Northern Lacrosse Teams Fare Well in 2013

Northern Minnesota lacrosse teams represented the North well in 2013.  The Duluth Chargers

2013 MBSLA 3rd Place Duluth Chargers

completed the most successful season in Northern Minnesota lacrosse history by finishing the season winning the 3rd place game at the MBSLA State Tournament and sporting a 14-1 record in the MBSLA and 19-1 overall.  Duluth also became the first Northern Minnesota team to win the Grand Rapids Shootout tournament with their victory over Grand Rapids.  No matter who won that game, a Northern Minnesota team would have set a new standard.  The Grand Rapids JV team finished the MBSLA season as the JV Division runner-up, losing a closely contested game to Hudson in the Championship game.  Fargo won their first playoff game over St. Cloud North and Proctor made the playoffs for the first time in their two year history.  The North Division also had All-State selections in Duluth defenseman Tanner Fristsinger and honorable mention Fargo attackman Carter Schulke and Duluth midfielder Cooper Carlson.  It was good year for northern high school lacrosse in 2013!

2013 MBSLA Season Gets Underway...sort of

The 2013 MBSLA season is underway!  Well, sort of.  Late season snow and abnormally cold temperatures have forced many more cancellations and postponements of games than games played.  But, a few teams have been able to play games.

Fargo Warriors (in white) vs. Hellgate Knights in Billings, MT

St. Louis Park began the season as the #1 ranked team in the MBSLA and didn't disappoint with an 11-4 win over Becker.  Duluth, the #5 ranked team in the state, started the season with a bang, defeating STMA at the Husky Stadium dome in St. Cloud 15-0 behind balanced scoring and stifling defense.  They completed the weekend with a scrimmage against St. Cloud North at the Husky Stadium dome on Sunday.  Proctor then played STMA and dropped a close one 9-7.

Three Northern Minnesota teams traveled out of state to find games.  Both Fargo and Grand Cities traveled to Billings to participate in a tournament there.  Fargo proved they're for real and deserve

their spot in the Top 10, going 4-0 in the tournament and defeating defending Montana State Champion Hellgate.  Grand Cities also played well and finished the tournament 2-2.  St. Louis Park participated in the Billings tournament as well.

Finally, Grand Rapids traveled to Omaha, Nebraska to play over the weekend.  No word on how they fared, but they got to play lacrosse and that puts them ahead of most of the MBSLA teams in the state.

Hopefully teams will get a chance to play this weekend after this latest round of snow storms passes though.  Pray for sunshine, warm weather and NO MORE SNOW!!!

Fargo Warriors - 2013 Season Preview

2013 Northern Minnesota Lacrosse Season Preview

This week we will be previewing each of the MBSLA teams that make up the North Division.  Some big changes at a few schools while others try to continue their winning ways or make improvements over last season.  We start our previews today with the Fargo Warriors.

Fargo Warriors 2013 Season Preview

High School: Fargo ND

Coaches:

Ben Fairbanks - Head Coach - 3 Years
Sam Morse - Assistant Coach - 2 Years
Chase Suiter - Assistant Coach - 1 Year

Last Year's Record:

6-6 Conference
11-10 Season 

Key Returning Players:

Fargo  returns 6 of their starting 10 from last year.  The Warriors return several key players from last season.  The attack position will be led by Carter Schulke who was the 2012 MBSLA Scoring Champion.  Returning veterans on defense include long poles Travis Bruse and Joe Noah along with goalie Danny Evenson.  The midfield is position is a led by All Conference Member Ben Noah along with Arik Foster and Mike Schlanser.

Key Losses:

The Warriors graduated a large senior class from the 2012 season, including 1st Team All Conference members Aaron Monson, and Mike Kringle, and Second Teamers Aaron Vanyo and John Deelstra.

Key Newcomers:

This season, the Warriors have had the good fortune to have several players move into the Fargo area that have lacrosse backgrounds and experience.  The Halverson Brothers, Alek  and Conner, arrived in Fargo from Texas bringing with them a lot of talent to the offensive side of the ball.  Alek a senior, put up big numbers last season at attack, and his younger brother Conner beings speed to the midfield position.  Arriving from New York is senior Tanner Brandt who will bring his hard nose style of play to the defensive side of the ball.  Other newcomers who will look to make a name for themselves this season are midfielder Blake McGovern, and LSM Chase Schulke, as well as an athletic group of freshman talent.

