The Becker Bulldog boys lacrosse team finished the 2013 season with a winning record, closing out the year by winning seven of their last nine games and charging into the playoffs on a roll.
In the first round, Becker beat eighth-ranked Grand Rapids 8-5 in Grand Rapids, June 1.
In the quarterfinals, Becker beat 10th-ranked Shakopee by the same 8-5 score at Moundsview Stadium June 2 after Shakopee had advanced by beating Sibley 15-8.
Becker’s great run came to halt in the semi-finals , however, where they faced the #1-ranked team of Hudson at Hopkins High School Stadium June 5 and lost by five goals, 12-7. Hudson had beaten Mankato 19-2 and Fargo 15-4 and eventually took the top prize by beating St. Louis Park 9-5 in the championship game.
Three days later, Becker played in the third place game and was defeated by the second-ranked team — Duluth Chargers — at Washburn High by one goal, 14-13 to end their season.
Head Coach Brandon Kent wants to see more of the same this year — and maybe even a little better.
“These kids are great and they love to work hard and see the fruits of their labor,” said Kent. “I’m expecting a lot of the same this year and hopefully we’ll get a little more production from a few other areas and make our team a team to be reckoned with.”
Kent will have returning front man Tyler Kruse, who was voted the team’s MVP, all-conference first etam and had the seventh-highest point total in the league with 24 goals and 14 assists.
“That’s my goal, to do at least what I did last year if not better,” said Kruse, who is one of the team’s captains.
The team has plenty of firepower with Kruse, Zack Vieau, Ethan Boutin, Ben Gilchrist and Milan Kent expected to riddle the back of the opposing net.
On defense, Kent will be looking to Adam Ewald, who was voted best defenseman in 2013 and is hoping Dana Slominski and Jakob Edling improve in goal as the season progresses. Slominski went 5-3 in eight games with one shutout while Edling was 1-0 in his only game between the pipes.
The Bulldogs (3-2) finished 3-2 in the MBSLA West Conference, good for third place behind St. Cloud North (4-1) and MontiQuois (5-0).
Becker 10, SLP 6
In Becker’s first game of the year Monday, the Bulldogs pulled off an impressive 10-6 win over St. Louis Park on the road. Head Coach Brandon Kent reported SLP was a state-ranked team heading into the matchup.
