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Monticello 8, Chisago Lakes 7
The Chisago Lakes girls lacrosse team suffered their first loss of the season, a narrow 8-7 defeat at the hands of Monticello on Tuesday, May 11.

The normally high-powered Wildcat offense started well, scoring five goals in the opening half while building up a 6-1 lead.

But, the offense went a bit cold in the second half, scoring only two goals while the Magic chipped away and eventually took the lead.

“We were up on Monticello and we got complacent.  With a draw after each goal, lacrosse can really be a momentum game and we were on the short side of that for the first time this year,” Head Coach Todd Phillips said. “I think the consensus among the team, coaches and fans is that it was good for us.  Adversity is something you need to learn to overcome, both in lacrosse and in life.  The conversations among our leadership group on the bus ride home were encouraging.”

Abby Sprado and Hailey Kretsch remained the lynchpins on offense, combining for six of CL’s seven goals, and two assists. Sara Smith got the other score for CL.

Chisago Lakes 14, Becker 13
The offense rebounded well in CL’s match up with the Becker Bulldogs on Thursday, May 13, but the defense had a bit of a tough time stopping Becker in what became a thriller of a game. CL had beat the Bulldogs 12-3 earlier this year, so although they kept pace with their offensive output from early in the season, it was concerning that Becker was able to score at the pace they did in this game.

Sprado had 10 points to keep her tear of a season going. She had eight goals and two assists. Kretsch added two goals and two assists and Anna Hanson’s two goals, with solo scores from Syd Boyle and Kamryn Peterson helped in the supporting effort for the ‘Cats close win.
“Becker was a bit of a hangover from the Monticello game.  We were down by two at half to a team we beat handily earlier in the year,” Phillips said after the contest. “Abby put the team on her back and scored eight goals, but it was really a team effort.  Megan Adams and Makenna Olson also showed a level of hustle in the second half that other teams frankly don't have - I think their effort will be contagious going forward.

“We had a great conversation about the week in practice — once we were able to catch our breath and reflect — and I think the team was able to get their heads around what was different from week one to last week.  It's not talent, we have gotten better each day.  It's getting that fire back in our belly - treating each game like it's the state tournament.”

The ‘Cats hosted Rocori earlier this week before taking on Sartell and Big Lake in back-to-back nights on Thursday and Friday. Eventually, Chisago Lakes will take on Monticello again in the regular season finale on Thursday, May 27.

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