Team Strengths:

Veteran leadership at the Attack position will be a strength for the Warriors.  They will look to control the pace of the game with their Attack unit and limit their opponents scoring opportunities with their veteran long poles.  Veteran goal tending will also be a key factor for success in 2013.

Games to Watch:

Big games this season will be against conference opponents Duluth and Grand Rapids as the top remaining teams from the 2012 Northern Division.  Another game to watch will be against fellow North Dakota opponent Grand Cities.  Coach Fairbanks says, "Their team continues to improve every time we see them and we look forward to seeing the what 2013 holds for this rivalry."

Season Outlook:

Coach Fairbanks is looking to start the Fargo Warriors season with a bang as they travel to a Billings Montana tournament April 12-14.  Fairbanks says, "We're looking forward forward to fresh competition early in the season to help get our feet wet and set the pace for the season."  He continues, "This will be a good opportunity to provide experience for a number of rookie players and promote veteran leadership within the team. Once we have those elements established we feel that our team has the skilled players and dedication to improve on last years records and earn another berth into the state tournament."

Fargo Fall Ball Tournament

Several Northern Minnesota lacrosse teams participated in the 2012 Fargo Fall Ball Tournament in Fargo on October 20-21. Brainerd, Fargo and Grand Cities joined Winnipeg for the first ever Fall lacrosse tournament to take place in Northern Minnesota.

 Brainerd finished as the runner-up in the tournament, losing to Winnipeg in the Championship game. Grand Cities began the tournament with a win over Fargo and then dropped consecutive games against Brainerd and Winnipeg. Congratulations to Winnipeg as the first Fargo Fall Ball Tournament champion! Looking forward to more lacrosse action in the North in the off-season.

Fargo Warriors - 2012 Northern Minnesota Lacrosse Season Preview

Team: Fargo Warriors - The Warriors are made up of players from Fargo, West Fargo, and Moorhead High Schools.

Coaches:
Ben Fairbanks, Head Coach –
Second year with Fargo
Sam Morse, Assistant Coach –
First year with Fargo

Last Year's Record: 1-10

Number of Returning Starters/Key Returning Players: The Warriors return 6 MBSLA North All Conference players from last season who look to be a strong foundation for the team. Those players are Aaron Monson Senior midfielder, John Deelstra Senior Defensman, Ben Noah Sophmore Midfielder, Danie Evenson Junior Goalie, Mike Kringlie Senior Midfielder, and Joe Noah Junior Defense. Among this years Seniors Aaron Monson and John Deelstra are expected to make an strong impact as they step into leadership roles during practice and games to help guide the team through its second season.

Key Losses: Junior Attackman Tannor Lindstrom has moved his talents North as he will be playing with his hometown of Grand Forks as they play their inaugural season and help to continue the growth of lacrosse throughout North Dakota.

Key Newcomers to this years team: Junior Midfielder Carter Schulke looks to have an immediate impact on the team as he comes to the Fargo area with years of experience having played previously in the lacrosse program in Ohio.  Senior Defenseman Ben Nelson will give the Warrior defense the physical presence it needs in this years defensive scheme put in place by new Assistant Coach Sam Morse.

Team Strength this season: Determination & Optimism. Strong Goaltending and Midfield play will help the Warriors to control the game on both ends of the field.

Games to Watch:  With Grand Cities lacrosse joining the ranks of teams in North Dakota, meetings between the two teams have the possibility of growing into a great rivalry for years to come.  Games to watch this season will be when the Warriors face off against Grand Rapids on May 19^th and Brainerd on the 20^th.  Both of these teams squeaked by the Warriors with 1 goal victories last season and these match ups will be strong indicators of how the program has grown over the last year.

