By James Joseph
WSL Senior Features Writer

Benilde-St. Margaret’s is back on top in Minnesota.

The No. 24 Red Knights capped a nearly perfect season on Friday night by beating Totino Grace, 7-3, to capture the Minnesota State High School League Boys Lacrosse state championship at Mounds View High School.

The victory was Benilde-St. Margaret’s fifth in a row since its only loss of the season – a one-goal setback to Blake School. Since that defeat, the Red Knights have out-scored their opponents 69-23, including a 13-3 victory over Blake School that avenged the lone loss.

“It feels real good,” said Benilde-St. Margaret’s head coach Colin Mulcahy, whose Red Knights won the program’s first state title since 2007. “Totino came out with a great game plan, and they put up a fight. But our boys did what they had to do.”

Senior attack Bailey Dodds scored three goals, senior attack Ryan Butts had a goal and an assist and three other players added a goal each Friday for the Red Knights, who finished the year 16-1.

Benilde-St. Margaret’s also got another standout performance from sophomore goalie Thomas Gilligan, who made 15 saves. In the semifinals and final, Gilligan allowed just six goals and stopped 27 shots.

“His play was unbelievable,” Mulcahy said. “He picked up all-tournament honors, and he definitely deserved it.”

Gilligan’s counterpart, Totino-Grace senior goalie Ryan Zeilinger, also made 15 saves, leading a defense that Eagles head coach Justin Hoban called “incredible” in holding the Red Knights to less than 10 goals for the first time this year.

There was no score until Dodds scored on an extra-man opportunity with 1:01 left in the first period. Butts scored 59 seconds into the second period, and Dodds scored twice more before halftime to give Benilde-St. Margaret’s a 4-0 lead at the break. The Red Knights increased that lead to 7-1 after three quarters, essentially putting the game away.

Senior attack Chad Ledy and senior middies Giuseppe Palermo and Nik Colpitts each had one goal for Totino-Grace, which saw its nine-game winning streak and inspiring playoff run come to an end.

After a 3-10 2009 campaign, the Eagles compiled a 15-4 record this year – with three of the losses coming to Benilde-St. Margaret’s. Making its first state final appearance, Totino-Grace gave Benilde-St. Margaret’s its best shot before falling. So after the sting of Friday’s loss subsides, Totino-Grace should be able to take pride in what was the best season in program history.

“I think I’m already there, and I’m hoping the boys can do that in time – they took it very hard tonight,” Hoban said. “It is an amazing turnaround. It’s a complete testament to the amount of work this group of seniors has put in. To go from a 3-10 season and turn around and be second in the state and play the best team to a 7-3 game and hold them to below 10 goals for the first time all year, it’s something that will be a highlight of my coaching career. And I hope the boys can think of it like that at some point too.”

Benilde-St. Margaret’s, meanwhile, can savor a dominating season. The Red Knights out-scored their opponents 277-68, and 12 of their victories came by nine or more goals.

“It feels real good,” Mulcahy said. “After the game, I kept telling the seniors, ‘This was four years in the making.’ This one was for them. They started out on a mission and came out successful.”