The Shakopee boys lacrosse team got a win and some help to earn the South Suburban Conference title outright May 23.
Senior Linus Toward scored three goals and added two assists to lead the No. 6-ranked Sabers to a 9-6 home victory over Farmington to finish 6-1 in the league standings. Shortly after the victory, Shakopee was able to celebrate its title.
That’s because No. 5 Eastview-Apple Valley and Lakeville North, both playing at the same start time as the Sabers, lost their final SSC games to Rosemount and Eagan, respectively. Both squads went into those contests with 5-1 league marks.
It’s Shakopee’s first-ever conference crown after finishing runner-up to Prior Lake the last two seasons.
Shakopee (10-2 overall) looks to be the No. 2 seed in Section 2. The first round of the playoffs start May 30 with the title game set for June 7. For complete brackets when they come out go to mshsl.org/section-events.
Second-ranked Chanhanssen (12-1) looks to get the No. 1 seed in the section. The Storm have beaten Shakopee in the section final the last two seasons, winning 13-12 and 12-11, respectively.
Other teams in the field include Eden Prairie (7-5), Buffalo (7-5), Minnetonka (6-7), Mound Westonka (9-3), Chaska (6-6), Holy Family (7-5), Delano/Rockford (6-6), Orono (4-8), Waconia (4-8), Southwest Christian (3-9) and Hutchinson (1-12).
Shakopee’s two losses this spring are to Eastview-Apple Valley and Moorhead and both were by one goal, 10-9 and 8-7, respectively.
The Sabers went into the Farmington game off a 14-1 win at Lakeville South May 18 and a 15-6 triumph versus Lakeville North May 16 in a pair of league contests.
In the win over Farmington, Shakopee overcame a 5-4 deficit at the break. Senior Gavin McNee and sophomore Landon Toward both finished with two goals, while junior Charlie Lindahl and sophomore Jacob Lee each scored once.
Senior Zane Orchard finished with two assists, while senior Bryce Hennen had one. Senior Weston Brosam made seven saves in goal.
In the win over Lakeville South, Linus Toward scored four goals, while Orchard had two goals and four assists to lead the Sabers. McNee and junior Jake Marschall both scored twice.
Junior Jack Jenneman and sophomore Zach Docteur both had a goal and an assist for Shakopee. Lee and senior Owen Block also had goals, while Hennen, senior Cole Brosz and junior Alexander Pherson all had one assist.
Brosam made four saves in goal, while senior Owen Craig also got some time in net making one save.
Against Lakeville North, Shakopee led 8-2 at the half and never looked back. Linus Toward led the way with six goals and three assists, while Block scored four times and Docteur had a goal and three assists.
Brosz, McNee and Hennen and Marschall each chipped in one goal, while Orchard had two assists and McNee, Jenneman and senior Jadon Hellerud all had one.
Brosnam finished with nine saves.
This year’s state competition will be June 13, 15 and 17 at Stillwater and White Bear Lake High Schools. Benilde-St. Margaret’s has won the last two titles, beating Prior Lake in both championship games.