Season Outlook:   The Fargo Warriors will be returning every player but one from last year's roster.  With another year of experience and some new players coming in, the Warriors have high hopes for their team in 2012.  Coach Fairbanks believes that, "With there still being a lot of youth on this years roster we are looking to continue to grow game by game and stay determined throughout the season focusing on winning the small battles in every game."  With improvement throughout the season Coach Fairbanks adds, "Our ultimate goal will be a winning record and a birth into the state tournament."

Fall Ball in the North? Yes, Fargo to Play Grand Forks Predators!

Fargo Warriors to play Grand Forks Predators on Saturday, October 22

New Grand Forks Team to play Fargo Warriors in first-ever match-up of North Dakota high school teams

Fargo, ND, October 15.  The Fargo Lacrosse Club’s (FLC) high school lacrosse – www.fargolacrosse.org – will play the newly-formed Grand Cities high school lacrosse team – www.grandcitieslacrosse.org – as part of the College Lacrosse Showcase being held October 22 and October 23 in Fargo at the Pepsi Complex by Hector Airport.  The schedule is shown below.

FLC President Matt Noah stated, “The genesis of the Grand Cities club has been Tanner Lindstrom from East Grand Forks.  Tanner was a First-Team All-Conference player with the Fargo Warriors this past Spring.  Tanner’s father, Brent, has been instrumental in promoting lacrosse in the Grand Forks area.”  Both Grand Cities and Fargo plan to compete in the Minnesota Boys Scholastic Lacrosse Association (MBSLA) – www.mnlaxhub.com - in 2012 after the Fargo Warriors competed successfully in the MBLSA in 2011.

Admittance is free.  The Warriors and Predators invite all area youth from elementary school to high school to witness the historic first match between the only two high school lacrosse teams in North Dakota.

vs Saturday, October 22, 12:30 pm

Saturday, October 22 10:00 am    - NDSU #1 vs. UND 11:15 am    - Univ of St. Thomas Alumni vs. MSUM Alumni 12:30 pm    - Fargo Warriors HS vs. Grand Forks Predators HS 1:45 pm      - NDSU #2 vs. UND 3:00 pm      - NDSU #1 vs. Univ. of St. Thomas Alumni 4:15 pm      - NDSU #2 vs. MSUM Alumni Sunday, October 23 10:00 am       - Univ. of St. Thomas vs. UND 11:15 am       - NDSU vs. MSUM

The The Fargo Warriors Varsity team is coached by Ben Fairbanks.

This Week in the MBSLA

It was a busy week in the MBSLA North. There were also a couple of other big games in the MBSLA that might provide a glimpse into the relative strength of a couple of teams.

Delano versus St. Louis Park

In the MBSLA North Brainerd knocked off Grand Rapids 8-5 on Thursday April, 28.  Also on Thursday in the MBSLA Delano proved they're for real in 2011 knocking off last years state champion St. Louis Park 12-10.

On Saturday Grand Rapids lost to a very good MontiQuois team 19-0.  The previous day, MontiQuois showed how good they can be with a solid 7-1 victory over St. Paul.  Also on Saturday, in their first game of the season (their earlier games against Tartan and St. Paul North were canceled), Duluth-Superior knocked off White Bear Lake 7-2.  Brainerd also played White Bear Lake on Saturday, beating them 8-5.  In the final game of the night, Duluth beat Brainerd 9-1.  With this win over a good Brainerd team, Duluth takes its first step towards cementing themselves as the favorite in the MBSLA North.  Tomorrows Duluth/St. Cloud North game will be the next telling game in the MBSLA North.  Also Saturday Fargo lost to North St. Paul 17-9..

There are more MBSLA North games on tap tomorrow including Grand Rapids taking on St. Cloud North at 11:00 a.m., Duluth taking on St. Cloud North at 3:00 p.m. and Brainerd taking on St. Cloud North at 5:30 p.m. in games that could help determine who will be the MBSLA North favorite.  We anticipate St. Cloud North being fairly tired after their game against Brainerd.  Other Sunday games include Fargo against St. Louis Park and Tartan.  Also in the MBSLA, the game pitting state runner-up Orono against Delano should be a good one.

