Northern Minnesota Players Win Awards

Duluth Midfielder Bryce Holak

Several Northern Minnesota lacrosse players earned individual awards this season led by Duluth junior midfielder Bryce Holak who was named All-American by the MBSLA coaches.  Holak becomes the second Northern Minnesota player to be named All-American after Duluth midfielder Cooper Carlson was named All-American last season.

Northern Minnesota players joining Holak on the All-State team include Duluth senior attack Dan O' Connell, Duluth senior Defense August Cadotte, Duluth senior LSM Mike Nowicki, Grand Rapids senior defenseman Logan Anderson and Grand Rapids senior goalie Tyler Altringer.  St. Cloud North midfielder Carter Kasianov and Red River Valley FOGO Mike Schlanser were also named to the All-State team.

The 2015 MBSLA North All-Conference First Team:

Daniel O'Connell	Duluth	Attack
Luke Hannan	Proctor	Attack
Riley Jensen	Grand Rapids	Attack
Carter Kasianov	St. Cloud North	Midfield
Bryce Holak	Duluth	Midfield
Zach Zierden	Duluth	Midfield
Logan Anderson	Grand Rapids	Defense
August Cadotte	Duluth	Defense
Jacob Parker	Duluth	Defense
Mike Schlanser	Red River Valley	FOGO
Mike Nowicki	Duluth	LSM
Tyler Altringer	Grand Rapids	Goalie

North All-Conference Honorable Mention:

Joel Haggard	Red River Valley	Midfield
Sean Manahan	Duluth	Attack
Brady McDonald	Grand Cities	Defense
Jesse Larson	Duluth	Attack
Mitchell Pelkey	Duluth	Goalie
Austin Steere	Grand Rapids	LSM
Tron Trondson	St. Cloud North	Midfield
Evan Wiemken	Red River Valley	Attack

Duluth Wins First State Championship!

The Duluth Chargers won their first MBSLA State Championship in club history Saturday June 13

Duluth Chargers Celebrate their State Championship Victory!

with an 8-6 victory over Hudson.  The Chargers avenged an early season 7-6 loss to Hudson with their win in the final game.  Trailing 4-3 at halftime, the Chargers controlled play in the second half to come away with the victory.  Moving the ball well and with a balanced attack that saw 7 different Chargers players score a goal in the game, Duluth controlled possession in the 2nd half allowing them to come back from the one goal halftime deficit.  It was the first state championship ever for a Northern Minnesota lacrosse team.

With the victory, the Chargers were able to capture their first title.  It was a culmination of steady improvement for the club and with numerous seniors, it was a fitting end to their stellar lacrosse careers.  Having come away with 3rd place two years ago and a runners-up 2nd place finish to St. Louis Park last season, this years championship was satisfying. 

The Duluth Chargers JV squad fell short of their own championship season with a 9-6 loss to Hudson, the only team to beat the JV squad this season.

MBSLA Top 10 After 6 Weeks

There's been a little movement in the MBSLA Top 10 in the last couple of weeks.  The top 3 teams remain the same with Hudson maintaining their #1 spot, Duluth at #2 and Red River Valley at #3.  Duluth did defeat Red River Valley convincingly 15-7 two weeks ago in Moorhead.  St. Cloud North jumps from #6 to #4 with a one goal 6-5 win over Grand Rapids last week.  Grand Rapids remains at #5 based primarily on their narrow head-to-head loss to St. Cloud North.  Becker climbs one spot to #6 despite a 14-5 loss to Duluth last week.  Proctor falls down to #7 after a narrow loss to Red River Valley and Grand Rapids.  St. Paul comes in at #8.

MBSLA Top10 After 4 Weeks

After a couple more weeks of play, there's been a little shake up in the Top 10.  Hudson remains at the top after a couple more wins including a decisive victory over former #2 Becker and good wins over St. Paul and Grand Rapids.  Duluth remains at #2.  Red River moves up to #3, jumping over Proctor on the strength of their undefeated record and Proctor's dismal loss to Duluth.  Grand Rapids also moves up a spot with a strong 12-6 win over Becker in Grand Rapids.  St. Cloud North also beat Becker and they move up a spot.  Becker drops all the way from #2 to #7 after losses to Hudson, Grand Rapids and St. Cloud North.

