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A furious fourth-quarter rally helped the Chisago Lakes boys lacrosse team erase a two-goal deficit and escape Monticello with a 10-9 road victory on Tuesday, May 12.

The Wildcats trailed 8-6 heading into the final quarter before putting together their strongest stretch of the night, outscoring the Magic 4-1 over the final 12 minutes to complete the comeback.

Liam Sullivan and Austin Slettom powered the Chisago Lakes offense throughout the evening. Sullivan scored four goals and added an assist, while Slettom finished with two goals and three assists.

Monticello opened the game with a balanced attack and the teams battled to a 2-2 tie after the first quarter. Chisago Lakes found more rhythm offensively in the second quarter behind Sullivan and Landon Kerkow, but the Magic answered each run and the score remained deadlocked at 5-5 by halftime.

The third quarter belonged to the Magic. James Dechene and Donovan Zepeda sparked the Magic offense during a 3-1 run that gave the home team an 8-6 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Facing their largest deficit of the night, the Wildcats responded quickly. The ‘Cats buried a pair of key goals early in the fourth quarter and then added two more late as they seized momentum and were able to hold off Monticello. 

Kerkow finished with three goals, while Oliver Bushweiler added an assist for Chisago Lakes.

Defensively, Carson Purdy led the Wildcats with four ground balls, while Drake Nelson collected three. Chisago Lakes also received steady play in net from Chase Miller, who recorded nine saves.

The victory capped one of Chisago Lakes’ most resilient performances of the season and propelled them to a three game winning streak as they followed with a 14-7 win over Andover and a 15-5 win over Hastings to pull to .500 on the year at 9-9.

The ‘Cats will close out their regular season with a tough test at Mounds View on Thursday, May 21 at 5:30 before heading into Section 7 play.

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