2011 Northern Minnesota Lacrosse Season Preview - Fargo Warriors

High School:  Fargo Warriors (the Fargo team is made up of players from all Fargo high schools, West Fargo, Moorhead, and East Grand Forks)

Coaches:
Ben Fairbanks – First year at Fargo
Zach Hohloch – First year at Fargo

Last Year's Record: 1st season in the MBSLA (2-2 last season as 9/10 grade team)

Number of Returning Starters/Key Returning Players:

On last years tournament team that played in the Grand Rapids Tournament, 9 players return including sophomore Tanner Lindstrom, team co-captain freshman Nicholas Horski,  team co-captain junior Aaron Monson, freshman Jimmy Evenson, 8th grader Daniel Kasper, team co-captain sophomore Joe Noah, freshman Ben Noah, sophomore Dan Evenson and sophomore Gunnar Bossart.

Key Losses:  none

Key Newcomers:  All 24 players that make up the inaugural Fargo roster.  New players to the team looking to make an impact in 2011 include two Moorhead players junior Aaron Vanyo (midfield) and junior John Deelstra (defense) and one of the teams younger players 8th grader Zach Salmon (attack).

Big Games/Games to See:  The game against Brainerd in Fargo on 22 April (already played with Brainerd taking the win).  It will be the first ever game for Fargo in the first boys high school varsity game in North Dakota. This could be the first meeting in a budding rivalry.

Season Outlook:

action from Fargo's first lacrosse game against Brainerd

The Fargo Warriors believe that their team strength this year will be Optimism.  The brand new MBSLA team has sparked a lot of excitement about lacrosse in the Fargo area and the team is looking forward to competing against other MBSLA teams.

Many of the teams players learned the game in Fargo through club recreational play and Park District clinics consisting primarily of camps and inter-city scrimmages.  The youth lacrosse program in Fargo has been in existence since 2006.

Amazingly, less than 4 months ago, the team had no helmets, no uniforms, no money, no coaches, no practice field and a roster of 9 players.  They were entered in the MBSLA North Conference for 2011 and everything had to come together quickly.  It did.

Today Fargo has a roster of 24 with everything they were lacking in January now in place including brand new Cascade Pro7 helmets for every player compliments of a generous donation from Scheels Sporting Goods.  Their new coaches, Coach Fairbanks and Coach Hohloch come to the team after lacrosse careers at Minnesota State Moorhead.

Much of the success organizing the current Fargo lacrosse team comes from the efforts of team president Matt Noah, whose two sons play on the team after playing as 5/6 graders in Chaska and Minnetonka.  In addition to the helmets, Scheels Sporting Goods provided the team with a donation that helped to make the season a reality.

Coaches Fairbanks and Hohloch plan to take the season one day at a time.  Coach Fairbanks says, "Starting the season with only 9 players who have game experience we look to play hard and grow as a team as the season progresses with the end of the season goal being a trip to the state tournament."  In addition to the team goals, Coach Fairbanks hopes to, "spread the lacrosse word through the area in hopes of continued support from the Fargo-Moorhead community in seasons to follow and the continued expansion of lacrosse in the midwest."  Definitely a great start for a Fargo lacrosse team that looks to be in good hands and primed to grow in the coming years.

Fargo Warriors First Season to Begin Friday

Fargo Warriors Bring Lacrosse to North Dakota

By Fargo Lacrosse Club

When the Fargo Warriors took to the field on April 11th at Ed Clapp Park in Fargo for their first outdoor practice of the season, you could see the excitement in the kids, but there was none prouder or more excited than Fargo Lacrosse Club organizer and team manager Matt Noah.  “Will you look at that!” he declared as a wave of young men took off across the field for a warmup lap.  After years of e-mails, phone calls, recruiting, fundraising, a little coaching, and a lot of selling, his efforts have culminated in the first varsity lacrosse program in North Dakota. “In January the team had no helmets, no uniforms, no money, no coaches, no practice field and a roster of 9 kids but were entered to play in the Minnesota Boys Scholastic Lacrosse Association Northern Conference.  Today, the Warriors have a roster of 24 with everything they were lacking in January.”

