A big reason for the win was a 10-minute spell of dominance where the Irish scored seven unanswered goals and gave almost no possession to the Lakers (14-2, 7-1). “That was some of the best lacrosse I think we played, probably for some of these seniors in their career, “ Long said. “I think we were all a little like, ‘Wow,’ when we got off to that start but they knew that they needed to keep pushing.” 

Down 9-4 at halftime, the Lakers showed why they’re champions, as they scored four unanswered goals to start the second half. 

With their backs against the wall, the Irish (11-5, 5-2) never lost the lead and were able to respond through a goal from Sayla Lotysz, who finished the game with four goals and two assists. 

“Even though they went on a couple scoring runs we knew that we could come back and we weren’t going to get down on ourselves and our teammates,” senior Emma Duchscherer said about the Prior Lake run. “Something we really emphasized is our mental reset so after they would score, we saw our mistake and we completely reset, wash it and go back to the next point.” 

Duchscherer matched Lotysz’s six points with a game-high five goals and an assist. Four out of the five goals came off incredible solo efforts and precise footwork, something she said she worked on during the canceled season two years ago. 

“Working on quick feet is super important for attackers, having that quick feet and ability to move in a split second is something I’ve really tried to work on in the offseason, especially in the year off with COVID and only being able to work in my backyard by myself with a lacrosse net and some balls,” she said. 

While the goal scoring was the highlight of the game on both sides, Irish goalie Lexi Carl stopped four penalty shots and made six saves overall to keep her team in the lead. “This was her first time in some of these really big games and I know nerves got to her but she was able to shake it off and make those huge saves that kind of helped our defense when we were giving up those shots,” Long said. 

Now the Irish are back in the state tournament after finishing in third place last year. Prior Lake head coach Heather Pierson predicts they’ll have a better finish this time around. “Section 6 is just a tough section to get through and I fully believe whoever makes it through Section 6 is going to win the state championship at the end of it because how tough our road is to make it to state.”

Long shared a similar message to her team after defeating Edina 13-12 in the section semifinals. 

“I said it to them after Edina, ‘Who’s going to stop us now?’ They have this fire in them right now that I’ve never seen before,” she said. “I hope we can just capitalize on that and take down some of the teams that we lost to in the regular season.” 

Duchscherer wasn’t willing to get ahead of herself at all. 

“I think we still have a lot to prove and we’re going to go into state one game at a time, one play at a time, and continue to play as a team and for each other and continue to enjoy every moment of it.”