UMD Lacrosse Awaits Word of National Tourney Bid

Updated: 05/01/2015 1:53 AM
Created: 05/01/2015 1:50 AM WDIO.com
By: Eyewitness Sports 



Duluth, Minn. - They added to their rich tradition with a 10th straight Upper Midwest Lacrosse Conference title, which was also the 18th in the last 21 years for UMD's club lacrosse team.

"We are a family and this is one of the closest teams that I have been on here in Duluth," says senior Seth Noble.

The team practiced early Thursday morning on-campus at Malosky Stadium as nationals could be next for them. UMD defeated Minnesota for the UMLC Title last weekend and this weekend, they'll find out if they'll get an at-large bid to the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) National Tournament in Southern California.

"Especially being a senior coming in to my last year, I am not quite ready to give up the dream playing lacrosse and it would mean the world to me," says senior Jared Klapperich.

"We put in the most we could for our games and we won the ones we could and we'll just see how it all plays out," says senior Jason Peltier.

UMD has participated at nationals 14 times, including last season.

The Upper Midwest Lacrosse Conference is made up of teams from programs mostly in the state of Minnesota. For more details, click here.

Northland College in Ashland, WI adding NCAA Lacrosse

Northland College in Ashland, WI is adding Men's and Women's lacrosse!  Northland will play at the NCAA Division III level.  This will be the first NCAA lacrosse program in the northland and will be an exciting development for lacrosse in the North.  Lacrosse at Northland will help grow the game and provide an NCAA venue for Northland area lacrosse players to play at a great academic institution. Article below:

Northland College to build lacrosse/soccer stadium

Apr 29, 2015

Northland College announced the addition of men’s and women’s lacrosse along with the construction of a multi-million dollar lacrosse and soccer stadium. Stadium construction will begin in July and is slated for completion by the end of the year. 

The College is currently recruiting lacrosse coaches and players and will be on the NCAA Division III schedule next spring. Played on a field with a stick and rubber ball, lacrosse is closely related to basketball, soccer and hockey, report experts.

“We are thrilled to add such a vibrant, fast-paced sport to our roster,” said Athletic Director Kim Falkenhagen. “It’s an exciting time to be an athlete, booster and a spectator at Northland.”

Northland College trustee and alumnus Craig A. Ponzio donated money for the stadium and to re-engineer the current soccer field.

Designed by Rettler Corporation in Stevens Point, the stadium amenities include: 1,000-seat grandstand, concession area, Wi-Fi, lighting system, press box and restrooms. The existing soccer field will be upgraded to artificial turf for an extended playing season and will incorporate features that maintain the campus’ zero storm water discharge project.

Additional donors have gifted funds for the first three years of lacrosse.

“Northland will be the furthest north NCAA school with lacrosse which is great for the sport in this region — it will help raise awareness of lacrosse and bring in more fans and spectators,” said Sam Litman, who has been coaching lacrosse for the last 11 years at University of Minnesota-Duluth.

Lacrosse is the fastest-growing NCAA sport, according to U.S. Lacrosse, that produces an annual participation report. In fact, the number of lacrosse players has grown 194 percent since 2001 when they first started collecting data.

“This is a proud moment for Northland and for our athletes and fans,” said Northland College President Michael A. Miller. “Personally, I can’t wait to sit with fans and watch games from the grandstand.”

MBSLA Top 10 Week 2

After the second week of games, there's some shake up in the middle of the Top 10.  The top and bottom remain the same.  The top 3 spots remain the same.  Hudson picked up a couple more victories, as did Duluth.  Becker picked up their first win of the season with a 6-1 victory over St. Cloud North.  Proctor moved up to #4 with their 10-7 win over St. Cloud North.  Red River Valley also moved up from #7 to #5 with a pair of wins - 8-5 over Grand Rapids and 15-3 over Waconia.  After watching a little of the Red River-Grand Rapids game, it's clear that Red River Valley has some players and are improved over 2014.  Being the first game of the season for each team, it's tough to get a good gauge on where they're at.  Grand Rapids drops to #6 behind Red River Valley after their loss to them, but pick up a 15-2 win over St. Paul to bounce back on Sunday.  St. Cloud falls to 0-3 on the season, but after also watching them play over the weekend, it's clear they will be a good team this season, so they don't drop too far.  They had the unenviable task of playing the #3, #4 and #2 team in the rankings to open their season.  St. Cloud North will bounce back.  Wayzata moves into the Top 10 with a 2-1 record and St. Paul and Winona remain at #9 and #10.  Top match ups in the MBSLA this week include Proctor @ Becker, Red River Valley @ Wayzata and Grand Rapids @ Hudson.

