BOYS: St. Thomas Academy
2023 Record
10-5, section 3 semi-finalist
Lost Notables
Matt Hudson - 43G, 40A
Adam Husaby - 36G, 14A
Charlie Youtt - 24G, 8A
Returning Notables
John Dzunbar - Attack - 26G, 17A
Luke Hudson - Attack - 16G, 12A
Max Candon - Starting LSM
Hunter Carver/Dominic Castro/Brendan Gerber - Starting Close D
Gabe Meisterling - Goalie - .663 SV%
Instant Reaction
STA was a team last year that gave some of the state’s top teams their toughest games, but, then had some extremely odd losses. This team is loaded with talent, but, being a small private school, depth becomes an issue. They will need to figure out how to replace nearly 60% of their point production between Hudson, Husaby and Youtt. Hudson was ‘the guy’ in this offense for a few seasons now with his ability to take over games. They will need to figure out who will carry the torch on offense for them in 2024.
The bright side and most notable observation to me is they get their entire defense back. A lot of high level players that are committed to play at the next level. They should be extremely tough to play against on the defensive end which bodes well for some new offensive guys to get acclimated. Their poles are big and physical. Their goalie is very technical and now has two varsity seasons under his belt.
The Future
Luke Hudson got plenty of varsity time and 28pts last year as a freshman
Jacob Faith had 17 pts last year as a sophomore
2024 Schedule
The Cadets usually schedule top notch OOC competition. Last year they played Eagan, Minnetonka, BSM and Chanhassen and played all of those teams tough. I expect them to continue to put themselves against the best teams when they can. The conference is hit or miss, but, will give them games against Mahtomedi and Hill-Murray. It does look, as of now, they have added Maple Grove for 2024 which is a great pickup for them.
In Conclusion
I will have to say, on paper, STA could have one of the best defenses in the state this upcoming season. They get back so many of their starters. They will be in the mix but I will be curious to see who steps up to take the reins of the offense in Matthew Hudson’s absence. From the games I saw in the past 2 years, everything ran through him. A great athlete and scorer that had a high lacrosse IQ to get others involved. He will be hard to replace. That being said, STA may have been able to bring in some new players to the school, which, is wait to be seen. STA should be one of the favorites in Section 3 again, but, as last season taught us… anything can happen in June.
