Forgive Moorhead boys lacrosse fans for doubting the randomness of the Minnesota State High School League's "random" draw that produced quarterfinal games against Benilde-St. Margaret's the past three years.
The Spuds avoided the Red Knights this year. That's the good news. The bad news? Moorhead gets No. 3 seed and defending state champion Lakeville North in the first round when quarterfinal play opens Tuesday at Eden Prairie High School.
State tournament brackets: Boys | Girls
Top seed Benilde-St. Margaret's tussles with Centennial this time, while No. 2 seed Stillwater and No. 4 seed Eagan complete the higher seeds. Should the top-seeded teams advance, they move on to Chaska High School for the semifinals Thursday. The title game returns to Eden Prairie on Saturday.
Conversely, the girls start Tuesday at Chaska before moving to Eden Prairie for the Thursday semifinals and Saturday finals. On the girls side, Lakeville South earned the top seed ahead of South Suburban Conference rival Prior Lake (No. 2), defending champion Benilde-St. Margaret's (No. 3) and fourth seed Stillwater.
The Cougars take a 16-0 record into the state tournament playoffs and are led by Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year Tori Tschida and fellow all-state senior midfielders Sivanna O'Brien and Katie Grubbs.
The Benilde-St. Margaret's boys team offers a similar plethora of talent with all-state selections Gus Bell and Sky Rold up front and Nick Coppo on defense. And don't forget North, with attackman Blake Piscitiello and two-time Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year Quinn Power controlling the X as a faceoff specialist.
Tickets
Cost ranges from $8 to $13. Tickets must be purchased online at mshsl.org/tickets.
. . .
Streaming
The Neighborhood Sports Network will stream state tournament games. A subscription is required. Link to the streams here.
. . .
More coverage
The Star Tribune will publish stories and other content related to these state championships and more this week. Keep up by checking startribune.com/preps each day. Thank you for reading and subscribing.
. . .
Tournament information