MBSLA Top 10 after Week 2:

MBSLA Top 10 After the First Weekend

With the first weekend under our belts and only a few games played, there's already significant shake-up to the MBSLA Top 10. And it starts at the top! In what could be considered an upset, #3 Hudson defeated pre-season #1 Duluth in the first game of the season, 7-6.  With the win over the previously ranked #1 Duluth, Hudson moves into the top spot with Duluth moving down to #3.  If you beat the #1, you deserve the top spot!  This is Duluth's first regular season loss in two years, having posted perfect 13-0 records during the regular season the previous two seasons.  The 2015 season starts eerily similar to the 2014 season...

Duluth came back to defeat Winona in their second game 20-5.  Winona drops a couple of spots but we'll still keep them in the top 10.  With the lack of depth in the MBSLA this season, we still think Winona will be a top 10 team at the end of the season, and they ran into a pissed off Duluth team after their loss to Hudson.  St. Paul also picked up a win, so we'll move them up a spot just above Winona who will remain at 10.

It's a long season and only one weekend has been played.  There's a lot of time for improvement as the season progresses.

Get Fired Up for the New Season!

MBSLA Pre-Season Top 10

The MBSLA in 2015 will have the fewest number of teams in recent memory.  With only 14 teams competing in the MBSLA, the road to the championship game will be much less cluttered.

Northern Minnesota teams might compose half of the top 10 in 2015.  With a Duluth team, perhaps the strongest Duluth team in history, coming off a state championship appearance in 2014, it's likely we could see another northern team in the state championship game in 2015.  Grand Rapids and Proctor with some strong seniors should also be top contenders in 2015.  A Red River Valley team that showed improvement throughout the season last year should also be more competitive this year.  Grand Cities and Brainerd, after somewhat down years last season, also look to bounce back and see improved teams in 2015.

With St. Louis Park, last years champion, and St. Paul, two of the more historically strong teams in the MSBLA, moving up to the MSHSL, Duluth has to be the odds on favorite in 2015.  2015 also saw STMA move up to the MSHSL.  As the season begins this weekend, who will be the favorites to take home the title in 2015?

MBSLA Pre-Season Top 10:

1.  Duluth - Last years state runner-up is the top returning team after St. Louis Park moved on to the MSHSL.  Two years ago Duluth finished third, last year second and this year they hope to come out on top.  With offensive threats returning all over, their goalie and most of their defense, this years team should be better than last.  It's likely that this could be the best team Duluth has ever put on the field.  Will they live up to that billing?  With less competition this season, they should.  Duluth returns 2/3's of its starting Attack unit including All-State Honorable Mention attack senior Dan O' Connell and second team All-Conference senior Jesse Larson.  Junior Sean Manahan and sophomore Keijo Day, both vastly improved, will share the other attack position.  At midfield the Chargers will miss All-American performer Cooper Carlson, but will return All-State midfielder junior Bryce Holak along with first team All-Conference midfielder senior Zack Zierden and a host of other strong middies.  Zierden will have Carlson's big shoes to fill at the faceoff X as the Chargers primary faceoff man.  On Defense sophomore 1st team All-Conference goalie Mitchell Pelkey returns along with 1st team All-Conference performers senior LSM Mike Nowicki and senior defenseman August Cadotte along with second team defender junior Gage Kuhlmey and vastly improved senior defender Jacob Parker.  This years Duluth squad should have a clear shot at the Championship in 2015.  A tournament in Wisconsin in May might prove to be their toughest competition this season and should prepare them for their title push come June.  Who will stop them in 2015?

