When Eden Prairie senior Jessica Lagerquist shoots, chances are she’ll find the back of the net.

The all-state forward and Eagles’ leading goal scorer added to her impressive season stats by burying six goals to lead top-seeded Eden Prairie in a 16-6 victory over second-seeded Minnetonka in the Section 2 championship game Wednesday at Robbinsdale Armstrong High School.

Lagerquist now has 60 goals this season, and the senior captain has another opportunity to add to the total with Eden Prairie securing its ninth straight state tournament bid. The Eagles finished second at state last year, falling to Blake 11-7 in the championship game.

A patient offensive game plan gave Eden Prairie the majority of possession throughout the game, and the Eagles took advantage of what opportunities they had in front of Minnetonka’s net.

Sophomore midfielder Sammy Morton finished with three goals while sophomore midfielder Naomi Rogge had two goals and two assists for Eden Prairie (15-1). Senior forward Angie Heppelmann tallied two goals and one assist.

The slow pace allowed the Eagles to accomplish their goal of containing the Skippers’ offense by limiting their possession, but Eden Prairie co-head coach Judy Baxter said the lack of tempo was a result of the heavy rain that fell during the game.

“It’s hard to push the fast break when you have bad weather,” Baxter added. “So we were concerned about the extra passing with the weather, but we still showed a lot of poise.”

Lagerquist definitely kept her composure, scoring five first-half goals and helping the Eagles take an 8-2 lead into halftime.

Three of Lagerquist’s goals came off the stick of Sara Woodring, who leads Eden Prairie with 34 assists and 82 points.

The junior forward left her mark all over the box score, finishing with two goals and four assists.

“(Sara) is definitely our best feeder,” Baxter said. “She has played some basketball, so I think because of that she sees plays develop well, and she knows exactly where to put (the ball) for Jessica.”

Minnetonka sparked a brief rally at the start of the second half, scoring two unanswered goals and closing the gap to 9-4. 

However, Eagles junior midfielder Kelly Wolfe put an end to the Skippers’ scoring run just seconds after Minnetonka seemed to find some momentum. Wolfe scored her only goal of the game to stoke Eden Prairie's offense as the Eagles outscored the Skippers 7-2 during the final 18 minutes to pull away.

Baxter said Wolfe stepped up at a time when Eden Prairie was concerned about the Skippers making a late surge.

“I watched (Minnetonka) come back and score eight unanswered goals against Prior Lake to win. They beat Edina in overtime,” Baxter said.  “You can never be quite comfortable, and I think this is the best defensive game we’ve played.”

Sophomore midfielder Anna Mott led the Skippers (12-4) with four goals in the defeat, which was the third loss to the Eagles this season. Eden Prairie swept the regular-season series with its Lake Conference rival, winning 14-11 on April 23 and 24-11 on May 12.

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