BOYS Top 20 Preview: #11 Farmington

Well, we made it through the Top 10 and are now looking at teams 11-20. I probably should have followed Mrs. Pmac Source and started with #20 and gone backwards… but, hey, dare to be different.

The Tigers were 13-3 last season and had a fantastic year overall. They got off to a hot start, but sputtered towards the end of the year against some of the better teams on their schedule. They have battled top teams close over the past few seasons and had a big win over Eagan last year, but overall haven’t been able to beat the top teams consistently - they will need to solve Lakeville North if they want to find a way back to state in 2025.

“Tale of the Tape”

*according to LaxNumbers

**according to MN Lax Hub

• 2024 Record: 13-3

• Strength of Schedule: 74.07 (18th in MSHSL)*

• Team Offense: Averaged 12.31 Goals For per game (7th in MSHSL)**

  • Graduated Senior Production: 40.6%

• Team Defense: Averaged 7.06 Goals Against per game (16th in MSHSL)**

  • Graduated Defensive Personnel: Tyler Thill (Defense), Drew Willis (SSDM), Darius Johnson (FO/SSDM)

Offense Returning

• Parker Nivala (30/13)

• Caden Hennes (20/20)

• Henry Ulrick (30/9)

• AJ Vinar (26/12)

Defense Returning

• Dustin Franz (Defense)

• Aiden Zimmerman (Defense)

• Jack Jerebek (Defense)

• Jack Aarness (LSM)

• Hayden Houghton (Goalie)

• Joe Seyfert (SSDM)

2025 Schedule

Within the SSC they will face: The Valley (#14), Shakopee, Lakeville North (#3), Eagan (#5), Prior Lake (#2), Rosemount (#17) and Lakeville South.

OOC they will face: Chisago Lakes, Rochester, Northfield, Centennial, Owatonna, Hudson (WI).

None of their OOC opponents are currently ranked in the top 20, but, within the conference 5/7 teams are ranked to start the season and I wouldn’t be surprised if Shakopee and LV South are top 20 teams by the end of the spring.

Final Thoughts

Farmington is a team that has been “in the conversation” the past 4 seasons and will be looking to take the next step into “top tier” category in 2025. They will need to start winning their top 10 matchups more consistently and they will most certainly have that chance again next spring in the South Suburban. Last year’s win against Eagan was a nice stepping stone but they struggled down the stretch against the other top opponents on the schedule.

The big question mark is how they will replace their top 2 scorers Jack Rosa and Tommy Lund. Those two guys did a ton for the Tiger offense. Rosa was a dynamic player that played multiple roles and Lund was a big body midfielder with a cannon of a shot. They do get back 4 of their starting 6 offensive contributors from last year, that all put up over 38 points each. While Rosa and Lund will be hard to replace, they did have a balanced offensive production which may lend to an “easier” transition without the aforementioned two players.

On the other side of the ball they return a large chunk of their defense. They are anchored by senior goalie, Hayden Houghton, who has been starting in the cage since 2021 (as an 8th grader). In front of him, are multiple returning pieces on defense that now have an entire season under their belt together. The defense may need to step up a bit more in 2025 as the offense develops with some new faces.

Up and coming FO/S Will Harris will also get a chance to take the lead role at the X. He has played in a timeshare as an 8th and 9th grader but should look to be the bell cow in 2025 and help the Tigers in the possession game.

The good news for the Tigers is they have a strong group of 2026 and 2027 classes that have done well at the youth level and JV level coming up. This is primarily the group that will be making up the Varsity team in the spring, so while they will be young, there is a strong group of talent coming in.