BOYS: SECTION 2 PREVIEW
Section 2 was one of the most competitive and difficult sections over the past few years but some section re-alingment occurred as we head into 2024. The most notable is that 2023 section 2 champion, Shakopee, and long time Section 2 juggernaut, Eden Prairie, have been moved over to section 6. This should open up quite a bit of opportunity for a couple of the mainstays as well as some up and coming programs.
Chanhassen
The Storm have been one of the best lacrosse programs in the state over the past 10 years. They have had some of the state’s best players and are one of the winningest programs. Despite the regular season dominance, they have struggled to get through the section, only finally making the state tournament twice (2021 & 2022). With the two aforementioned teams listed above leaving the section, this clears a little easier path for Chanhassen who I would consider to be the favorite right now. They have two of the best offensive players in the state, brothers Daxton (Utah) and Kade Bush, who will carry the Storm offense in 2024. They return a stout group of poles with Theile (Robert Morris) and Burton (UMass) leading the way and up and coming pole Riley Syverson. The big question marks for Chanhassen now will be Goalie and Face-Off. They have had studs at key positions for years and this is the first time in a long time I am largely unsure about who will step into that role for them. They will lean on strong physical defense and getting the ball to their electric playmakers in 2024.
Minnetonka (8-8)
Minnetonka has been the most polarizing program in the state the past 10 years. One of the state’s biggest high schools and top athletic departments, there is no shortage of athletes at the school and in the program. They won the state tournament way back in 2009 and made another state appearance in 2018, but, like Chanhassen, have largely underperformed in the playoffs. They lost a really talented senior class to graduation and are looking towards the future with a lot of strong underclassmen. Gabe Miller will lead the way on offense as he is the only one of the top 5 point producers from last year returning. Grant Amundson, who had 9 points last year will be another player looking to step up on offense. After that, they will look to the future: Logan Eue, Laird Cassidy, Tommy Winkler and Charlie Kohler - all who had limited run on varsity last year but have been playing together and having success at the youth level. Defensively, they will lean on senior Zach Alstrin and solid sophomore group of Quinton Restrepo, Winston Hommerding, and Tate Jabs. They will be young at defense but should set them up for a solid couple years together. Lastly, it sounds like there will be a goalie battle for the starting job. They have a junior, sophomore and freshman keeper - all have an opportunity to snag the starting spot. This may be a year that Minnetonka takes some lumps, but, with an extremely winnable section and going all-in on a strong sophomore class, the skippers should be a force to be reckoned with in the next few years.
Orono (6-9)
Orono was an interesting team in 2023. A 6-9 record doesn’t seem to impressive, but, they seemed to play a lot of top teams extremely tough. They lost 5 games by one goal. They are anchored by an elite senior goalie, Caden Barnes who will keep them in games. They struggled to score last year and will need to figure that out as they lost 3 of their top 4 point producers to graduation. They will run things back with Juniors: Carson Lewis and Charlie Cordes as they will take the lead role on offense. Coach Childs has done a nice job over there investing in the consistency of the youth program so I would not be surprised if they have some good groups of kids coming up as well.
Mound-Westonka (11-4)
M-W is another team that is a lot like Chaska above. They have slowly been getting better each season and have a few key pieces to work with. Coach Michalski has done a fantastic job starting the program and taking small steps in the right direction. They play a weaker schedule, but, evident by the gaudy record last year, they are leading the way against some of the lower end teams. Hopefully they will sprinkle in some tougher OOC competition to prepare themselves for playoffs. Like mentioned above, with a couple of the big teams moving out of the section, they could start to find themselves in contention. The big thing will be preparing themselves for the level of play they would see in a section SF/F. On offense, they return 4 of their top 5 scorers including Maxwell Anderson who had 64 points last year. Jonah Sandberg is an elite face-off specialist that will keep them in games and get them possessions.
Chaska (7-8)
Chaska turned a new leaf last year and finished a respectable 7-8. They play a pretty weak schedule outside of the Metro West conference games, but, they were taking care of business in those games. Most surprising was their fantastic game last year against eventual section 2 champion, Shakopee, where they took the Sabres down to the wire. They even had the ball late in the 4th, tie game, with a chance to take the lead. That game seriously could have gone either way. I think the Hawks build off that momentum and continue to rise in the section. Now that Shakopee and EP are out, Chaska has a real chance to find their way into the top 4. Senior Brody Behrens is an under-the-radar close defenseman that is as athletic as they come. They have pieces and a good group of freshman coming in. They aren’t quite yet on Chanhassen/Minnetonka level, but, they are 100% trending in the right direction.