Recapping Week 3 in MN, #1 Benilde-St. Margaret’s vs. #2 Edina

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We had an early season #1 vs. #2 heavyweight clash here in Minnesota last Thursday night. <br><br>Two juggernauts. Two teams that have proud athletic programs (not just lacrosse). Some of MN's most talented players across both rosters. Private vs. Public. This game had all the quintessential storylines. It was also a beautiful spring day in MN for an amazing April Matchup. The game was pretty one-sided and went the way of Benilde-St. Margaret's in a dominant (and unexpected) 16-4 win but it was still great to see so many of MN's top players on one field at the same time.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Top Edina midfielder [player_tooltip player_id='17848' first='Cooper' last='Anderson']got his looks in this game (2g, 1a) but the rest of the Edina offense was shut down. We know that the BSM defense is one of the state's best, but this was an incredible performance against some really high-end offensive players for Edina. The Red Knights' defense was slow to slide and put most of their defenders on an island, trusting them to win matchups, and they did.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>However, the most notable performance to me was Benilde-St. Margaret's senior goalie [player_tooltip player_id='15543' first='Axel' last='Esco']. We wrote about him earlier in the <a href="https://preplacrosse.com/2024/02/minnesotas-top-specialists-in-the-class-of-2024/?preview_id=17627&amp;preview_nonce=35e7d02a8e&amp;preview=true&amp;_thumbnail_id=18021">Top 2024 Specialists Article</a> before the season but in a game against one of the state's best offenses, Esco posted 17 saves on 21 shots. BSM's team defense certainly played a part in Esco's stat line but he made it extremely difficult for the Hornets to get any momentum in the game holding them to 4 goals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Despite all of the big names for BSM, I was impressed with a couple of the emerging names for the Red Knights: </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Nick Coppo","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'0u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"178","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"146","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Benilde-St. Margaret's","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"True National Black, True MN, Northstar Lacrosse Club ","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Coppo saw time last year as a sophomore but has been playing a bunch of meaningful minutes for the Red Knights so far this spring.  He plays with an energy and edge that I absolutely love. He plays hard, is engaged in the game and brings a high level of physicality and IQ to the field.  He covers well and stays patient.  He will throw effective checks without giving up position. He 'wins the whistle' and gets his team into transition quickly in the clearing game.  Really impressed with his game all around. He did an incredible job covering one of the shiftiest attackmen in the state during this match.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"Hilton Vanderlinde","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"5'9u0022","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_1_player_details_weight":"155","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"143","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"Benilde - St. Margaret's","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"Northstar Lacrosse Club","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_1_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Vanderlinde was a promising prospect for the Red Knight last year and, as a sophomore, he has been earning more minutes and capitalizing on his opportunities.  He is a high IQ player with great stick skills and shot.  He knows how to find his place in the offense, get to good spots, and hit his shots.  He has five goals and six assists through five games and adds another layer of depth to the offense for BSM.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":2,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66311a815df99"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While the Edina/BSM game was the featured matchup, there were a handful of great performances last week:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In Monday's contest between Stillwater and Chanhassen, junior Grant Geise exploded for eight goals against one of the state's better defensive units. It was one of those nights where when the shooting got going, it was incredible to see the range continue to increase and the confidence build. Geise put together a big night for the Ponies to lead them to a big 15-8 victory over the storm.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Eden Prairie senior attackman [player_tooltip player_id='16674' first='Danny' last='Burke'] had a big night posting nine points (3g/6a) in EP's game against St. Michael - Albertville. In addition to the big offensive outburst, Eden Prairie junior defenseman Isaiah Hazekamp put on an incredible performance against holding the state's leading scorer, [player_tooltip player_id='17032' first='Reme' last='Lobitz'], to 3 points (2g, 1a) - his lowest output of the season by far.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stillwater goalie Casey Mork had 16 saves in a big Top 10 matchup against East Ridge; Chanhassen's [player_tooltip player_id='15384' first='Daxton' last='Bush'] had eight points (6g, 2a) against Chaska; Centennial junior Solomon Marshall had a five-goal evening against Spring Lake Park/Coon Rapids; Cloquet/Esko/Carlton senior Michael Codotte, scored seven times against Big Lake/Princeton bringing his season goal total up to 25.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And to cap off the week on Saturday night, Mahtomedi junior face-off specialist and Bellarmine commit Sam Churchill went 20-for-21 at the face-off X to propel his team to a 9-8 OT win over #8 Chanhassen.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->