White Bear Lake, Bloomington Jefferson to meet for boys' lacrosse state title

When Shane Olson launched a shot in overtime, he didn't know what had happened; his view of the net was blocked. But when he heard the crowd screaming and was tackled by his White Bear Lake teammates, the result was clear.

Olson had just scored the game-winning goal to send his team to the state championship Saturday night at Hopkins High School.

"I was basically just looking for a top-side step and to get a good shot at the net," said Olson, who finished with a team-high five points. "That moment right there is probably the moment of a lifetime."

Third-seed White Bear Lake finished strong to top second-seed Eden Prairie 14-13 but started slow. The two-time defending champion Eagles jumped out to a 6-1 advantage early in the second quarter behind the strong play of JD Spielman, who had six points.

The Bears from the weaker Suburban East Conference aren't accustomed to playing the state's top teams on a regular basis and came out on their heels after besting Maple Grove 19-2 in the quarterfinals.

"We haven't had a huge amount of competition," coach Brandon Husak said. "These guys are probably going to play a little sharper right at the start of the next game. … We needed someone to push us a little bit."

Connor Dehnert anchored White Bear Lake's second-quarter comeback, scoring two of the team's five consecutive goals to tie the score at six apiece. The Bears went on another run in the second half to set up overtime.

"I didn't want to go down to them three years in a row," Dehnert said. "We're going to make sure that we come out strong [Saturday] and not weak like the beginning of this game."

Bloomington Jefferson 15, Lakeville North 4: Jefferson trailed Lakeville North 2-1 in the first quarter before a Malik Ekpenyong goal tied the score. The top-seeded Jaguars dominated from there, tallying 11 goals in a row against the fourth-seed Panthers to advance to Saturday's state title against White Bear Lake.

"For us it's been stick to what we are, stick to Jefferson lacrosse. That's playing fast on defense and playing together on offense," coach Scott Cater said.

Ryan Graff led Jefferson with six points in the victory, followed by Ekpenyong who recorded five. The Jaguars had never been to the state tournament before this season but showed why they're the undefeated (18-0) this.

"We have the parental support to pull it off this year," Cater said. "We're pushing these kids through right now."