Blake advances to semifinals
Chris Todd
5/22/2007 1:42:00 PM
|
Blake lacrosse player Julia Heffelfinger knows if her team stays true to its core strategies - utilizing its great team speed, scoring at key times in games, and maintaining an advantage in time of possession - it will be tough to beat in the section playoffs.
The Blake girls stuck to the strategies coach Laura Mark has been preaching all season in beating Edina 16-5 in a Section 6 opening round tournament game at Pershing Park in Minneapolis Friday, May 18.
"We tried to keep the pressure on them during the whole game," Heffelfinger, a senior co-captain, said after the victory. "Edina is a very talented team, but our speed and depth took a toll on them. I thought we really stuck to our game plan."
The Bears, 14-1, broke open a 2-2 game midway through the first half, scoring the next five goals for a 7-2 lead with five minutes left.
They led 8-4 at the intermission, and scored twice in the first 1 minute, 15 seconds of the second half for a commanding 10-4 lead.
Blake, which gave up just two goals in the second half, including just one over the last 17 minutes, advances to the state semifinals. It will meet Bloomington Kennedy Tuesday, May 22 at the Hopkins High School field.
"If we keep playing the way we are now, we will be tough to beat," Heffelfinger added.
Mark said it was one of her team's best games of the season, adding that defense and goaltending were keys as well.
Another, she added, was keeping in check Edina's top scorer, senior Christina Smith.
"She scored two goals," Mark added, "but she's a great player and we knew if we could keep her scoring down, which we did, we'd have a huge advantage.
"We played solid team defense, and our goalie, Abby Rink, made some outstanding saves. It was probably her best game of the season."
Edina did stay close early. Blake got on the board first when sophomore attacker Sally Komarek scored with an assist from Michelle Tremblay just 1:37 into the first half.
The Hornets tied it two minutes later off a draw near the Blake net, then took a 2-1 lead when Smith scored with 20:20 left.
The Bears responded with the next six goals. Tremblay scored three of the six, with Komarek, Jillian Avery and senior captain Katharine Chute adding single goals.
"I thought we passed the ball well, and that got their goalie moving, which is always one of our goals on offense," Mark said. "There were two other keys - we won most of the draws and did well on ground balls. That gave us a big edge in time of possession."
The Bears led 8-4 at the half and Tremblay scored a minute into the second half, with Chute following 1:17 later for a 10-4 Blake lead.
Edina's Katie Akiba scored with just under 17 minutes left, but it was the Hornets' last goal. The Bears added six more goals, with Chute scoring four of them.
Chute finished with six goals and an assist, while Tremblay added four goals and three assists. Komarek recorded a hat trick, while Avery and Emily Moos added one goal each.
Fink, just a sophomore, finished with nine saves.
Just two weeks ago, Blake outplayed Bloomington Kennedy 11-4 in a regular season game.
Kennedy, 10-4, is the top seed in Section 3. It beat Lakeville North 6-4 May 18 to advance to state after opening section tourney play May 16 with an 8-3 win over Bloomington Jefferson.
Eden Prairie tops Minnetonka
There won't be many arguments with people tabbing the Eden Prairie girls' lacrosse team as a heavy favorite to win a state championship later this week.
The Eagles, the tourney's top seed, had their closest game of the season in their 2007 opener, a 14-6 win over Blake back on April 15.
Since then, Eden Prairie has outscored its opponents by an average of 16-1.
It was business as usual for the Eagles Friday, May 18 in their 16-5 win over the Minnetonka girls in the Section 6 championship game at Robbinsdale Armstrong High.
Skipper coach Beth Lyman and her team said scoring five times against the Eagles was a solid accomplishment. No team has scored more than four goals against the team over the last 13 games.
"They are good at causing turnovers by stick-checking, and they capitalize on other teams' mistakes," Lyman said.
"I thought our girls played extremely well despite the score. No team has been that close to them since they beat Blake."
The Eagles jumped all over Minnetonka, taking an 11-1 lead into halftime. Lyman said her squad was at its best in the second half, holding the Eagles to a 5-4 advantage over the last 25 minutes.
"Down 11-1 at the half, our kids could have decided to fight back or quit," Lyman said. "Obviously, our girls chose to play as hard as they could to the finish."
Sophomore Ali Bongard led the Minnetonka scoring attack with three goals and one assist.
Lyman added that Skipper goalie Sarah Slowter was outstanding all afternoon, finishing with ten saves. With the loss, Tonka finished its season at 11-2.
Senior Hannah Anderson scored seven goals to pace Eden Prairie, while sophomore Caz Norwich added five.
The Eagles, 15-0, meet Mahtomedi, 13-1-1, in a state tournament semifinal game Tuesday, May 22 at Hopkins High School. Gametime is 6:30 p.m.
Following at 8:30 p.m., Blake and Bloomington Kennedy will meet in the second semifinal.
Reprinted with permission LakeShore News
|
|
