MINNESOTA STATE HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE BOYS

The Team to Beat: Eden Prairie

Over the past few seasons, the Eagles have consistently been the best team to not win the state championship. Last season, Eden Prairie gave eventual unbeaten state champion Minnetonka its biggest scare in the playoffs before falling by a goal.

This season, the Eagles return seven starters, including all three first-line middies, two attackmen and two defensemen. Eden Prairie will be led by its dynamite twin tandem of junior middie Mitch Hugdahl and junior attackman Matt Hugdahl. Mitch Hugdahl has already committed to play NCAA Division I lacrosse at Georgetown, and Matt Hugdahl is Eden Prairie’s top returning scorer.

Eden Prairie will also get big contributions from junior attackman Davis Snyder, senior defenseman Ben Gavin and junior long-stick middie Curt Ray.

Contenders: Benilde-St. Margaret’s, Blake School, Eastview, Minnetonka, Eagan, Breck

The Red Knights may have graduated 12 seniors from last year’s middle-of-the-road team, but Benilde-St. Margaret’s has the talent to fight for the top. Benilde-St. Margaret’s has more NCAA Division I-bound seniors than any other program in the state, with attackmen Bailey Dodds and Ryan Butts both heading to Sacred Heart and middie Sean O’Toole destined for Lafayette. The Red Knights return five starters, including two on attack and two on defense, and they will also get important contributions from senior middie Chase Mlnarik, senior defenseman John Jaeger and junior defenseman Adam Clark.

Blake School graduated just five seniors off last year’s team that fell one goal short in the state semifinals. The Bears return six starters, including two on attack and two first-line middies, and they will be led by a future NCAA Division I goalie in Harvard-bound senior Lowell Fluke. Junior attackman George Ordway has been a major contributor since his freshman season, and junior defenseman Ben Bennett, senior attackman Rob Barnhart and junior long-stick middie Joel Pinedo will also be impact players for Blake.

State-finalist Eastview, which has won three straight Section 3 titles, graduated eight seniors and brings back half its starting lineup. Eastview will be led by one of the state’s best in Johns Hopkins-bound senior middie Rex Sanders, the 18th-ranked senior in the Western United States. Sanders will be joined by senior middie Justin Vossen, senior defenseman Keaton Palo and senior goalie Ryan O’Shea.

Defending state champion Minnetonka enters the season on an 18-game winning streak, but the Skippers graduated 14 seniors and bring back just three starters. Minnetonka went wire-to-wire as the state’s No. 1-ranked team last season, but with all the Skippers lost to graduation, they will surely lose at least once this year. However, junior face-off middie Parker Weinstock, junior middie Chase Fisher, senior defenseman Anthony Boyce and senior middie Jake Rossman will make certain this team at least stays competitive.

Eagan graduated 13 seniors, but that is a deceptive number because the Wildcats return eight starters. Eagan brings back two of its attackmen, all three first-line middies and all three of its starting defensemen from a team that went 12-4 last season. Eagan also anticipates having the most seniors its ever had in program history, 23, on its roster. Senior middie Willie Hersman, senior defenseman John Opsahl, senior attackman Chris Bowen and senior middie Brad Dubbink will lead the way.

Hank Marotske, who led Blake to two state championships, is the new head coach at Breck. Marotske will be the third head coach in the last three seasons for the Mustangs, and he has inherited a team that returns a lot of talent from its 12-3 squad of a year ago. Junior attackman Andrew Dines, junior middie Steven Kiesel and senior middie Michael Mooney are Breck’s top dogs.

Sleeper: Totino Grace

The Eagles suffered through a difficult 3-10 season last year, but this year is going to be totally different. Totino Grace graduated five seniors and returns nine starters, including all three first-line middies and all three defensemen. Head coach Justin Hoban said he anticipates up to 25 seniors will try out for the team, giving him unprecedented depth. Quinnipiac-bound senior middie Giuseppe Palermo will lead the way, along with senior defenseman Joe Hockert, senior middie Nik Colpitts and senior defenseman Kyle Mork.

NCAA Division I Recruits: Ryan Butts, Att., Benilde-St. Margaret’s (Sacred Heart); Bailey Dodds, Att., Benilde-St. Margaret’s (Sacred Heart); Lowell Fluke, G, Blake School (Harvard); Mitch Hugdahl, MF, Eden Prairie (Georgetown); Luke McNamara, MF, Holy Angels (Air Force); Sean O’Toole, MF, Benilde-St. Margaret’s (Lafayette); Giuseppe Palermo, MF, Totino Grace (Quinnipiac); Rex Sanders, MF, Eastview (Johns Hopkins); Parker Weinstock, MF, Minnetonka (Colgate).

