Mahtomedi cruises past White Bear Lake to reach boys' lacrosse state tournament

Colin Hagstrom's role as the Mahtomedi lacrosse faceoff specialist typically is well-defined.

Battle for the faceoff, which he often does successfully. And then, get off the field.

But during the first half of Wednesday's Class 4A championship game, officials told Hagstrom to get off and stay off. For three minutes.

That was Hagstrom's penalty for using a stick that was too short. After a second-quarter sequence where Hagstrom won the draw, then kept it himself and scored, White Bear Lake coaches asked the officials to look at Hagstrom's stick. He was penalized, and the goal was disallowed.

"My shaft was bent, and that made it too short," Hagstrom said.

Mahtomedi coaches responded in kind. Sure enough, Bears faceoff specialist Thomas Rodriguez also had an illegal stick.

When play resumed, so did Mahtomedi's dominance. The Zephyrs built a nine-goal lead by halftime and cruised to a 15-9 victory. No. 4 seed Mahtomedi (11-5) earned its fifth state tournament appearance in six years.

Hagstrom's control of faceoffs and his teammates finishing their chances produced a semifinal upset of previously undefeated Stillwater. The Bears excelled in both areas at White Bear Lake.

"Getting the early lead was huge," Hagstrom said. "We could keep possession and keep control of the game."