The last time Stillwater lost a girls’ lacrosse match to a team from Minnesota, the opponent was the same one the Ponies were staring at in the Tuesday’s quarterfinals: Prior Lake

Prior Lake used that game as a catalyst to their first state tournament berth. Stillwater, in turn, used it as a reason for revenge. The Ponies scored six consecutive goals spanning the end of the first half and the beginning of the second, pulling away to defeat Prior Lake 12-10 and advance to Thursday’s semifinals against top-seeded Eden Prairie.

“It was nice to get the chance to beat a team that beat us,” said senior forward Carter Sanderson.

For the early portions of the first half, the two teams traded goals, with Prior Lake nudging ahead 4-3. Things changed abruptly soon after, however, as Stillwater’s speed and stickwork flummoxed the Lakers’ offense. And when Prior Lake did find open shooting lanes, Ponies’ goalkeeper Katie Lottsfeldt was stout in goal.

Late in the first half, with Stillwater leading 8-4, lightning was sighted in the area, forcing a delay of more than 40 minutes. If ever there was a chance for Prior Lake to regroup, that was it.

“It seems like every time we’re in the state tournament, we have a lightning delay,” Sanderson said. “I don’t like them.

But momentum remained squarely on Stillwater’s side as the Ponies scored twice after the delay. Prior Lake (14-3) finally managed to break its scoreless streak on a goal by Alexa Bloedow with 13 minutes left in the game. The Lakers went full-attack mode in the final seven minutes and closed to within two, but got no closer.

The high-scoring threesome of Remi Larson, Carter Sanderson and Carly Fedorowski combined to score 10 goals and Lottsfeldt made 12 saves for Stillwater (15-2), whose only other loss this season was to Chicago (Ill.) power New Trier in mind-May.