After a tough start to the spring, the Shakopee girls lacrosse team picked up its first three wins of the season.
The Sabers’ first South Suburban Conference victory was May 1 at home, 11-4 over Apple Valley-Burnsville. That came between two non-league road wins — 6-5 over Hopkins April 29 and 11-7 against Hutchinson May 6.
Shakopee (3-5 overall, 1-2 in the SSC) is also 1-2 against Section 2 teams. The win was against Hutchinson, while the two losses are to both Chaska and Orono.
Shakopee has a 4-7 playoff record since its first-ever season in 2015. Section 2 is one of the toughest in the state with three ranked teams in the field — No. 5 Chanhassen, No. 6 Minnetonka and No. 10 Eden Prairie.
Chanhassen is the defending champion.
In the win over Apple Valley-Burnsville, junior Olivia Hayer sparked the Sabers’ offense with five goals and an assist. Junior Nadia Rylance added two goals and two assists, while sophomore Madison Hillman scored twice.
Ninth-grader Brielle Olsonoski added a goal and an assists, while senior Hailey Patzer also scored. Sophomore Gia Lynch led in assists with three.
Junior Alli Parker finished with two saves in goal as Shakopee had a 27-6 shots-on-goal advantage.
In beating Hutchinson, Parker made six saves, while Rylance powered the offense with four goals. Hayer finished with two goals and an assist, while senior Faith Scott also scored twice.
Lynch added a goal and an assist, while sophomore Rachel Schwabe and junior Whitney Allen both scored once. Ashlyn Carlson chipped in an assist.
Against Hopkins, Lynch led the way for the Sabers with two goals and two assists, while Rylance also scored twice and Hayer and Olsonoski both had one goal.
“Rachel and Gia help run our attack system and plays and are both great seeing people on the field,” Shakopee coach Bailey Childs said. “I’ve seen a lot more confidence going into this year from the both of them. Olivia she is a great dodger and she and Nadia have great chemistry.”
Patzer had an assist in the win over Hopkins, while Parker made seven saves in goal.
The regular season ends for Shakopee May 25 at home to St. Michael-Albertville. The first round of Section 2 play starts May 30 with the title game set for June 7.
Other teams in the field include Mound Westonka, Southwest Christian, Holy Family, Waconia and Delano-Rockford.
This year’s state tournament will be June 13, 15 and 17 at two sites, Stillwater and White Bear Lake High Schools. Top-ranked Lakeville South is the defending champion, beating Chanhassen 10-7 in the title game.
An SSC team has won the last four state titles. Apple Valley, now a co-op program with Burnsville, won in 2018, followed by back-to-back crowns from Prior Lake in 2019 and 2021.
There was no 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
