Getting to championship, Bears showcase their best
Chris Todd
5/29/2007
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The Blake girls' lacrosse team was saving its best for the post-season, and its 13-2 drubbing of Bloomington Kennedy in a state tournament semifinal game was just another example.
The Bears had the game on ice by halftime with an 8-0 lead in a game played on a sticky, humid night Tuesday, May 22 at Hopkins High School.
"We played as well [against Bloomington Kennedy] as we did in our game with Edina last week," said Blake sophomore Margaret Chute, who tallied four goals and two assists for a six-point night.
"In both games, and in all of our tournament games so far, we've stuck to our game plan," said Chute.
The Bears improved to 15-1 and advanced to the state championship game.
They met top-ranked Eden Prairie Wednesday, May 23, but lost 13-5 to the top-seeded Eagles.
Blake had beaten Kennedy 11-4 during a regular season game May 11, and had an even easier time in this matchup.
According to Bears coach Laura Mark, her team's goal defensively was to limit Kennedy's top forward, senior Anna Gunderson.
Not only did Blake limit Gunderson to just one assist, it nearly pitched a shutout. The Eagles didn't score until midway through the second half.
"I was hoping for a shutout, but that's pretty rare in lacrosse," Blake's sophomore goalie Abby Fink said.
"Our defense didn't let them have many shots. They made it easy for me."
Kennedy managed only 11 shots on goal, and was outshot by Blake 30-11.
"We knew going into the game what we were up against," Bloomington Kennedy coach Sheryl Raithel said after the loss.
"Blake has a lot of speed, but we do too, and so do a lot of teams. The difference is that Blake passes the ball so well.
"We're a young team and we can't match that. We were just happy to be here and let our kids get some valuable state tournament experience."
The Chute sisters, Katharine and Margaret, scored Blake's first two goals, with Katharine scoring unassisted 2 minutes, 27 seconds into the first half. One minute, 21 seconds later, Margaret scored unassisted for a 2-0 Blake lead.
A minute later, sophomore forward Sally Komarek found the net with an assist from high-scoring sophomore forward Michelle Tremblay.
Margaret Chute made it 4-0 at 13:56 and Tremblay scored her first goal of the game with six minutes left in the opening half.
Margaret Chute picked up a first-half hat-trick, scoring at 22:05. Tremblay made it 7-0 at 23:26 and junior forward Julia Hawkins made it 8-0 with just 19 seconds left in the first half.
"It's a clichˇ that offense wins games and defense wins championships, but it was true for us [against Kennedy]," coach Mark said.
"We've been winning the battle for ground balls all through the playoffs, and tonight, I think we won almost every one."
Margaret Chute scored her fourth goal of the game to open the second half, tallying at 2:40. Tremblay scored the next two goals, the first at 4:01 and the second at 7:20.
Hawkins scored from senior forward Julia Heffelfinger at 11:31, and Kennedy got its first goal of the night when Debby Van Eendenburg scored at 13:08.
Hawkins scored the Bears' final goal from Katharine Chute at 20:55 and Kennedy's MacKenzie Reiners scored the game's last goal with 57 seconds left.
Tremblay finished with four goals and two assists, while Hawkins had a hat-trick.
Reprinted with permission LakeShore News
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