BLAINE &045; Albert Lea’s entrants in the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association state tournament had a very successful opening weekend.

Three of the five local teams were undefeated after two games at the National Sports Center in Blaine, and a fourth was 1-1 with hopes of advancing to the championship round.

The U-18 girls went 2-0, defeating Fridley 4-1 on Saturday and shutting out a previously undefeated Eden Prairie squad 1-0 on Sunday.

Amy Marka, Katie Dooley, Lacey Pederson and Kelly Cook scored goals in the Fridley game. Marka scored against Eden Prairie. Liz Reynen was in goal for both games.

According to coach Paul Marka, defense was key for the U-18 girls.

&uot;Some of those girls played outstanding,&uot; said Marka. &uot;They just shut them down. Eden Prairie was probably the No. 1 rated team in our division.&uot;

Leading the defense was Brianne Plantage, Mandy Ardolf, Emily Bergstrom and Steph Overgaard.

The next game for the U-18 girls is tonight at 7 against Thief River Falls, which lost its first two games. If they won tonight, the locals will play for the championship Friday at 7 p.m.

Also going 2-0 were the U-17 boys, who beat Bloomington 1-0 on a goal by Nate Lombardi and defeated White Bear Lake 3-1 behind two goals from Brady Plantage and one by Jeremy Jacobson. Ethan Berg was the goalie for both games, making several key saves.

The U-17 boys play Thursday at 5 p.m. and Friday at 5 p.m., with the title game set for 11 a.m. Saturday.

Albert Lea’s U-11 girls’ team played to a tie on Saturday and won Sunday to take the lead in its pool. The team won again Monday night, advancing to the championship game Saturday at 11 a.m.

The U-11 boys team went 1-1 on the weekend, blanking Eau Claire, Wis. 1-0 while falling 2-1 to Monticello. The team won again Monday but fell short of qualifying for the finals.

(Contact Jim Lutgens at sports@albertleatribune.com or 379-3437.)