Boys' lacrosse state semifinals: Eden Prairie's Spielman saves day again

Eden Prairie's J.D. Spielman was sprawled on the turf with time running out in overtime. He had the ball in his stick and, as it turned out, a swarm of Wayzata defenders right where he wanted them.

Spielman, a sophomore midfielder, added to his bulging portfolio of clutch goals by popping back up off the turf, knifing through the Trojans' defense and scoring with 35 seconds left in the sudden-death extra session. The goal lifted the No. 2-seeded Eagles past the unseeded Trojans 8-7 on Thursday in a boys' lacrosse state semifinal at Chanhassen High School.

No. 3 state-ranked Eden Prairie, the defending state champion, advanced to Saturday's title game at 7 p.m. at Chanhassen. The Eagles (16-2) have reached the state championship game in six of the eight years the tournament has been sponsored by the Minnesota State High School League.

"After I got back up, I knew there was time left," said Spielman, who has committed to play at Ohio State, about his winning goal.

After recovering from his spill, his instinct to improvise took over. That's a good thing for the Eagles.

"I don't know, I just threw it," he said about his winning shot. "I didn't know where it was going."

Eden Prairie has had this type of finish before — lots of times. Spielman scored with 12.4 seconds left in last year's state title game as the Eagles defeated Eastview 9-8 for their first state championship. He also scored the winning goal with 42 seconds left in a 6-5 triumph over Blake earlier this season.

The goal was Spielman's fourth of the game, and it ended an Eagles scoreless drought against Wayzata (13-5) that spanned 27 minutes, 40 seconds, including all of the third and fourth quarters.

Rosemount 12, Lakeville North 6: Conner Yepsen is Rosemount's highest-scoring player, but David Blanco is easily the team's most stylish.

Style trumped substance in the top-ranked and top-seeded Irish's victory over the No. 5-seeded Panthers, as Blanco — sporting earrings and a custom haircut — scored three goals to Yepsen's none.

To be fair Blanco, a senior attackman sporting a mullet with racing stripes shaved into the sides of his head, has plenty of game to go with all that bling. He's scored five goals so far in the state tournament, and the hat trick was his third of the season.

"A lot of people don't know, but we've got a lot of skill on attack," said Blanco, who has 27 goals this season.