Section 2 Preview: 2024 MSHSL Girls Lacrosse
Getting our biggest jinx out of the way fairly early this year, let’s dive into Section 2. This is the start of a run of exciting sections as we go through sections 2, 3, 4 and 5.
EDITOR’S NOTE - Post YouTube Release, Pre Pod Release: Yeah - sorry. SWC to Section 1, St. Louis Park to Section 5, Shako to Section 6, and no one new in to Section 2.
Mrs. Pmac’s Source’s Section 2 2024 Projected Top 4
First – Minnetonka
Second – Orono
Third – Chanhassen
Fourth – Eden Prairie
Keeping Our Eye On - Hutchinson
Minnetonka (11-4)
Losing perhaps less than anyone in the state, if there ever was a year for Minnetonka to make the state tournament, this HAS to be the year. Check out a write up on Minnetonka here.
They have (6) high production returners covering all (4) positions:
Attack:
2024 Jordyn Helling: 64 Points
2024 Ava Wixo: 44 Points
2025 Clara Gilbert: 77 Points
Midfield:
2024 Elli Fuchs: 22 Points/88 DC - Committed to Wesleyan University (D3)
Defense:
2024 Ruby Swenson: 37 Points/19 DC - Committed to Grand Valley State University (D2)
Goalie:
2025 Adi Rothschild: 9.07 GAA/49.8%
The Skippers have as solid a foundation as possible. We think they’ll be pushed and we know we’ve been pumping Minnetonka’s tires for as long as we’ve done this bit (and they’ve done nothing but let us down), but this is THE year this group has been waiting for. If we didn’t pick them now, what are we even doing?
Orono (9-6)
Taking over for Minnetonka as the team we’re probably a year early on…we are sliding Orono in at #2 over Chanhassen and Eden Prairie.
Source – what in the hell are you thinking?
As we touched on in our everyone else write up here (and in a myriad of other team write ups), Orono has production and they have youth. Everyone might as well get ready for a new contender in Section 2 race, so let’s get in on it now.
The good thing is that we are going to a have a real clear idea if we are right or wrong, as Orono starts off the season with Eden Prairie and BSM. Also…in ALL of the schedule checking we have done to date…this was the first time we have seen our favorite charter school show up on a schedule!
Honest take: Shout out to Orono and Gentry – this will/would be a great game on Saturday, April 27. Man… we hope Orono streams. Full disclosure: since we first saw this, Gentry now has a girls lacrosse schedule up (8 games), but they are booked against at home vs Hudson the same day as at Orono, so who knows what to think. While we like there to be as much cross over with non MSHSL teams as reasonable, this would be both Gentry’s best game against a MN team and a fantastic litmus test for Orono.
So…this youth movement - what is that looking like?
They lose:
(6) 2023s, including second leading scorer, Celia Dahl (61 points)
They bring back (notable, not everyone):
2026 Dylan Collins - 77 Points - she’s listed a D, but that seems slightly strange as their leading scorer from 2023
2027 Layla Nick (M) - 47 Points/63 DC - 3rd leading scorer from 2023
2027 Riley Teele (A) - 33 points - 4th leading scorer from 2023
2026 Gianna Parrish (GK) - 8.89 GAA/54.5% & 2026 Ella Farrell (GK) - 11.47 GAA/40.5%
(5) other Defensive returners, not including Dylan Collins
The bring in (allegedly):
2026 TO BE NAMED TRANSFER 25 Points/46 DC (we have lots of things to point to yes on this, but we don’t quite have confirmation of our second hand info, so we are dipping into the speculation realm right now)
There is a lot going on there in the positive. Let’s hope they don’t run their girls lacrosse coach out of town, like they did to their girls hockey coach last year!
Chanhassen (13-5)
The disrespect bots out there will come out of the woodwork, but we are putting Chanhassen at #3.