2.  Becker - Last years 3rd place team may be Duluth's toughest competition in 2015.  Two overtime losses to Duluth last season, including one in the MBSLA semifinal for the right to ascend to the title game, should give them all the incentive they need in 2015.  Unfortunately, Becker has some major pieces to fill after losing their top scorer, goalie and several other top performers due to graduation.  Fortunately for Becker, they do return one of the best players in the MBSLA in junior midfielder and All-State Honorable Mention, Milan Kent.  Becker also has third leading scorer senior attackman Cole Neu returning along with improved midfielder sophomore Cale MacMillan.  Becker lost some important pieces from a very good 2014 squad, but they should have the firepower to compete with Duluth and a shot at the state championship in 2015.  Two tilts with Duluth at the end of May should give us a good idea how strong this 2015 Becker squad will be.

3.  Hudson - Hudson can always be counted on to field a strong squad, and they should do so again in 2015.  The 2013 MBSLA State Champions will be shooting for a shot at another state championship in 2015.  With the loss of all-everything midfielder McKay Potter, Hudson will have to fill his capable faceoff and scoring role.  On the huge plus side, Hudson will amazingly return 9 of their top 10 scorers from last season including top scorer senior attack Adam Lipps and 3rd leading scorer junior midfielder William Reece III.  With much of their offense returning from last season and experienced defenseman junior Gabe Franck also returning, Hudson should make a push for another championship in 2015.  An early season tilt this Sunday April 12 against Duluth in Hudson, in the first game for both teams, should give us a good idea of the relative strength of each team in the early 2015 season.

4.  Grand Rapids - With several experienced seniors returning from a very good squad in 2014, Grand Rapids will push Duluth in the North and could also make a push for their first state championship appearance in 2015.  Grand Rapids will be led on offense by experienced seniors attack J.J. Rubesh and midfielders Riley Jensen and 1st team all-conference faceoff specialist Nic Zerfas.  Strong underclassmen, sophomore midfielder/attack Lane Anderson and sophomore attack Noah How will also add to Grand Rapids scoring punch.  There are also a number of young players ready to contribute to this years Grand Rapids offense.  On defense, Grand Rapids returns athletic and experienced senior 2nd team all-conference goalie, Tyler Altringer along with 2nd team all-conference defenseman senior Logan Anderson.  With experience returning and several younger players stepping up, Grand Rapids will be a challenger for the title in 2015.  A pair of games with Duluth in May should determine who controls the North in 2015.

5.  Proctor - Proctor continued to improve in 2014 and should do so again in 2015.  Led by strong and talented attackman, 1st team all-conference and all-state honorable mention senior Luke Hannan, Proctor will be a tough team to beat in 2015.  Proctor did lose some pieces due to graduation, but return enough talent that they should compete well this season.  Second team all-conference attack/middie senior Ryan McDougall will pair with Hannan on offense while the defense will be anchored by first team all-conference senior Jake Wick and second team all-conference pole senior Colton Adams.  With good talent returning, Proctor should remain in the top tier for the duration of the 2015 season.

6.  St. Could North - After the top 5 in the MBSLA this season, things start to get a little murky.  St. Could North can usually be counted on to produce a solid team each year.  In 2015, they should once again find a spot in the Top 10.  Leading scorer, senior first team all-conference attack Carter Kasianov returns to anchor the offense.  If St. Cloud North can replace some of the scorers they lost to graduation, they should be able to remain in the top 10.

7.  Red River Valley - Last season Red River Valley saw some improvement as the season progressed.  Can Red River carry that over into the 2015 season?  If they continue to improve, we can see them remaining in the top 10 for the season.

8.  Winona - Winona is a team that I see as being that team every year that surprises people.  Winona didn't have a varsity squad in 2014, but their JV team won the MBSLA JV state championship over Hudson.  With many of their top scorers from the JV championship team returning, including their top 3 scorers senior Marcus Kuhlman, junior Matt Schoh and senior John Rickoff, we could see them winning enough games this season to remain in the top 10.  An early season test this weekend against Duluth should give them an idea where they stack up.

9.  Waconia - Waconia finished last season 4-4.  Whether they'll be a threat to the top teams in the MBSLA remains to be seen, but we anticipate improvement for Waconia over last season.  Waconia is starting to develop a youth program and we should start to see improvement at the highest level as those more experienced young players trickle into the high school ranks.  An April 19 tilt against Duluth will give them an idea how they'll compete this season against the top teams.

