Lakeville North edges Blake in boys' lacrosse quarterfinals

The timeout Lakeville North boys' lacrosse coach Jeff Wright didn't call in Tuesday's state tournament quarterfinal became his best move all game.

With his team clinging to a two-goal lead and Blake in hot pursuit, Wright watched as junior Jack Thomas took off with the ball downfield. Opting to "bite his tongue," Wright allowed Thomas to finish the play with a pivotal goal in the Panthers' 10-8 victory.

Down 3-0 in the second quarter, No. 4 seed Lakeville North (13-4) scored eight consecutive goals only to see No. 5 seed Blake throw its own counterpunch, cutting the Panthers' lead to one goal with 2 minutes, 31 seconds to play.

"I think it's exactly what we expected from the No. 4 against No. 5, and I thought we played a great game," said Lakeville North senior attackman Roman Rohrbach.

Rohrbach, the Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year, erased Blake's early 3-1 lead by scoring three of his team's next four goals and assisting on the other one.

"He's a trend-setter," Wright said of Rohrbach, who ranks third among Panthers in goals and first in assists. "He gets the offense going."

The spark produced a 8-3 lead into the fourth quarter. But Blake (11-5) wasn't finished. Four consecutive goals, including two from Gus Austin, resulted in a 8-7 score.

Lakeville North called timeout.

"It was intense," Wright said. "You're playing a good team, and you can never take any time off. That was too close, but in the end we prevailed."

Lakeville North's insurance goals came on Luke Anderson's third of the game and a near field-length effort from Thomas for his sixth of the season.

"That was awesome," Rohrbach said. "That was a huge goal. He's been a great player all year and credit to him for running down the field for a good shot and a good goal."

Bloomington Jefferson 15, Mahtomedi 10: The undefeated Jaguars took another step toward a special boys' lacrosse season with a victory against Mahtomedi behind junior Ryan Graff's six goals.

Responding with the skill and swagger of a favored team, Jefferson pumped five consecutive goals into the net and gained a 10-5 lead in the second quarter over the Zephyrs (12-5).

Eden Prairie 14, Blaine 1: Allowing a Blaine goal only 20 seconds into the game wasn't part of the Eagles' strategy. Neither was panicking.

The two-time defending state champions displayed poise, taking control of the game to rout the Bengals.

Senior attackman Sean Patterson said an early deficit "definitely wasn't expected, but we didn't want to get away from our game because knew we would pull away in the end."

No 2 seed Eden Prairie (14-3) got four goals apiece from Patterson and midfielder J.D. Spielmann against Blaine (13-4).

White Bear Lake 19, Maple Grove 2: Orange Crush has been used, but some type of nickname for the Bears' offense seems appropriate.

Asserting themselves early, No. 3 seed White Bear Lake scored nine goals by halftime in a rout of state tournament newcomer Maple Grove (15-2). Senior attackman Matt Swanson led the Bears (16-1) with eight goals, breaking the former tournament record of six set by Blake's Kip Dooley in 2008.