Rosemount, Eagan ignite lacrosse rivalry

With a new trophy on the line, the girls' lacrosse teams from Rosemount and Eagan played to a dramatic finish last week in their only scheduled meeting of the season.

To mark battles between the teams, which played as one co-op team for six seasons, Eagan coach Kerry Blaine, a tech ed teacher, welded pieces of quarter-inch steel into a shamrock and a wildcat. The emblems sit atop freshly stained wooden boxes and dubbed the Clover Cat Trophy by its creator.

"Right now it's sitting at Rosemount," he lamented.

The Irish won the South Suburban Conference tilt 24-23 after a late rally in the closing minutes.

"Everybody was excited, there is little doubt about that," Blaine said. "It was a well-played game on both sides."

Eagan senior center-midfielder Simone Haugen put on a show. The George Washington recruit scored 11 goals and assisted on another.

"She had a little bit of extra motivation and wanted to put it on them," Blaine said. "She really wanted to finish it off and was kind of imposing her will on the game there for a bit. She likes to win and we almost got it done."

True Team stateThe south metro will be well- represented at this weekend's True Team track and field meet at Stillwater High School.

The girls' teams from Lakeville South and Prior Lake each won section meets last week and Lakeville North is in as a wild card in Class 3A. In Class 2A, Belle Plaine also advanced with a section meet victory.

Rosemount's boys' team, the defending champion, will participate in the Class 3A meet.

The True Team meet, sponsored by the coaches association, rewards teams for all of its finishers rather than just the top spots. A team is allowed two entries per individual event in Class 2A, and three entries in Class 3A.

Brian Stensaas • 612-673-4127