10.  St. Paul - Not much is known about this years St. Paul team.  They should be severely weakened with most of their best and most experienced players playing for their MSHSL squad.  However, St. Paul is a historic program with years of success, so we put them here at 10 to recognize that history of success.  As the season progresses, we should get a little better idea who should be in the top 10.

This pre-season ranking is a best effort and certainly not definitive.  To come up with our rankings, we looked at last years performance, the number of seniors lost, top scorers and players returning from last year and returning all-conference and all-state performers.  Please feel free to comment on the rankings and let us know why we're right or why we're wrong.

Inter-city lacrosse rivalry restarting after 103 years

Article by: JACK SATZINGER , Star Tribune

On June 30, 1883, players from the St. Paul Lacrosse Club strode onto a field on the corner of 4th Avenue and 10th Street in downtown Minneapolis clad in solid-colored jerseys. Their opponent, the Minneapolis Lacrosse Club, wasn’t far behind wearing caps and carrying hickory-carved lacrosse sticks that resembled fishing nets more than modern sticks.

St. Paul won 3-0 in the first-ever contest between the two teams. Minneapolis and St. Paul will meet again at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Washburn High School — marking the return of a 132-year-old lacrosse rivalry.

The 1883 St. Paul Lacrosse Club team

“It’s going to continue to be a great rivalry,” St. Paul Bobcats coach Ben Mooney said. “It’s going to be tremendous.”

This year Mooney and Minneapolis coach Aron Lipkin both have sanctioned teams for the first time, giving Minneapolis and St. Paul public high school students a chance to play lacrosse. Becoming sanctioned has helped both teams out in several ways, including gaining funding.

“Our clubs ran at a deficit for as long as I can remember,” said Lipkin, whose team is called the Inner-City Warriors. “We fundraised a lot; coaches usually went unpaid.”

Alan Childs, the author of “Minnesota Lacrosse A History,” which will be published in June, said Minneapolis and St. Paul were traditionally the state’s two best teams. They regularly played each other for the Minnesota Cup — the trophy that went to the state champions.

But in 1912, the games stopped. People wanted to put on ice skates.

“Hockey kind of took over in the 20th century,” Childs said.

Now, hockey and lacrosse coexist. With the help of such programs as Lipkin’s Homegrown Lacrosse and the Minnesota Swarm pro team, more Minnesota athletes are opting for lacrosse.

“The sport’s growing because of the great alternative to hockey. It’s a great countersport. I think the hockey kids are seeing they can play another physical game in spring instead of playing a more laid-back game of baseball,” said Cory Childs, Alan’s son and the Burnsville High School boys’ lacrosse coach.

When the Bobcats and Inner-City Warriors play Saturday the uniforms, sticks and rules will be very different from those of 1883. But Minnesota lacrosse aficionados hope both teams return to the level of play they once reached together.

Regardless, a tradition will be renewed.

“We’re back to where we were,” Alan Childs said. “The cities are back to having rival teams and, hopefully, can build up a rivalry again.”

Jack Satzinger is a University of Minnesota student reporter on assignment for the Star Tribune.

Lacrosse on CBS Sunday Morning Show

Recap of the 2014 Northern Lacrosse Season

The 2014 Northern Minnesota lacrosse season was one of firsts.  The first time a northern Minnesota

Duluth players celebrating Dan O' Connell's game winning goal

team advanced to the MBSLA State Championship, the first time a northern Minnesota varsity team defeated a MSHSL team, the first time a northern Minnesota player became an All-American and the first time a northern Minnesota player committed to play lacrosse at the NCAA Division 1 level.

