The winter sports season is upon us as competitions are starting for area schools. The Patriot is here to give you a preview of the teams and who they are, when they play, and their outlook for the season to come.
NOTE: The Patriot reached out to every head coach associated with the teams for information. If there is no photo or information attached to this article for a team, they did not respond to our request.
Softball
The Big Lake softball team will look to build on last season where they went 14-9 and won a pair of playoff games. The coaching staff for this season will consist of head coach Kim Bowen and assistants Tony Loftus and Kellie Morehouse.
No roster was made available to the Patriot at the time of publishing.
Games start in early April with the opening contest being April 4 at Watertown-Mayer. The home opener is scheduled for 4/9 vs. North Branch. After that is 4/11 vs. Princeton, 4/12 @ Chisago Lakes, 4/16 vs. Zimmerman, 4/18 @ Monticello, 4/20 Tournament @ Forest Lake, 4/25 vs. Becker, 4/26 @ Delano, and the month finished 4/29 vs. Mound Westonka.
May brings with 5/2 @ Cambridge-Isanti then 5/3 vs. Chisago Lakes, 5/7 @ Zimmerman, 5/9 @ St. Francis, 5/10 vs. Monticello, 5/14 @ Princeton, 5/15 @ Buffalo, and the regular season concludes 5/17 vs. Rockford. Playoffs begin May 21st.
Girls Lacrosse
The Big Lake girl’s lacrosse team is looking to improve on last season’s 5-9 record and first round playoff exit. The coaching staff is led by head coach Lindsey Hartfiel with assistants Zach Barzee and Katie Bondhus.
No roster was made available to the Patriot at the time of publishing.
The first event on the schedule for the Hornets is a home scrimmage against Anoka on 4/8. And the first actual game will be 4/12 vs. Duluth East. The rest of April looks like 4/16 vs. New Prague, 4/18 @ Chisago Lakes, 4/20 @ Buffalo, 4/23 @ Becker, 4/25 @ Monticello, and 4/30 vs. ROCORI.
May has 5/2 vs. Brainerd, 5/3 @ Sauk Rapids-Rice, 5/10 @ Brainerd, 5/16 vs. St. Cloud Tech, 5/17 vs. Becker, and the regular season finishes on 5/22 vs. Columbia Heights. Playoffs begin May 27th.
Boys Lacrosse
The Big Lake/Princeton boy’s lacrosse team struggled last season with a 1-12-1 record but returns their top four scorers. The team is entering their third year as a co-op between the two schools and continues to see growth within the program. They have over 60 players in the program 7-12 and will field two JV teams. With 11 seniors returning, including three of those top four scorers, the team will look to them to provide leadership and production on the field.
Some players to watch on offense will be Cade Fagen, Jack Midas, Cash McCrone, and Declan Weber. Fagen was the top scorer last season, and the team will lean on him to make the offense go. Midas was last year’s #2 scorer as a freshman and will be asked to do even more this year. McCrone and Weber tied for the #3 scorer last season, and both are dangerous when attacking the net.
Key defensive returners are Alex John, Trajan Mussehl, Hank Kuchera, and Carter Stromberg. John, a sophomore, will be entering his second season of varsity lacrosse and will look to build upon a strong freshman season. Mussehl will transition from goalie to defense and will be a leader for that unit. Kuchera moves into the starting goaltender spot as a sophomore. And Stromberg is poised to take a big step in only his second season of lacrosse.
Seniors on this year’s varsity roster are Colin Roberdeau, Zack Smith, Tyler Olson, Jackson Christensen, Fagen, Mussehl, Mason Krebs, McCrone, Eric Peredo, Weber, Jonah Blackman, Domenick Schuck-Hoeg, and Kaleb Bowman.
The season begins in mid-April with a trip to Duluth Denfeld on 4/12 and the home opener on 4/18 vs. Chisago Lakes. The rest of April is 4/23 vs. Becker, 4/24 vs. Monticello, 4/27 vs. Cloquet, and 4/30 @ ROCORI. Then May looks like 5/2 @ Brainerd, 5/3 vs. Sartell-St. Stephen, 5/9 @ Osseo, 5/10 vs. Brainerd, 5/14 St. Cloud Apollo, and the regular season concludes on 5/17 @ Becker. Playoffs begin May 27th.
Boys Golf
The Big Lake boy’s golf team will be back in action starting April 15 when they travel to Monticello for their first invitational of the season at the Monticello Country Club. The team will host one meet this season at Pebble Creek Golf Course on April 30th. The team’s head coach is Bill Miller, and the assistant coach is Jennifer Neaton.
No roster was made available to the Patriot at the time of publishing.
After that opening event, the team will travel to St. Francis on 4/16 then 4/18 @ Becker, 4/19 @ Hutchinson, 4/22 @ Monticello, 4/30 home meet in Becker, 5/1 @ Annandale, 5/3 @ Hinckley, 5/6 @ Rush City, 5/8 @ Elk River, 5/9 @ Kimball, 5/15 @ Cambridge, 5/16 @ Chisago Lakes, 5/20 @ Ramsey, and the regular season concludes on 5/22 @ Princeton. Playoffs begin May 29th.
Girls Golf
The Big Lake girl’s golf team begins their season on April 10 at the Monticello Country Club for an invitational. The team’s lone home meet will be April 22 at Pebble Creek Golf Course. The team is coached this year by head coach Matthew Vogel and assistant Tanner Krutzig.
No roster was made available to the Patriot at the time of publishing.
The rest of the team’s schedule looks like this 4/15 @ Becker, 4/16 @ Oak Grove, 4/22 home meet in Becker, 4/25 @ Elk River, 4/29 @ Chisago Lakes, 5/6 @ Monticello, 5/10 @ Hinckley, 5/13 @ Princeton, 5/16 @ Rush City, and the final meet of the regular season is on 5/22 @ Cambridge. Playoffs begin on May 29th.
Boys Tennis
The Big Lake boy’s tennis team will see their season get under way on April 8th with a trip to Sauk Rapids-Rice for a triangular meet against the host Storm and St. John’s Prep. The head coach of the team is Brett Mattson, and the assistant is Julie Browen.
No roster was made available to the Patriot at the time of publishing.
The remainder of the schedule gets under way on 4/9 with a home match against North Branch followed by 4/11 @ Aitkin, 4/18 @ St. Francis, 4/23 @ Princeton, 4/25 @ Becker, 4/30 @ Chisago Lakes, 5/2 vs. Cambridge-Isanti, 5/7 vs. Monticello, and the regular season concludes on 5/9 @ Mora. Team playoffs begin May 15th and individual playoffs start May 20.
