On Tuesday May 29, the Benilde-St. Margaret’s boys’ lacrosse team lost to the Edina Hornets 9-5. The Red Knights previously won two state championships in 2010 and 2011. This year, the team was seeded first in their section and entered the tournament ranked third in state with 12 wins and two losses, encouraging their hopes of a state run.
The team included two All-Americans, midfielder Simon Gondeck and goalie Thomas Gilligan, and several players who are headed off to play for Division I and III teams in college. Due to injuries early on in the season, the team was not at full strength, preventing it from advancing forward in the tournament. Even though the team could not complete a third run, the Red Knights have moved on from the loss and are trying look forward. “It honestly didn’t feel good at all, especially with the high expectations we had coming off of the last two seasons,” said junior attackman Jack Tucker.
The team is saying goodbye to 15 seniors this season, leaving many shoes to fill, especially at goalie. “I hope I can make the transition between me and Thomas Gilligan very unnoticeable. I am going to do all I can to meet the standard he set here,” said sophomore goalie Jeremy Pastir.
Although the team will lose a lot of talent, the boys’ lacrosse program has a history of developing and producing strong players. Along with some strong juniors, there are also talented sophomores who will get to showcase their talents this summer and next season. Sophomores Gibson Reine, Josh Werkmeister, and Jake Donlin have all received plenty of playing time this season and are ready to help lead the Red Knights next season. “The goal is to always win state at BSM. We didn’t get there this year but we are good enough to get there for the next two years,” said Werkmeister.
However, losing to Edina doesn’t mean the lacrosse season is over for all of the many Red Knights, “Almost every returning lacrosse player I know is playing some sort of summer ball this summer against some really tough competition. We are all getting ready to come out strong next season,” said Tucker.
