Continued: Lightning strikes

Bucking a familiar sports cliche, Eastview's boys' lacrosse team didn't just take things one game at a time last week. While the Lightning's collective mind was surely on the games at hand during the Section 3 tournament, its eyes were on a bigger prize.

"We didn't just go into the section tournament thinking three games left," coach Tim Roche said. "We said five games left. Getting back to state was our ultimate goal."

After going 0-2 at state last season as the fourth seed, the Lightning (13-1) is back this season as the second seed. Eastview begins tournament play at 8 p.m. tonight at Hopkins High School against No. 3 seed Eden Prairie. The winner moves to Friday's championship game at Wayzata High School.

While stopping short of saying last year's trip to the Minnesota State High School League's inaugural state tournament was a surprise, Roche said this year's bid was more expected.

"Winning the section championship was one of our goals all season," he said. "We knew it was a realistic goal; something we definitely wanted to accomplish. We had the right attitude about it, and that helped."

So, too, did a bevy of goals.

Eastview has put up 10 or more goals in each of the past seven games, dating to May 1. No opponent has scored more than five goals.

Lacrosse is a sport in which scoring is common. But this kind of output?

"The kids have been ready to go," Roche said. "They've been waiting for this time of year all season. The guys have really bought into it. They've figured out who needs to be where and doing what."

Junior Andy Freeman and senior Tim Rondorf, both attackmen, have 63 of the team's 151 goals. Dan Edem, a senior who has signed to play football with Northern Illinois next fall, and Matt Garin, a junior who is getting Division-I football offers, are stalwarts on defense.

The four captains lead a team that has made a name for itself this spring.

"They're very big and very athletic," Eden Prairie coach Ryan Ward said. "We're going to have to make their secondary guys win the game for them."

Eden Prairie and Eastview met once during the regular season, a 9-8 Lightning victory April 22.

To have the same type of result, Roche knows his team has to stay with the course that pushed it through the section tournament -- one in which the Lightning out-scored its three opponents 42-9.

The experience carried over from last spring isn't going to hurt, either.

"Almost all of our guys are returning and they knows what goes into this week," Roche said. "They understand the atmosphere and really want to make a run at it."