Boys lacrosse: An eye-opening loss

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Rosemount’s Jake Mortenson fights off an Apple Valley defender during a 15-10 home win last week. The Irish now stand at 8-1 after a 15-12 loss to Eagan Monday.

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This season was going along so well for the Rosemount boys lacrosse team, Irish coach Lance Kuehn believes a loss on Monday might help his squad for the long term.

Rosemount had won its first eight games of the season. In fact, among all three levels, the Irish were 20-0-2 to start this season.

A 15-12 loss at Eagan on Monday stopped the Rosemount varsity’s eight-game, season-opening winning streak, but Kuehn is hoping his players take something from the loss.

“It was good for us to get a reality check, that we are able to be beat,” Kuehn said. “It’s difficult. We didn’t want to lose. But we know the mistakes we made and we know how to fix them so we can go on from here and win.”

The Irish (8-1, 4-1 South Suburban) continued their winning ways last week with a 15-6 win at Eastview and a 15-10 win at home against Apple Valley.

However, the 15-12 loss to Eagan might do more for Rosemount over the long haul.

“We’ll put it in the past and move on,” Kuehn said. “On a positive note, it’s the first time we’ve had a lead on Eagan. It’s the closest we’ve ever been to them. Compare us against Eagan, its still improvement against years past.”

Matt Well had five goals for the Irish and Grant Van Overbeke added four goals.

Logan Lindberg scored twice and Jake Mortenson had a goal and four assists

The Irish led 6-3 after the first period and 10-8 at halftime, but were held scoreless in the third quarter as Eagan took control.

“We’ve got to play all four quarters,” Kuehn said. “We had a lead. We have to make sure we play all four quarters like we play our best quarters. That was our big concern. We started focusing on what they were doing instead of what we were doing.”

The third-quarter struggles might have been the biggest shock. Big third-quarter efforts have become commonplace for Rosemount.

The Irish scored five goals in the third against Apple Valley last week to pull away.

Weller and Van Overbeke each had four goals. Lindberg had three goals and Mortenson scored twice. Alec Hall had a goal, and Carter Yepsen had a goal and three assists.

“One of the things we started doing this year is taking more stats like shot location, who is shooting and where from, ground balls, all that stuff,” Kuehn said. “More like football with first half stats and we discuss them at halftime. It’s part of having more knowledge. We have more coaching staff up in the box and we adjust to those things we see after halftime.”

Another strong third quarter helped Rosemount post it’s first-ever win against Eastview.

The Irish scored eight goals in the third.

Weller had five goals. Carter Yepsen finished with three goals and four assists.

Mortenson had three goals. Lindberg and Van Overbeke each had two goals.

Chase Olson had 14 saves and saved 70 percent of the shots he faced.

“Never before had I seen in my five years more energy than we had at the start and finish of that game,” Kuehn said. “It was a game the players were striving to win. We always want to beat Eastview. Again, it was another great third period. Chase had one of his best games. He came back with a vengeance. It was a high-end game. I loved it. It was so much fun.”

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