Jefferson vs Rosemount
In what was easily the best matchup in Round 1 of Section Playoffs on the boys side, #5 ranked Bloomington Jefferson (6-8) traveled south of the river to take on #4 Rosemount High School (9-5) in the Section 6 Quarter Final.
Openning faceoff between Rosemount and Jefferson. Photo: JP Fischer
These two squads faced off this season in April, where Rosemount eked out a win in overtime, 6-5. Despite the low score, both teams threw everything at each other, forcing both defensive units and goalies to stand tall on their end. Both goalies would end the game with more than 12 saves each.
This matchup would play out very similar to the regular season showdown. Jefferson would start out the scoring with Mason Van Brunt taking the Jaguars out to a 1-0 lead. Rosemount would come firing back through a fast paced first quarter, starting with an unassisted missile from midfielder Henry Stenger on the wing. Nico Donati and Connor Schauer would cap off the Rosemount run with goals of their own, bringing the lead to 3-1. Jefferson’s Nathan Morrow would bring Jaguars back to within one late in the first, while taking a huge hit in transition to bring the score to 3-2.
Jefferson’s Bennett Lindman tracks the ball for the save. Photo: JP Fischer
After an action packed first quarter, the game would slow down dramatically, with both defenses and goalies locking in and putting the pressure on the offenses. Despite the lack of offensive action, Cam Johnston of Rosemount decided to submit his entry for goal of the year. After backing down his defender on GLE to the right of the Jefferson goalie, Johnston put the stick in his left hand, and scored a back handed goal, placing it into the far top corner all while taking the full brunt of the Jefferson slide. Jefferson attackman Kevin Graff would then answer Johnston’s submission with one of his own, diving from behind the net, scoring with less than 15 seconds left in the second quarter, bringing the first to close at a score of 4-3 Rosemount.
Rosemount’s Cam Johnston celebrates with teammates after scoring his backhander from GLE. Photo: JP Fischer
Jefferson would come out of the gates hot in the second half, with Kevin Graff scoring his second goal of the game 45 seconds into the third and knotting the score 4-4. Carson Weiler would then cap off the Jefferson run with 9 minutes remaining, giving the Jaguars their second lead of the game and making the score 5-4. The Irish would stop the Jefferson run when Drew Gullickson decided to take the ball to the net all on his own from X, beating two Jaguars defenders on his way, tying the game for the 4 time.
Rosemount would close the game out late in the fourth quarter. After plenty of back and forth action, with both goalies keeping their teams hope alive, Rosemount midfielder Nico Donati would score the eventual game winner on an assist from Ray Cochran. Rosemount would nab one more goal late in the game, bringing the final score to 7-5 Rosemount.
Rosemount will take on Edina next Tuesday in the Section 6 Semifinal at Kuhlman Stadium in Edina at 5:00PM.
Jefferson closes out their season with a final record of 6-8 with a conference record of 4-2. The Jaguars return a strong core for the 2024 season and will certainly be a team on everyone’s radar for Section 6 contenders.
