Owatonna Boys Lacrosse Rallies for Overtime Victory at John Marshall

Owatonna's boys lacrosse team slogged to a 10-9 overtime triumph at Rochester John Marshall on Monday night, extending their winning streak to five games.

The Huskies (5-2) led by one goal several times in the first half, but found themselves behind 5-4 at the break to JM (0-4). Shortly after the Huskies evened the game in the third quarter on the second of Tyler Wencl's five goals, John Marshall went on a three-goal burst to take a 8-5 lead.

The Huskies made it 8-6 before the end of three on a goal by Walker Nelson. But JM regained a three-goal margin shortly afterward. Wencl took over from there, scoring the final three goals of the game, including the game winner in sudden-death overtime. Nate Smith and Tyler Johnson also scored for OHS. Ryan Johnson made several point-blank saves in goal.

The Huskies' Noah Brandt continued his domination on face offs, winning nearly every one on the night. Kadyn Mulert, Jacob Dub, Blake Pfieffer and Kade Serbus all made strong plays defensively.

The teams battled miserable conditions with temperatures in the mid-30s, strong wind and rain falling steadily at times. Field conditions were rough to begin with, and only got worse. Players had trouble keeping their footing in front of the net due to extremely muddy conditions. The middle of the field was so poor, the face offs were moved off center. The game was played at John Drews Stadium at the high school, which is also the football field and soccer field for the Rockets. Many turnovers occurred when the wet ball simply slipped out of the players' sticks on attempted passes.

OHS grad and youth lacrosse coach Shawn Pfieffer assisted with the radio coverage of the event on KRFO AM 1390. Owatonna's junior varsity won 15-0. The lacrosse action was the only varsity event that survived the weather Monday. Four other OHS sports were postponed.

Owatonna plays at home Friday night against Rochester Mayo. The Huskies beat the Spartans 12-2 earlier this season.