Prior Lake earned a spot in the state tournament after knocking off rival Shakopee and top-seeded Minnetonka over the weekend and Chanhassen on Tuesday to capture the 2AAA Section Championship.
The Lakers bested Chanhassen 4-0 in the Tuesday final at Chanhassen High School. The second-seeded Storm advanced by defeating Waconia 5–0 in the first round and Edina 3–1 in the semifinals. Bella Naples, a Gophers recruit, has led the Chanhassen attack with five of the team’s eight goals so far in the playoffs. Check next week’s issue for a full recap of the section championship.
Seeding for the state tournament will take place Saturday.
Prior Lake opened the 2AAA section playoffs with two impressive wins, rolling past Shakopee and upsetting top-seeded Minnetonka to earn a spot in the section final.
The fourth-seeded Lakers defeated fifth-seeded Shakopee 7–1 in the first round of the playoffs on Oct. 7. The offense came from all over the field as Teagan Jurek, Gianna Stiehm, Ellie Ohlmann, Ali Torres, Bre Phillips, Makenna Lyons and Paige Layman each scored. Ohlmann and Jurek both tallied two assists, while Torres added one.
Two days later, Prior Lake traveled to Minnetonka for a semifinal matchup against the No. 1 seed and fourth-ranked team in the state. In a physical, back-and-forth battle, the Lakers broke through when Jurek scored the lone goal off a pass from Mila Macias. The defense held strong the rest of the way to preserve the 1–0 win and secure their spot in the section final.