The Duluth Chargers dominated the northern Minnesota lacrosse scene, moving through the regular season with the second undefeated regular season in a row.  Their season started with a bang, defeating defending MBSLA state champion Hudson in convincing fashion the first weekend of the season, 13-4.  After bulldozing their way through their regular season with one dominating win after the other, the Chargers from Duluth met traditional MSHSL power Totino-Grace on the Benild-St. Margarets field.  Duluth came away with an exciting 6-5 overtime win.  Duluth then followed that up with a pair of exciting wins over eventual MBSLA 3rd place team, Becker.  In the first contest, Duluth came away with a 12-11 overtime win.  In the second, Duluth again defeated Becker, 10-9 in

Duluth's Cooper Carlson

OT for the right to advance to the MBSLA State Championship game.  In the state championship game, Duluth would fall to St. Louis Park 12-6.  Duluth made the game interesting, tying it up early in the 3rd quarter 3-3 before faceoff man extraordinaire Carlos Suguenza decided to take over the game.  Northern Minnesota had 4 teams ranked in the MBSLA top 10 to end the season. 

Northern Minnesota also saw their first all-american when Duluth midfielder Cooper Carlson was named to the team.  Northern Minnesota also placed 3 players on the all-state team when Duluth's Cooper Carlson, midfielder Bryce Holak and defenseman Seamus Mackinaw were named to the team.  Duluth's attack Dan O' Connell and Proctor's attack Luke Hannan were named to the

Duluth Midfielder Bryce Holak

all-state Honorable Mention team.

And, in the Fall of 2014, northern Minnesota saw it's first NCAA Division I recruit verbally commit to a college when Duluth's junior midfielder Bryce Holak announced his commitment to play for the University of Massachusetts - Lowell.  With this announcement, more players are seeking to improve their game and recruiting prospects by participating on select lacrosse teams and working to be the next northern Minnesota player to commit to a high level NCAA university. 

Lacrosse is continuing to grow in northern Minnesota and the prospects for more exciting lacrosse in the north are very high for the coming season.  Skill levels are improving, more players are playing and lacrosse will soon be an officially sanctioned sport at the high school level in northern Minnesota.  Here's to another exciting lacrosse season in 2015!

Lacrosse - America's Fastest Growing Sport!

Lacrosse Is Actually America’s Fastest-Growing Sport

In the past decade, participation in high-school lacrosse has exploded. Maybe it’s really America’s sport of the future.

posted on June 30, 2014, at 5:20 p.m.

John Templon

BuzzFeed News Reporter

Tweet

More Americans than ever are watching the World Cup, making soccer seem like sport’s flavor of the month. But at the high school level, it’s a different sport that’s truly taking off.

Justine Zwiebel / BuzzFeed

Between the 2008-09 and 2012-13 school years, participation in high-school lacrosse grew 19 percent among girls (to more than 77,000 players) and 15 percent among boys (to nearly 102,000 players), according to data from the National Federation of State High School Associations analyzed by BuzzFeed. Over the past decade, the trend is even stronger, with participation more than doubling over that time.

Among sports with at least 10,000 high schoolers, lacrosse has had the highest growth rate since 2009. Other growth sports include 8-player football (up 12 percent), cross country (up 8 percent for both boys and girls), soccer (up 8 percent for girls, up 7 percent for boys), and girls bowling (up 7 percent).
“There are two main reasons for the trend,” said Rick Burton, the Falk Professor of Sport Management at Syracuse University, about the rise in popularity of lacrosse. “One is that lacrosse is being developed as a gender neutral sport. It’s a virtually identical game between men and women. Two, it’s an active, contemporary game. It’s not based on set plays with limitations of where people can play.”
Despite lacrosse’s reputation as a preppy, Northeast-centric sport, the sport grew the most in the Midwest and South. Between 2009 and 2013, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio saw the largest percentage increases in participation. And there’s an opportunity for much more growth: In 32 states, fewer than 1,000 students played high-school lacrosse during the 2012-13 school year, according to the NFHS data.

Justine Zwiebel / BuzzFeed

“It’s been a major sport in upstate New York and the Baltimore area for the past 40 years,” Burton said. “There are now a critical mass of people who were on the East Coast moving to the Midwest.”

In raw numbers, of course, lacrosse still has a long way to go before catching up with soccer — which sported approximately four times as many high school players as lacrosse last school year — not to mention football (1,086,627 boys in 2012-13), basketball (538,676), or baseball (474,791).
The explosive growth of lacrosse seems to have trickled up to the collegiate level, too. Sixty-four colleges started new lacrosse programs in 2012-13, according to the NCAA.