Fargo Coach Ben Fairbanks

Also taking to the field that evening was first year head coach Ben Fairbanks who is making his varsity coaching debut.  Ben comes to the Fargo Lacrosse Club from Minnesota State University – Moorhead club team where he was team captain for two years.  While in college, Ben kept active in youth lacrosse by helping out with programs organized by the Fargo Lacrosse Club and the Fargo Park District.  Also working with Coach Fairbanks is Zach Hohloch who was also a team mate of Ben’s at MSU-Moorhead.

Fargo will compete in the Minnesota Boys Scholastic Lacrosse Association (MBSLA) Varsity North Division this spring along with Brainerd, Grand Rapids, Duluth and St. Cloud-North.  They will also be in a tournament in Shakopee, MN and are hosting their own tournament 14-15 May.  But the game the team is looking most forward to is their season opener at home on Friday, 22 April at 5:30 PM against Brainerd.  Besides the anticipation and jitters of the first game of the season and the first varsity game the club has ever played, it also has the distinction of being the first high school varsity lacrosse game in North Dakota, something the boys are taking very seriously.

This may be the first varsity team to hit the field for the Warriors but it is not the first game action for some of the players.  Last spring, 9 of these boys participated as the Fargo Sioux in the 9/10 grade level at the Grand Rapids, MN tournament.  The MBSLA was very understanding of the situation Fargo was in and allowed players from other teams to pull on Fargo jerseys and play when they were not playing with their teams.  The majority of support came from the Anoka 7^th/8^th grade team where Fargo was able to get coaching help as well as several players and over the course of the weekend, players from St. Louis Park, Maple Grove, and Duluth also became temporary Fargo team mates.  Throughout the tournament Fargo competed very well and the hometown boys contributed every shift and, most importantly, gained valuable competitive experience.  Fargo ended the tournament 2-2-0 and a third place finish.

The origins of the Fargo Warriors go back to 2006 when the Noah family moved back to Fargo after living in the west and southwestern Minneapolis suburbs of Minnetonka and Chaska where the Noah brothers began playing as 5th and 6th graders.  After returning to Fargo, Matt’s efforts include working with the Fargo Park District to organize clinics and club recreational play events to provide a basic familiarization and outlet for Fargo area kids to be exposed to the sport.


Besides the early experience of the Noah brothers, all the other players have learned the game through the programs offered in Fargo.  The team that takes the field on Friday is made up of players from Fargo, West Fargo, Horace, Moorhead, Dilworth, and East Grand Forks.

Getting the team this far has been helped by a major donation from Scheels in the form of 25 top of the line Cascade helmets to help the team meet league mandated uniform standards as well as an anonymous benefactor that covered the cost of home and away uniforms.  The Fargo Park District has been helpful by finding a park the team can call home for practices and home games.  More work is on the immediate horizon as just three weeks after the opening game, the club is hosting a tournament for high school varsity and junior varsity teams.

So, in this season of firsts, the team is looking to get it’s first conference win which will improve it’s chances of a seed in the MBSLA State Tournament to be held in early June in the Minneapolis metro area.  A state tournament berth would really put a cap on the Warrior’s season of firsts, but it all starts with the first faceoff at around 5:30 PM on Friday.

Early Season Northern Lacrosse Games to Watch

A quick review of team schedules (no information yet on Grand Rapids' schedule) reveals a few games to pay attention to in the early northern lacrosse season.

April 9 - Brainerd vs. St. Louis Park - in only its second season of varsity play, the Brainerd Warriors lacrosse team is jumping into the 2011 lacrosse season with both feet.  In a very early season test, Brainerd will take on the defending MBSLA state champion St. Louis Park Orioles.  How Brainerd comes out of this early season match-up should tell Northern lacrosse observers an awful lot about the scrappy Warriors.

April 18 - Brainerd vs. Orono - did we say the Warriors were scrappy?  Scrappy, crazy, confident, maybe all three as they travel to Orono to take on the state runners-up Orono Spartans in their second game of the season.  That's the toughest opening schedule in the MBSLA.  Brainerd had a very solid first varsity season winning 4 games and playing competitively in the majority of their games.  They return a strong senior laden squad led by all-conference attackman Zach Brown.  How they fare in their first two games will tell us something about this team and how they'll compete in the MBSLA North Division.