Sanders is the first player from Minnesota to be ranked in the WSL Elite 25.

Other Top Players: Ben Alberts, Att., South Washington County; Rob Barnhart, Att., Blake School; Ben Bennett, Def., Blake School; Aaron Berg, Def., Wayzata; Andrew Blaeser, G, Champlin Park; Riley Boehm, MF, Eden Prairie; Anthony Boyce, Def., Minnetonka; Carson Cannon, Def., Stillwater; Jace Childs, Att., Burnsville; Tim Coyne, LSM, Centennial; Andrew Dines, Att., Breck; Nate Dopkins, MF, South Washington County; Grant Dressen, G, Blake School; Kolten Fischer, MF, Blake School; Chase Fisher, MF, Minnetonka; Eric Fong, Att., Wayzata; Ty Hakala, MF, Bloomington Jefferson; Andy Hauer, Def., Andover; Travis Heins, MF, White Bear Lake; Willie Hersman, MF, Eagan; Joe Hockert, Def., Totino Grace; Christian Horn, Att., Benilde-St. Margaret’s; Matt Hugdahl, Att., Eden Prairie; John Jaeger, Def., Benilde-St. Margaret’s; Nate Johnson, G, Maple Grove; Sean Keogh, Att., Wayzata; Steven Kiesel, MF, Breck; Charlie Lavin, Att., Edina; Sean Lee, Att., Mounds View; Chase Leinberger, Att., Minnetonka; Tyler Losiner, Att., Chaska; David Louis, G, Apple Valley; Jack Markusen, MF, Blake School; Greg Massey, Def., Edina; Jacob Matenar, MF, South Washington County; Jameson McGregor, MF, Wayzata; Chase Mlarnik, MF, Benilde-St. Margaret’s; Nathan Monsein, MF, Minneapolis; Michael Mooney, MF, Breck; Kyle Mork, Def., Totino Grace; Jack Mortell, Def., Blake School; Matt Murphy, Att., Eden Prairie; Pat Nagle, Def., Mounds View; Max Oberlander, G, Minneapolis; George Ordway, Att., Blake School; Keaton Palo, Def., Eastview; Tony Nelson, Att.-MF, Champlin Park (Mesa State); Joel Pinedo, LSM, Blake School; Jake Rossman, MF, Minnetonka; Peter Schubloom, MF, Benilde-St. Margaret’s; Mitch Sierrakowski, MF, Champlin Park; Zach Silvestri, LSM, Benilde-St. Margaret’s; Davis Snyder, Att., Eden Prairie; Tom Thielman, Att., Centennial; Matt Turner, Att., Holy Angels; Ryan Usher, LSM, Robbinsdale Armstrong (Merrimack); Stu Utter, Att.-MF, Minnetonka; Justin Vossen, MF, Eastview; David Woodley, Def., Bloomington Jefferson; Ryan Zeilinger, G, Totino Grace.

Preseason Top 10: 1. Eden Prairie, 2. Benilde-St. Margaret’s, 3. Blake School, 4. Eastview, 5. Minnetonka, 6. Eagan, 7. Breck, 8. Totino Grace, 9. Holy Angels, 10. Centennial.

Notes: Holy Angels is another sleeper to watch out for this season. The Stars are coming off a disappointing 4-10 season, but they bring back seven starters after having graduated just four seniors. Holy Angels returns all three of its starting attackmen and all three of its first-line middies. Air Force-bound senior attackman Luke McNamara will lead the team. His supporting cast includes senior long-stick middie/defenseman Austin Guyette, junior attackman Matt Turner, junior middie Bennett Courier-Oaster and junior middie Jack Brown....Wayzata will have a new head coach this season. Former Breck head coach Chad Herr has taken over the program after he led the Mustangs to a 12-3 record last season....Coming off a 16-1 season in which it reached the state semifinals and upset Blake in the state’s third-place game, nobody seems to be giving Centennial much respect. But the Cougars should not be counted out of the running after they graduated six players. Centennial brings back seven starters, including its entire defense. Senior attackman Tom Thielman, senior long-stick middie Tim Coyne, senior defenseman Mitch Horvat and senior middie Steven Lindner are four players to watch....Edina graduated 11 seniors and returns three starters from last year’s team. Senior goalie Phil Roberts, who has started since his freshman year, will be the most critical component to Edina’s prospects. Roberts will be joined by senior attackman Charlie Lavin, junior middie Joe Stafford and senior long-stick middie Greg Massey.