Three 2A story lines
1. Two unbeatens
It's not often you get one unbeaten in the quarterfinals, much less two. That's exactly what has happened in Class 2A. The top two seeds, defending state champion and No. 1 St. Cloud Cathedral (22-0) and No. 2 Rochester Lourdes (24-0), are both unbeaten heading into their first-round games. There has only been one unbeaten state champion since 1999, Eden Valley-Watkins (27-0) in Class 2A in 2010.
2. Field of strength
Minnehaha Academy, with only one loss this season, is the No. 3 seed. The Redhawks (24-1) won the Independent Metro Athletic Conference by three games. Their only setback came at the hands of St. Cloud Cathedral, 7-2 in the second week of the season. The other seeded teams are No. 4 Marshall (23-4) and No. 5 Glencoe-Silver Lake (20-4).
3. Conference matchup
The final of the four quarterfinal matchups pits Minnehaha Academy against Providence Academy. They are both in the Independent Metro Athletic Conference. Minnehaha Academy won both regular-season meetings, 4-2 on April 24 and 11-4 on May 1. Both teams are making their second state tournament trip. The Redhawks first appeared in 2013, the Lions in 2011.
RON HAGGSTROM
