Apple Valley senior midfielder and captain Katie Larson scored the game-winning goal, her sixth of the night, with 7.2 seconds left to give the unbeaten Eagles an 11-10 South Suburban Conference victory over No. 7 Lakeville South on Thursday at Lakeville South High.

No. 4-ranked Apple Valey controlled the ball in the waning moments, and it went to Larson with less than 20 seconds remaining.

Larson isn’t having the season she had last season. Last year she scored 70 goals and was an All-American selection. She scored nine goals in three of the Eagles' final four games. Before Thursday's game, she had registered 18 points, including 13 goals. Larson, who’s had a defender shadow her every game, said it felt good to finally being able to move around without the hassle of someone on her.  

“It was nice to be free and do what I can do without being marked up,” Larson said.

Larson scored the first goal for the Eagles 24 seconds into the game but didn’t score again until the 19:57 mark of the second half. After that she tallied three straight.

“It was a little rough in the beginning, but towards the end it got a lot better,” Larson said. “We started picking things up and realized we needed to get the win to keep us undefeated.”   

With the Eagles down 7-4 heading into intermission, Apple Valley head coach Alexandra Ross said she let the girls know she believed they could rally for the victory.

“We told the girls you can score quickly in this game,” Ross said. “Three goals you can always turn around from. That means nothing in lacrosse. We were able to take some momentum, and we tried to hold on to it for the rest of the game.”  

Ross also said during halftime she told Larson she is an elite talent in the state.

“I told her at halftime ‘You’re one of the best in state, let’s see it. Show it to me out in that second half,' ” Ross said. “She showed up in that second half.

"There’s nobody I’d rather have the ball in their hands, with 10 seconds left in game than Larson."

Along with Larson having her coach’s trust, she is also a role model for the younger players. Counting Larson, Apple Valley has nine seniors on its roster.

Along with these seniors, it has eight players with at least two years of eligibility left, including six eighth-graders. One of those underclassmen is sophomore attacker Katie Moynihan, who is fourth on the team in goals with 11.

Moynihan said she looks up to the seniors, including Larson.

“They’re great role models,” Moynihan said. “Just having the nerve to just go through all of it and not backing down and continuing to go.”

Moynihan said the Eagles have the ability to compete with longtime girls' lacrosse powerhouses Blake and Eden Prairie.

“We can go all the way to state,” Moynihan said. “We can go against Eden Prairie and Blake. We can outrun a lot of teams and I feel we can definitely go up against them.”


Lakeville South's Logan Halvorson heads up the field ahead of Apple Valley's Katie Moynihan. Photo by Jon Laqua

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