Blake, Eden Prairie reach final

Blake rebounded after a slow start to stay unbeaten, and Eden Prairie earned another chance to defeat the Bears. Blake defeated White Bear Lake; Eden Prairie topped Eastview.

By DEAN SPIROS, Star Tribune

Last update: May 23, 2008 - 7:51 AM

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One of the driving forces behind the Blake boys' lacrosse team's success this season has been the Bears' ability to jump on teams early. That early fire was missing Wednesday against White Bear Lake in the semifinals of the state tournament, but the game ended in familiar fashion.

The teams were tied 2-2 after the first period before Blake erupted for six unanswered goals in the second quarter on their way to a 15-7 victory. The top-seeded Bears (16-0) advanced to Friday's championship game at Wayzata.

"We were flat in the first quarter," said Blake senior Jordan Seivold, who scored three goals. "I don't know what it was. Maybe we weren't used to having to wait through so much before the game [introductions].

"The coach just told us to pick it up after the first quarter, and we gained a lot of confidence."

George Ordway and Dixon Pettengill also scored three goals for Blake. Cory Mark, Matt Wood and Keith Widerski each had two goals for White Bear Lake.

Blake coach Rob Horn said that although his team played well, the final game of the season offers a last chance to improve. "We have yet to play our best," Horn said. "Hopefully that will happen on Friday.

"We shot well after we came out flat in the first quarter. I just told the guys to take a deep breath and relax. I told them we're a great team and to go out and play like a great team."

Seivold said he knew before the season that Blake had a chance to be great.

"We had a lot of starters returning, a lot of talent," Seivold said. "Kip Dooley [57 goals] is phenomenal. I'm not sure I thought we'd be undefeated, but I knew we'd do well."

Eden Prairie 9, Eastview 7: The Eagles came up short against Blake during a regular season matchup. They'll get one more chance in the state championship game after knocking off Eastview.

Eden Prairie, the No. 3 seed, is back in the title game after finishing second to Benilde-St. Margaret's last season. The Eagles (12-3) avenged a 9-8 loss to Eastview during the regular season.

"I wanted to play Eastview again," Eden Prairie coach Ryan Ward said. "I feel like we are a different team than we were when we lost to them [April 22]."

The Eagles led 6-2 at halftime, but Eastview responded with three early goals in the third quarter to cut Eden Prairie's lead to 6-5. Jack Hewitt's third goal of the night gave the Eagles a two-goal lead, but Eastview's Rex Sanders scored his second of three goals in the game in the final minute of the third quarter to close the gap.

"It was our goal to get to this point," Ward said. "Blake has a lot of talent, but we like our chances against them."

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