This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

BSM Takes 10-9 Thriller From Blake

Benilde-St. Margaret's Christian Rekow scored the game-winner with 1:27 to play.

Top-ranked won a 10-9 thriller over No. 3 Blake at home Tuesday, but both teams seemed to sense this was only the first round this season in what is undoubtedly one of Minnesota's premier boys lacrosse rivalries.

Tied heading into the final two minutes, BSM senior midfielder Christian Rekow lunged for the left corner of the net and drove in the game winner with 1:27 to play, powering the ball at point-blank range past Blake's standout senior goalie Grant Dressen.

Blake got two strong chances to tie in the final 87 seconds, but couldn't find the back of the net.

Find out what's happening in St. Louis Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Benilde-St. Margaret's improved to 8-0 on the season, while Blake suffered its first loss and dropped to 6-1.

Though both teams lost a number of stars from 2010, this game felt very much like a continuation of last season's epic battles. Blake nipped BSM by one in the regular season last spring, the Red Knights' only loss of the season. But BSM came back to crush the Bears in the section finals en route to a 2010 state championship.

Find out what's happening in St. Louis Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"After the game I said keep your focus, because last year we were in the same position, except roles reversed" said Benilde-St. Margaret's head coach Colin Mulcahy. "We lost by one goal last year and now its our turn. We won by one goal tonight. So they have to keep their focus. I told them come playoff time if we meet Blake again, they're going to come out just as hungry as we did last year."

With both teams in the same section again, another rematch seems a good bet.

Blake led 2-1 after one quarter, but much to the delight of a large and raucous BSM student section, the Red Knights powered in three goals in the final two minutes of the first half to take a 5-3 lead at the break. That lead grew to 8-4 with 11:41 remaining.

But the Bears refused to play dead. Led by senior standout George Ordway, the Bears stormed back with four straight goals to tie the game at 8-8 with 7:18 to play.

"That was a tough stretch," said BSM senior midfielder Taylor Topousis. "But we bounced back in the fourth quarter."

Each side put in another goal to set the stage for the dramatic final two minutes.

"They never stopped," Mulcahy said of his team. "Defensively, they made it an excellent game. Blake was able to get a few man-up goals, but our 6-on-6 play was defensively outstanding tonight."

Will Hoesley, the state's leading scorer, led Benilde-St. Margaret's with four goals, a total matched by Blake's Ordway. Rekow added three goals and an assist for the Red Knights.

"It felt great," said Topousis. "It was a big win. It was a really tough game out there, though."

"I think we possessed the ball very well and then we also played as a team," added senior Peter Schubloom. "The majority of our goals, probably 75 percent of them, were assisted. That's key. If you can get that many assisted goals that means you're working as a team, and they can't shut off one person."

Benilde-St. Margaret's now has a week off before playing at Totino-Grace next Tuesday, May 10, starting at 7 p.m.

Blake                                  2     1     1     5     --     9

Benilde-St. Margaret's     1     4     2     3     --     10

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?