New co-ops for lacrosse teams

With spring sports under way, boys’ and and girls’ lacrosse are two of many Minnehaha sports benefiting from a co-op, in which athletes from different schools unite to form a team.

This year boys’ lacrosse co-op, known as the TrIMAC Blackhawks, is expanding. Minnehaha will again team up with Concordia Academy, DeLaSalle, St. Agnes, St. Croix Lutheran and St. Paul Academy, and this year South St. Paul and Nova Classical Academy will join the group. From the eight schools, there are 31 boys on the team, with 13 players from Minnehaha. The boys ended last season with two wins and 10 losses.

“[The co-op] is great for the team, because it’s great to have new guys coming in,” said sophomore Nate Sundeen, who said he believes that “overall it is really good for the team.”

Minnehaha’s girls’ lacrosse team is also a co-op, formed with partner schools Gentry Academy and DeLaSalle, racking up to a total of 37 girls on the team, with 15 players from Minnehaha.

“It is nice to have a variety of people [on the team], and [the co-ops] make the team better,” said sophomore Nora Thomey.

In spring 2018, the girls lacrosse team had 14 wins and three losses in the regular season and made it the the state tournament. The varsity roster included 13 girls from Minnehaha, though the top five goal scorers, including four from Gentry, were from co-op schools; the five contributed an average of almost 14 goals per game.