BLAINE &045; With a berth in the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association Classic 3 state championship game already in hand, the Albert Lea U-16 girls didn’t need a victory in their final pool game Thursday.

They won big anyway.

The Albert Lea girls blasted Centennial 9-1 at the National Sports Center in Blaine, building even more momentum heading into Saturday’s title game.

While the locals just missed their 12th shutout of the season, they ran their record to 18-2 while outshooting Centennial approximately 25-2.

&uot;It was a very physical game,&uot; said Albert Lea coach Paul Marka. &uot;The defense did a great job again. It was a good team effort.&uot;

Katie Stenseth, Laura Hillman, Katie Dooley, Crystal Rentz and Amy Marka scored goals as Albert Lea took a 5-0 halftime advantage. Emily Staloch assisted on two of the scores, Stenseth, Rentz and Amy Marka on one each.

Stenseth scored twice in the second half for a hat trick, once unassisted and the other assisted by Tara Wrolson. Amy Marka scored on a penalty kick and assisted on a goal by Wrolson.

Nicole Sorenson was the goalie.

The rest of the team includes Emily Bergstrom, Lacey Pederson, Brianne Plantage, Char Everhart, Mandy Ardolf, Missy Reichl, Jenny Holst, Breanna Millhouse and Sarah Kurth.

Coach Marka said he’s confident heading into the championship game Saturday at 11 a.m. on Field H3 at the NSC.

Said Marka, &uot;We’re peaking at the right time.&uot;