State Lacrosse Championships: Lakeville South girls win 2nd title, Benilde-St. Margaret’s boys earn 6th
===GIRLS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP===
#1-seed Lakeville South won the second State Girls Lacrosse title in their program history capping a perfect 19-0 season with a 12-8 win over #2-seed Prior Lake on Saturday.
It’s the Cougars second state title in the last three seasons – adding to their title from 2022. They finished third last season.
The rainy title game had a couple wild swings. After Lakeville South ran out to an early 4-1 lead, Prior Lake surged to score five straight to lead 6-4 late in the second quarter. From there, it was South ringing up seven in-a-row through the end of the third quarter to lead 11-6 – a lead they’ve never surrender.
Lakeville South goalie Kate Baell made several key saves during that enabled the Cougars to keep their seven-goal surge going. Baell shut Prior Lake out in the third quarter.
Sivanna O’Brien scored four goals and had three assists for the victorious Panthers. Katie Grubbs added three goals and an assist.
South was a juggernaut in their perfect, Championship season. Saturday’s title game was only the fourth game of the season they won by fewer than ten goals.
In the third-place game, the defending champions from Benilde-St. Margaret’s moved past No. 4 Stillwater Area with a 15-13 victory. Junior Charlize Vang led No. 3 Benilde-St. Margaret’s with seven points on four goals and three assists. Senior Julia Evens added five goals for the Red Knights. Stillwater Area seniors Ava Mosley and Maycie Neubauer struck for four goals apiece.
No. 5 Minnetonka defeated unseeded Elk River/Zimmerman 13-9 in the consolation final. Junior Adison Rothschild provided the majority of the Skippers’ offense. She struck for six goals and three assists. Senior Jordan Helling added four goals and three assists for Minnetonka. Senior Madison Kucera netted three goals for Elk River/Zimmerman.
===BOYS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP===
The defending champions from Lakeville North fell to top-seeded Benilde-St. Margaret’s in the title game of this year’s Boys Lacrosse State Tournament. The Red Knights won 18-10 behind six goals from senior Gus Bell. Seniors Sky Rold and Dylan Parker added five and three goals, respectively.
Click the video box on this page to watch extended highlights and postgame interviews from the 2024 Boys State Lacrosse Championship game between Benilde-St. Margaret’s and Lakeville North
Twin brothers, juniors Carson and Blake Piscitiello, paced No. 3 Lakeville North with three goals apiece. Blake also had a team-high two assists for the Panthers.
This was Benilde-St. Margaret’s sixth championship. In addition to this year, the Red Knights also won in 2007, 2010, 2011, 2021 and 2022. They placed third in 2023.
These teams also met on May 2 this year, with Benilde-St. Margaret’s winning 9-8 in overtime.
Eden Prairie, the No. 5 seed, defeated No. 2 Stillwater Area 12-9 in the third-place game. Senior Daniel Burke had five goals and one assist for the Eagles. Sophomore Oscar Berggren added three goals. Senior Brock Lynskey and junior Isaac Johnston tallied two goals apiece for Stillwater Area.
No. 4 Eagan dismissed unseeded Minnetonka 21-11 in the consolation final. Senior Samuel Simon scored eight goals and added two assists for the Wildcats. Senior William McLoone struck for an additional six goals. Junior Ethan Robinson was the top scorer for Minnetonka; he finished the game with five goals and one assist.
Simon’s eight goals ties the tournament record for most goals scored in a single game. Nicky Leiverman of Eden Prairie was the first to accomplish the feat in 2016. Isaac Peifer of Eagan tied the record in 2018.
RELATED: KSTP Sports’ State Lacrosse and Baseball Tournament homepage
Some material from the Minnesota State High School League was used in this report