Lauren Schindler (#16) celebrates her goal in the state tournament quarterfinal game against Lakeville North. (Photo by Caty Mawing Photography)
The Prior Lake girls’ soccer team made history on Oct. 23, earning the program’s first-ever trip to the Class AAA state semifinals with a 2–1 victory over rival Lakeville North in Monticello in the state quarterfinal matchup.
The Lakers struck first just five minutes into the game when Ali Torres threaded a perfect pass to Lauren Schindler, who buried the shot to give Prior Lake the early lead. Lakeville North answered before halftime to even the match at 1–1, setting up a tense second half.
With just 10 minutes remaining in the game, Teagan Jurek rose above the defense to head in a corner kick from Ellie Ohlmann, putting the Lakers back on top. The defense held strong the rest of the way to seal the win and secure the program’s first-ever berth in the state semifinals.
The Lakers have now avenged three of their regular-season losses to reach this point, defeating Minnetonka in the section semifinals, Chanhassen in the section final, and Lakeville North in the state quarterfinal.
Up next, Prior Lake will face undefeated, top-ranked, and defending state champion Wayzata at U.S. Bank Stadium on Wednesday at 8 a.m.
In the other Class AAA semifinal, No. 2-ranked Stillwater will meet No. 3-ranked Eagan. The winners advance to the Class AAA state championship on Friday at 8 a.m. at U.S. Bank Stadium, while the losing teams will meet in the third-place match on Thursday at 9 a.m. at the West St. Paul Regional Athletics Center.