Negatives:
They lost (3) mega performers to graduations:
Allie Welder - 73 Points/60 DC - D2 Southern Connecticut
Aly McPartland - 56 Points/66 DC - D1 Niagara
Tatum Nyen - 41 Points/46 DC - D2 Grand Valley State
Have a new head coach
Have a significant producer returning from significant injury
Positives:
Have (3) Committed Players
2024 Gabby Bjugan (A) - 74 Points - D1 Towson
2024 Jaydn Hahn (D) - 14 GB/They don’t keep Forced Turnovers - D2 Grand Valley State
2024 Katie Colleran (GK) - 9.05 GAA/47.0% - D2 Concordia St. Paul
A few other players ready to take a next step to fill the production:
2026 Zoe Zielinski (A) - 6 Goals through 4 Games (she’s the one that was injured)
2026 Cassidy Bergstrom (M) - 22 points
2025 Hannah Grimm (M) - 27 points
Seeing that 49.4% of the Points and 89.6% of the DCs came from those (3) graduates, there is a lot of opportunity for the returners to eat up that production.
Check out the in-depth here.
Eden Prairie (10-5)
Showing even more “disrespect,” we have Eden Prairie ranked 4th in Section 2. Sure, you can read about all the experience and sure, their program is as storied in MN girls lacrosse as any. Its as much a commentary on the growth of the sport in the state as anything else.
Life is going to be keyed on the Wallaces this year:
2024 Avery Wallace (M) - 55 Points/78 DC - D1 Akron
2024 Josie Wallace (DM) - 25 Points/53 DC - D1 Kent State
They’ve got some holes to fill and we’re going to have to see the roles that 2024 Kaci Kotschevar-Call A, 49 points) & 2025 Maggie Pearson (DM, 17 GB/8F FT) will play.
Speaking of holes left to fill, they lost (8) 2023, including:
Brinley Hopper (M) - 69 points - D1 Cincinnatti
Kylie Bamlett (M) - 33 points/61 DC
Hutchinson (10-5)
Hutchinson has long since been one of the main factors outside the metro and their 10-5 record last year continues to support that. Hutch also only loses two seniors, but they were their second and third leader scorers.
They had (11) 2024s on their roster last year, so they have a lot of experience, a lot of production led by:
2024 Hannah Peterson (A)- 71 points
2024 Audrey Hanson (DM) - 26 GB/21 FT
2024 Jolynn Haun (DM) - 28 GB/26 FT
And also feature:
2024 Lola Scharmm (GK)
A VERY manageable schedule (SW Christian, Orono and Shakopee their toughest looking competition).
Don’t think they’ll have the firepower to crack the top 4, but they are a very solid 5th and will push the top 4 teams come section time.
Chaska (6-9)
Josie Lakosky (91) points has taken her talents to Northern Michigan, but what really stands out is that Kennedy Sanders played 3 games and had 22 points (14/8 - she’s playing D1 basketball now). Man, two alphas like that really could have made noise for the middle C in the C3 program (Chanhassen/Chaska/Carver). 2024 Sara Siman (40 points) and 2024 Morghan Pollock (24 points) look to be the logical pieces to fill the graduating production, bolstered by a goalie that had a full year in cage as a Freshman last year.
EDITOR’S NOTE - Post YouTube Release, Pre Pod Release: What we have above is what we say about Kennedy Sanders. We weren’t explicit the Kennedy was gone…but we kinda were…
Delano/Rockford (6-8)
Tough to make too many educated takes here, with only 3 games worth of stats in Lax Hub, but their goalie was a senior, so that’s gotta mean something of an uphill trek for the Tigers.
Mound Westonka/Providence Academy (3-11)
We know she does track…but imagine if all basketball (and pretty good at soccer) Maddyn Greenway played lacrosse! She’d be as good as anyone and likely be one of the top 2026s, like she is in soccer and is nationally in basketball. But she doesn’t.
Holy Family (2-12)
The brightest spot is that their goalie, JJ McKenna, returns for her senior year. She sported a 55.3% save percentage…for a 2-12 team. Get that girl some help on defense, score a few goals and you bounce up a few spots real quick.
Waconia (0-14)
No stats. Can’t really make too many conclusions about them. Lost (7) 2023s, so thats even worse for the squad. Need to build a youth program to start feeding your high school, guys. You’re a public school and could combine up with a few others on that side of town to get something going. It’s not just going to happen though.