Eighty minutes in a merciless July sun is tough on spectators. Try playing single-elimination soccer with no substitutes.

In weekend action, the Albert Lea U-15 girls, sponsored by the Elks Club, narrowly won both games, returning to the state tournament. With the marching band trip depleting its numbers, the team needed every remaining player to capture the South Division crown.

The locals beat Prior Lake by a combined score of 9-1 during the regular season, but that was with a full roster. The Elks walked away with a 3-2 victory to stay alive in the tournament.

Late in the first half, Leah Walters drew first blood off a Whitney Wilson pass. Early in the second half, a Prior Lake defender fouled Wilson in the box. Expecting a whistle and penalty kick, the locals froze just long enough for the ball to be cleared and slip past keeper Annie Berger, tying the game.

Amanda Arends, in her first full game coming off an indoor-season injury, traded goalie/forward duties every 20 minutes with Berger. The Walters/Wilson combo put the locals up for good midway into the second half. Prior Lake kept substituting girls, but the relentless Albert Lea attack kept wearing them down. With 10 minutes left, Emma Dahl broke down the defense again and drove on the goal, netting it high and left.

The locals were up 3-1 when Wilson went down with an ankle injury. Limping, the Elks team held off the opponents until, with 15 seconds remaining, Prior Lake got its second goal.

Rochester is always tough. For the past several seasons, games were decided by a single goal and this season wasn’t any different. The Elks took both regular-season games by a 1-0 score and the rematch would be a repeat. Thirty minutes into it, Wilson laid it up through the middle to Walters, who scored the gamewinner.

The locals will be back at full strength for a state title run. To get to the championship game, they have to go through three big metro programs at the National Sports Center in Blaine: Maplebrook, Tonka and Sibley.

“Twelve players made a decision that they were going to the state tournament and were determined that their missing teammates wouldn’t end their season sitting on a band bus,” said coach Greg Wilson. “While everyone is needed to do well at state, everyone will be there because of those 12 girls. For the Prior Lake game, 11 girls not only played without a break, they kicked it up a notch. Kristen Nelson played her best game so far at outside midfielder and Nicole Ball made a tough switch from forward to defender. Shelby Vietze made a big step up, playing stopper, and

Tiffany Schrader had her hands full at sweeper. Jill Freeman and Conner Peterson completely shut down Prior Lake’s attack on their side. At the end, every player was beat up and sore, so having Samantha Overgaard back for the Rochester game was crucial. The team has shown steady improvement, continuing into the post-season. A good state run will keep them razor sharp for the beginning of the high school season in a few weeks.”