Burnsville Chanhassen Chaska St. Louis Park Andover Anoka Blaine Centennial Champlin Park Elk River/Zimmerman Irondale Maple Grove Osseo/Park Center Robbinsdale Armstrong Spring Lake Park/Coon Rapids Totino-Grace Apple Valley Burnsville Eagan Eastview/Apple Valley Farmington Lakeville North Lakeville South Prior Lake Rosemount Shakopee Cretin-Derham Hall East Ridge Forest Lake Mounds View Park of Cottage Grove Roseville Stillwater White Bear Lake Woodbury Mankato East Girls' MSHSL Conference Mankato Northfield Owatonna Rochester JM/Lourdes Rochester Mayo Rochester Century Becker Buffalo Delano/Rockford Hutchinson Monticello Mound Westonka Orono Sartell/Sauk Rapids St. Cloud St. Michael-Albertville Blake Breck Minnehaha Academy Duluth Hermantown/Proctor Holy Family Minneapolis St. Croix Prep St. Paul/Two Rivers Grand Rapids/Greenway Rocori Eden Prairie Edina Hopkins Minnetonka Wayzata Hastings Hill-Murray Mahtomedi North St. Paul Tartan Benilde-St. Margaret's Bloomington Jefferson Bloomington Kennedy/Burnsville Chanhassen Chaska Robbinsdale Cooper St. Louis Park Andover Anoka Blaine Centennial Champlin Park Coon Rapids Elk River/Zimmerman Irondale Maple Grove Osseo/Park Center Robbinsdale Armstrong/Cooper Spring Lake Park Totino-Grace/St. Anthony Apple Valley Burnsville Eagan Eastview Farmington Lakeville North Lakeville South Prior Lake Rosemount Shakopee Cretin-Derham Hall East Ridge Forest Lake Mounds View Park of Cottage Grove Roseville Stillwater White Bear Lake Woodbury Columbia Heights Holy Angels Visitation Chisago Lakes Brainerd Chisago Lakes Brainerd Southwest Christian Section 1 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Section 6 Section 7 Section 8 Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Section 6 Section 7 Section 8 Section 2