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Prior Lake squeezes past South Suburban Conference foe Apple Valley

By Trevor Squire, SportsEngine, 04/27/17, 7:00AM CDT

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Sarah Pierson led the Lakers with five goals, including two in the final minutes of the game.

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Sarah Pierson (41) celebrates her goal with less than three minutes left that snapped a tie and sent Prior Lake on its way to a 9-7 victory over Apple Valley. Photo by Mark Hvidsten, SportsEngine



As Prior Lake’s most seasoned offensive runner, Sarah Pierson attacks the net with both experience and efficiency, knowing every possession is crucial in her senior campaign.

Pierson made the most of her chances on Thursday night, scoring on all five of her shots, including the final two goals of the game, to lead the Lakers (4-0, 2-0) to a 9-7 victory over South Suburban Conference and Section 3 rival Apple Valley at Dan Patch Stadium in Prior Lake.

“We were hungry,” she said after a game that was played in nearly below freezing temperatures. “My hands were numb, but we put up a fight and didn’t let that stop us.”

Pierson’s pair of game-clinching goals came in the final three minutes of play as Prior Lake, ranked fourth in the latest coaches’ poll, beat the No. 3 Eagles (4-1, 2-1) for a fifth consecutive game.

Apple Valley entered Thursday’s matchup averaging over 19 goals per game on the shoulders of 2016 All-Americans Molly Moynihan and Reagan Roelofs. The Lakers, conversely, have lived by smothering defensive play, allowing just 5.5 goals per game, even against some of the state’s toughest competition in Apple Valley, No. 6 Minnetonka and No. 8 Chanhassen.

Pierson gave Prior Lake a three-goal lead four minutes into the second half before Moynihan scored a pair of goals and Roelofs added another to tie the game at 6-6 with 13 minutes remaining.

Roelofs began dominating Pierson at the draw which kept Apple Valley in control for much of the second half and limited Prior Lake's offensive opportunities to a degree. 

Pierson vented her frustrations in the faceoff circle after the game, but quickly thanked her defensive core for making the stops when they needed them.

Anchored by seniors Raquel Ruhme and Amanda Barian, the Lakers defense is a mixture of veteran leadership and newcomer Lauren Wick that locked out Moyninhan and Roelofs for the final eight minutes of the game.

“Our defense completely dominated today and I think that was a big part of the game,” Prior Lake coach Ali-Minelli-Fenstermacher said.

After scoring the game’s last goal with 26 seconds left on the clock, Pierson won the draw, triggering celebrations from the Lakers section. 

“It got frustrating,” Pierson said. “[Roelofs] did get a lot of them [draws], but I think smiling out there and having everyone cheering each other on boosted our confidence and we were able to get the ball down and be a brick wall on defense."


Sarah Pierson prepares for her shot on goal that gave Prior Lake an 8-7 lead in the game's closing minutes. Pierson scored two of her five goals in the last three minutes. Photo by Mark Hvidsten, SportsEngine


First Report

Sarah Pierson scored back-to-back goals in the last three minutes to help lead Prior Lake to a 9-7 victory over South Suburban Conference rival Apple Valley Thursday night at Dan Patch Stadium in Prior Lake.

Ranked fourth in the state coaches’ poll, the Lakers (4-0, 2-0) scored first and never relinquished the lead.

Pierson had a game-high five goals and scored four times in the second half.

Molly Moynihan scored four goals for the No. 3 Eagles (4-1, 2-1).


Molly Moynihan (5) led Apple Valley with four goals. Photo by Mark Hvidsten, SportsEngine

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