Boys lacrosse: Big third lifts undefeated Irish past Mayo, 9-6

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After beating Simley 22-2 last week, the Rosemount boys lacrosse team was feeling good about its first true offensive explosion of the season.

The Irish were undefeated and knew they would end up having a strong offensive team this season.

Yet, perhaps the best thing Rosemount could have done was forgetting the way it had beaten Simley. Winning like it did against Simley is often a one-game aberration.

“It was fun,” Irish coach Lance Kuehn said. “We won all the stats we wanted to win. It turned out essentially like a controlled practice. We had to refocus after that one.”

Rosemount beat Burnsville 13-11 earlier in the week before soundly beating Simley. Two days later, the Irish beat Rochester Mayo, 9-6.

While Rosemount (4-0) didn’t hit double digits against Rochester Mayo, there were still glimpses of the offensive potential. Rochester Mayo scored four times in the first and led 5-2 at halftime.

The Irish then scored seven times in the third period to pull away.

“It was nice to see how the guys came back with the fire and drive,” Kuehn said. “I do believe we can play every game like we did in the third quarter. If we did that, we could be unstoppable. If it weren’t for the penalties it would have been a different game.”

Rosemount had eight penalty minutes in the first half and just two minutes in penalties in the second half.

“It’s tough when you’re playing a third of the game a man down,” Kuehn said. “We cleaned it up in the second half. Jake Mortenson took it upon himself. He had five minutes and three on an illegal stick which took a goal away. He knew he hurt the team and he came back and helped the team quite a bit in the third.”

Mortenson, Carter Yepsen and Grant Van Overbeke each had three goals. Mortenson added two assists and had 12 shots on goal. Matt Weller had two assists, while Chase Olson made six saves in goal for the Irish.

“We talk about how if you want to be winners, when you’re down you have to find a way to come back up,” Kuehn said. “You look at the stats and they did that, scoring five goals within three minutes of each other.”

Against Simley, 11 players scored for Rosemount. Yepsen scored five goals. Weller and Van Overbeke each had four goals and Logan Lindberg scored twice.

Kyle Bodine, Matt Johnson, and Sam Richardville each scored their first varsity goals. Mitch Anderson, Alec Hall and Mortenson also scored. Olson made eight saves and Tyler Voelker had two saves.

“It wasn’t the cleanest game we’ve ever played,” Kuehn said. “Some JV guys came out and were able to play with their varsity. It’s nice to see the talent coming up.”

The win against Simley offered another glimpse into how far the Irish have come since their first season. After the weekend, Rosemount was undefeated through each level with a combined 10-0 record.

“Simley’s had a team as long as we have,” Kuehn said. “Our JV guys were able to play with their varsity guys, which tells me we’ve taken the right steps the last few years in developing top-to-bottom. As a side note, our ninth- and 10th-grade teams won.

“In their first year, those teams never scored. The second year they scored but didn’t win and now they’ve won both their games right out of the chute. It shows the Rosemount program is developing in the right direction.

Weller had five goals against Burnsville, while Van Overbeke had four goals. Lindberg, Mortenson, Carter Yepsen and Conner Yepsen each scored one goal.

Tags: boys lacrosse, sports, rosemount, irish, prep