Lakers' challenge: getting back to state final

The boys' soccer team at Minneapolis Southwest is back on the pitch after setting a state record last season with two goals allowed during the 17-game regular season and only five goals allowed total en route to a runner-up finish in Class 2A.

And that's ... a bad thing?

Coach Jamie Plaisance thinks it might be.

"The kids are hungry, but truthfully my main concern is complacency," Plaisance said. "We've seen kind of a casual attitude the first week and as a coach, it hasn't been great to see. I think they think, 'Well, we got to the state final [last year]. We've had success.' I think they want to fast- forward to the state tournament. And that concerns me."

The Lakers' stinginess fueled their fast track to stardom a season ago.

Every game the Lakers played in from Sept. 13 on last season ended in a shutout. The final tally: Southwest 16, Opponents 1. The lone defeat, of course, was in the state final -- a 3-0 decision to Apple Valley.

"Last year they played with a chip on their shoulder," Plaisance said. "[And] the down side of getting to a state final regardless of the outcome is that sometimes the guys forget all of the work they put in to get there and they forget the attitude it takes to get there."

There is reason to believe Southwest will again be a force to reckon with.

The Lakers return seven starters from that team, including three on defense.

Keeper Luc Malley is in the starting role now after a season as the varsity backup, but he is an athletic breed who will have a good bounce in his step when needed.

"He's very confident," Plaisance said. "Some kids will come in and in their first year on varsity, they'll kind of be afraid to tell kids what to do back there. But he's not like that at all."

The question marks are on the other end of the field. The team does not have a collection of true goal-scorers.

"We'll be able to keep the score low," Plaisance said. "Will we be able to outscore people? I don't know."

Everyone's a criticCross-country and volleyball teams cannot hold an official event until Thursday, yet last week the first set of rankings for those teams came out via their respective coaches associations.

Led by Josh Thorson (ranked No. 2 individually), Wayzata is in at the No. 2 spot in Class 2A boys' cross-country behind Stillwater. On the girls' side, Eden Prairie checks in at No. 3.

Bloomington Jefferson and Wazyata are the second and third teams, respectively, in the preseason volleyball poll behind defending champion Lakeville North. Eden Prairie joins Centennial and Blaine at No. 6 while Hopkins is in at No. 9.