|
|
|
|
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Still The One
St. Paul, MN
|
|
|
By: Tom Carothers, VYPE High School Sports Magazine
|
Photo(s) By: Tom Carothers
|
Eden Prarie went 33-1 through two seasons of sanctioned MSHSL play.
Hundreds of years ago, mankind believed that the earth was the center of the solar system.
Fast forward to 2008, where many believe that the heart of the state girls lacrosse universe lies in Eden Prairie.
While the first theory was eventually disproven, all current evidence points to the second hypothesis being true.
Many know Eden Prairie for its top-notch football program – back-to-back Class 5A state championships – but the Eagles’ program with the most state titles in the
past five years has actually been the girls lacrosse team. The squad has held aloft a state title trophy for five consecutive seasons now.
The Eagles won the final three state titles of the pre-Minnesota State High School League sanctioned era, when the ultimate championships were sponsored by the Northcentral Schoolgirls Lacrosse Association. Eden Prairie continued their dominance earning the first two MSHSL state titles.
In fact, the Eagles have yet to lose a game as a full-fledged varsity sport, going 34-0 over the last two seasons.
Eden Prairie’s co-head coaching tandem of Judy Baxter and Beth Patterson has overseen a program that is a metro-wide envy. So wide is the gulf between the Eagles and their peers, that a regular season game with Blake -- widely regarded as the No. 2 team in Minnesota-- resulted in an 11-5 Eagles win.
The Eagles have not only won 34-straight MSHSL matchups, they have dominated. In their 17-game 2008 slate, Eden Prairie scored better than four goals to each one they gave up.
The southwest metro power had to look beyond the borders of the state and into Illinois in search of a game, with an early May doubleheader against two of that state’s best, Loyola Academy and Evanston Township.
However, neither of those teams could upend the Eden Prairie juggernaut, as the Eagles overcame Loyola 12-11 and downed Evanston 12-7.
It’s a squad that can win in any number of ways, with a bevy of players scoring in double-digits in goals and assists.
Forward Caz Norwich leads the scoring cavalcade with over 50 goals in 2008. The junior scored five goals or more in five regular-season contests this spring with a high-water mark of seven tallies in the Loyola game.
Norwich’s senior linemate Emily Sherlock is the Eagles’ top assist earner, with 35 through a regular season in which she also scored 26 times – second best on the club.
Also joining the two-hands club with more than 10 goals scored through the 11-game regular season were junior midfielder Mikayla Clark, senior midfielder Abbie Pezon, and sophomore midfielders Makenna Borg and Blake Kist. Senior midfielder Hannah Riggs earned her 10th and 11th scores in the Eagles’ first section playoff game against Robbinsdale Cooper.
While Eden Prairie said goodbye to 14 graduating seniors after winning its second-straight MSHSL championship May 22, the Eagles look to remain in good stead with a highly successful junior varsity squad as well as a youth association that rivals many town’s hockey programs.
All that said, it will be quite a daunting task for any team looking to unseat Eden Prairie and become the top-tier Minnesota girls lacrosse team in 2009. In fact, that hasn’t been done since Totino-Grace succeeded the Eagles as the state champion back in 2003.
|
|
| No comments added! Click [ add a comment ] to be the first! |
|
|
 ™
|
|
A collection of this month's best action photos.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tape an Ankle
by: Sarah Peterson
Injuries to the ankle are one of the most prevalent injuries among the athletic population. The most common mechanism of...
More 
Archives
|
|
|
|
What is one question that student-athletes should make sure to ask college coaches who are recruiting them? ...
More
Archives
|
|
|
|
Brittney Faber
Finishing the season ranked No. 2 in the Class A poll can’t hurt the confidence of Breck School senior Brittney...
More
Archives
|
|
|
|
|
|
The New-found Knights
by: Nate Hackney
“Hey Mom, how tall am I?” shouts pre-teen Harding High School cross-country runner Matt Bondeson, bending his neck away from...
More
Archives
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
®