April 22 - Fargo vs. Brainerd - the new Fargo lacrosse team opens their season against a good Brainerd team.  This match-up should tell us something about where the Fargo program is at in their first season of MBSLA play.

April 25 - St. Cloud North vs. St. Paul - St. Cloud North, with the second best North Division record among the remaining teams, has a score to settle with St. Paul after dropping a quarterfinal game last season in the state playoffs against the Celts by a 1-0 score. The Knights should provide a good glimpse of what they can achieve in 2011 if they can come away with a win against a tough St. Paul team that finished the regular season last year with an undefeated 10-0 record. 

April 30 - Duluth vs. White Bear Lake - the Duluth Chargers first real test of the season may come against a White Bear Lake team that made the state tournament playoffs last season.  Duluth returns a strong senior laden team that finished second to St. Cloud South last season in the MBSLA North, with South being their only conference loss of the season.  Led by the likes of all-conference d-pole Nate Pratt and a host of solid senior scorers in Ian Wieczorek, Zach Thompson, Matt Jeanetta, Jack Maddy and Dan Padden, the Chargers may be the pre-season favorite in the MBSLA North.

April 30 - Duluth vs. Brainerd - In the second game of the day, Duluth takes on a Brainerd team that should be much improved in their second MBSLA season in what could be a battle for supremacy in the MBSLA North.

May 1 - Duluth vs. St. Cloud North -  This game pitting the top two remaining teams could decide who wins the MBSLA North Division and should be a good battle between two established northern lacrosse programs.

Practices begin next week for some northern lacrosse teams.  Looking forward to seeing how these games play out in the MBSLA North.

Fargo High School Season Schedule

The Fargo team will consist of any high school player (junior high players may also try out) in the surrounding area of Fargo-Moorhead.  Try-outs will be conducted in the near future.  The schedule is:

April 22, 5:30 pm, Fargo vs. Brainerd in Fargo
April 23, 3:00 pm, Fargo vs. St. Cloud in Fargo
May 7-8, Grand Rapids Tournament
May 14-15, Fargo-Moorhead Tournament
May 21, Noon, Fargo vs. Duluth in Brainerd
May 21, 2:30 pm, Fargo vs. Brainerd in Brainerd
May 22, Noon, Fargo vs. Grand Rapids in Brainerd
May 22, 4:00 pm, Fargo vs. St. Cloud in St. Cloud
May 31 or June 1, Northern Conference play-in game (if necessary)
State Tournament (16 teams), Date TBD

Northern Lacrosse Nuts and Bolts

The facts about Northern Minnesota lacrosse:

High School teams in Northern Minnesota:

MBSLA teams:  MBSLA high school teams listed below participate in the North Division

Brainerd Warriors - location:  Brainerd, MN

Duluth-Superior Chargers - location: Duluth, MN.  Comprised of kids from Duluth area schools.

Fargo High School - location:  Fargo, ND

Grand Rapids Thunderhawks - location:  Grand Rapids, MN

St. Cloud North Knights - location:  St. Cloud, MN.  Comprised of kids from Sartell, Sauk Rapids, Apollo and other surrounding area high schools

MSHSL teams: 

St. Cloud South Tigers - location:  St. Cloud, MN.  The only MSHSL team presently located in the north.

Girls Lacrosse in the North:

Two active girls teams participate in lacrosse in Northern Minnesota.  In Duluth, the Knighthawks girls lacrosse team has been active in Duluth for several years.  The Knighthawks include players ages 13 and up, from all area high schools and middle schools.  In 2010, the team finished fourth place in the Northcentral Schoolgirls Lacrosse Association with a 4-3 record.  Girls lacrosse is also being played in Grand Rapids.  The Grand Rapids team also participates in the Northcentral Schoolgirls Lacrosse Association.  Here's a video of the Grand Rapids Girls Lacrosse team in action.  For more information about either team, go to the team contact page on the NSLA website.

