High school lacrosse: Orono girls, Hill-Murray boys seek to make history in section tournaments

Layla Nick joined the Orono varsity girls lacrosse team as a seventh-grader in 2022, scoring 16 points as the Spartans wrapped up a 7-8 season in the Section 2 quarterfinals.

Jane Kolar then became Orono’s coach. Once she took the job, Kolar said, about 20 coaches told her one of Minnesota’s brightest young stars was on her roster.

“I finally met her, and she was the superstar that everybody said she was, faster than anybody I’ve ever coached,” Kolar said of Nick.

Three years later, the Spartans won their first Metro West Conference title. Behind Nick, who is now a sophomore and a standout two-way midfielder, Orono is on the precipice of another milestone: its first state tournament appearance. Orono’s section tournament begins Thursday at Orono against Holy Family.

A top-10 scorer in Minnesota, Nick is the Spartans’ primary draw taker and often marks the opposition’s top attacking threat.

“She can hit spots on the net that I’ve never seen a player her age hit, at speeds no one else can hit,” Kolar said. “But you watch her in a full game, it’s really the least impressive part. Her forced turnovers are next level. She beats any other girl in a race. If the ball is on the ground, it’s hers.”

Nick has recorded 58 goals, 14 assists, 29 ground balls, 32 caused turnovers and 66 draw controls in 13 games this season. A natural righthander, Nick trains her left side to be just as lethal.

“[Regarding recruiting], there’s not a whole lot of lefties, so I wanted to develop both hands,” Nick said. “Whenever I do something with my right hand, I do it two times the amount with my left hand.”

Nick and junior midfielder Dylan Collins, who’s committed to Furman for college, have formed one of Minnesota’s top tandems. Collins and Nick have scored a combined 147 points in 2025.

Beyond the numbers, Kolar said her midfield duo embodies unselfishness. She said it’s a rarity for two stars to be so comfortable sharing the spotlight.

“As the years have gone on, we’ve just developed a chemistry on and off the field,” Nick said of her bond with Collins. “I’m just so happy I get to work with her because she’s so gritty, so competitive and, most importantly, she’s so supportive of everyone.”

In mere weeks, Nick plans to compete at camps and showcases as she heads into a crucial recruiting summer. The lone Minnesotan girl invited to last summer’s USA National Team Development Program Combine, Nick dreams of playing for a top Division I program.

For now, Nick’s focus lies in guiding the top-seeded Spartans into unprecedented territory.

Hill-Murray is one of the state’s three undefeated boys lacrosse teams, but the Pioneers took a winding path to a 13-0 regular season and Metro East Conference title.

Coach Merek Regan’s squad won five one-goal games. Four more games were decided by two or three goals.

“From an outside perspective, you can look at our schedule and say we’re just scraping by,” Regan said. “Our guys are able to find what it takes and execute when it matters most.”

Last season, Hill-Murray finished 7-7 and bowed out in the Section 4 quarterfinals. The Pioneers had just two seniors on their roster, with underclassmen bearing the bulk of the team’s statistical production. Those players now form the core of a resurgent Hill-Murray squad.

Senior Jackson Murphy and junior Jake Godbout headline the offense with 90 combined points. Six Pioneers have scored at least 20 points this season.

Regan said his team’s versatility and dependability ties to its 2025 motto, “Count on me.”

“We really want to operate as someone that can be counted on, whether that’s scooping a ground ball, picking up balls after practice, staying late, watching film or just taking care of your homework, cleaning your room,” Regan said.

Although the Pioneers completed their first undefeated regular season, the road to the state tournament, beginning Friday against Roseville, is daunting. The No. 2 seed in Section 4, Hill-Murray must maneuver beyond No. 1 seed Stillwater, ranked second by the Minnesota State High School Boys Lacrosse Coaches Association.

“We’ve had the discussion as a team — our record is 0-0 right now,” Regan said. “Every game is going to be a battle, and it’s really up to our guys to continue to lean into what they’ve been doing all season.”