When the seedings came out for the girls’ lacrosse state tournament, a familiar name was slotted No. 3.

Blake, the five-time defending champs and arguably the state’s premier girls’program, was sitting behind top-seeded Eden Prairie and No. 2 Lakeville South. The logic made sense, because the Bears had lost to Eden Prairie during the regular season and Lakeville South was undefeated.

But something about being No. 3 just didn’t feel right.The Bears were ornery.

So Blake (15-2) went out and made a statement, scoring 10 goals in the first nine minutes of the game Tuesday to cruise past Champlin Park 17-4 at Hopkins High School.

“It was a little motivation,” senior goalie Hannah Magarian said. “All season, people have thought this was a rebuilding year for us. This might be a new era, but we’ve got so many strong young players that we wanted to show that his team is still very good.”

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After spotting Champlin Park an early goal, Blake ripped away control of the game from the Rebels and didn’t let up until they had built a 12-1 lead. Finding more room to move than she has seen most of the season, senior attacker Olivia Nolan had four goals and five assists before halftime. Nolan added a goal in the second half.

“It was definitely nice to be able to run,” Nolan said. “It can get very frustrating having someone not even arms-length away from you all game. “

First-year head coach Linda Hokr said Nolan has handled the constant pressure well and agreed it was nice to see her get to stretch out a little bit.

“It’s hard being face-guarded all year,” Hokr said. “She has a great knack for scoring and she’s a great passer, too. But we also have a lot of depth and that’s a big difference for our team. Someone can always step in and fill a role.”

That depth was evident Tuesday. In addition to Nolan’s 10 points, junior Annie Lyman had four goals and an assist and senior Adelaide Winston had three goals and an assist. Magarian stopped five of nine shots on goal for Blake (15-2).

Champlin Park (14-3) got two goals each from Hanna Crymble and Tara Dalman.

Blake may be No. 3 in the girls lacrosse state tournament seedlings, but the Bears wasted little time Tuesday reminding everyone which team was the five-time defending champion.

The Bears scored 10 goals in the first 10 minutes of its quarterfinal game against Champlin Park and cruised to a 17-4 victory at Hopkins High School.

Senior attacker Olivia Nolan scored five goals and had five assists for Blake.