Youth Programs and Lacrosse Associations:

Duluth YMCA Youth Lacrosse League - In 2011, this league will be expanding to include 4 teams at the 3/4 and 5/6 grade levels.  Practices will be held on Tuesdays throughout the summer (first week in June until last week in July) with games every Thursday.  The Y league is hoping to recruit more kids at the 3rd through 6th grade levels to allow for the formation of teams at both age levels and a more competitive and fun league.  In addition, a travel team will be formed at both the 3/4 and 5/6 grade levels to participate in a couple of tournaments later in the summer.  UMD Bulldog lacrosse players and coaches provide the coaching and instruction for this league, making it a very attractive league for kids just getting started.


Grand Rapids Lacrosse Association - Will have a 5/6 grade team play in the MBSLA spring league in 2011


Fargo Lacrosse Club - Fargo offers a youth spring lacrosse league for kids ages 9-14.


College Lacrosse Teams:

University of Minnesota - Duluth Bulldogs - MCLA Division I:  The UMD Bulldogs lacrosse team is one of the most successful college lacrosse teams in the Midwest.  Currently ranked #9 in the nation (MCLA pre-season top 10 - 1. Michigan, 2. Arizona State, 3. Chapman, 4. Colorado State, 5. Florida State, 6. Brigham Young, 7. Colorado, 8. Oregon, 9. Minnesota-Duluth, 10. Simon Fraser), this team plays, and quite often beats, the big boys.  Last year, the Bulldogs were one game away from the MCLA Final Four, finishing the season #5 in the nation.  The Michigan Wolverines were last seasons MCLA National Champion.  Though competing as a club team, UMD operates as a "virtual varsity" squad with top-notch coaches and players.  On an equal playing field, UMD would give most NCAA teams a run for their money.

St. Cloud State - MCLA Division I


Minnesota State Moorhead - MCLA Division II


Events:


Fargo Tournament - 2011 Fargo Ambush Tournament, May 14 & 15, 2011.  Each team is guaranteed 3 games.  Age divisions for boys are high school varsity, high school JV, high school 9/10, 7/8, 5/6 and 3/4.  There is a single division for girls high school varsity.  Contact Tournament Director, Matt Noah, matt@fargolacrosse.org if you have any questions.   

Grand Rapids Tournament - Grand Rapids Lax Shootout is scheduled for May 7 & 8, 2011.  This tournament will include varsity, JV, middle school and girls teams.  For more information about this tournament contact lacrosse@mchsi.com


Future of Lacrosse in Northern Minnesota:


At the present time, there are only 5 MBSLA teams in Northern Minnesota and one MSHSL team.  Where and how could lacrosse grow at the high school level in Northern Minnesota?  Here are some possibilities:

Duluth-Superior Chargers - This team will most likely eventually be composed of students from the two Duluth high schools - Duluth East and Duluth Denfeld.

A team on the Iron Range is a distinct possibility in the near future.  This team could be composed of Virginia-Eveleth-Mt. Iron and other Iron Range schools

Other possible northern teams could include a North Shore team composed of a combination of Two Harbors/Silver Bay/Grand Marais.  Some other combination teams similar to some of the hockey combinations could include - Cloquet/Esko/Carlton, Hermantown/Proctor/Marshall, and Mora/Hinckley/Finlayson.  Other teams located in the larger communities of Bemidji, International Falls, Thief River Falls, Grand Forks/East Grand Forks area, Moorhead, Fergus Falls/Alexandria, and a Northern Wisconsin team composed of Superior/Ashland are also possibilities.

Of the most likely teams, two solid Northern Divisions could be formed:

Northeast Division, composed of - Duluth, Grand Rapids, Cloquet/Esko/Carlton, Hermantown/Proctor/Marshall, Iron Range, International Falls and Superior.

Northwest Division, composed of Brainerd, St. Cloud North, Fargo, Bemidji, Grand Forks/East Grand Forks, Thief River Falls and Moorhead.

The North Shore, Mora/Hinckley,  and Fergus Falls/Alexandria may be a little further out based on their respective school sizes, proximity to other schools and distance between schools.