AUSTIN &045; There is something about archrivals that brings out the best in any contest.

Albert Lea and its Mower County neighbor have been in competition for most of the 150 years since their founding and Thursday night was no different.

An overmatched Packer team with solid goalkeeping held the Tigers scoreless throughout the first half before Albert Lea broke it open in the 54th minute winning 3-0.

In her second game back, senior Amanda Arends made her presence felt.

Although the Tigers were dominating, no one was finding the back of the net until Arends put her forehead perfectly on a Whitney Wilson corner kick, driving the winning goal into the top left corner.

Only 100 seconds later, Arends executed a slide kick in the box, slamming the insurance goal into the lower left, past the Packer keeper.

Leah Walters capped the scoring in the 62nd minute; threading a shot through traffic and under the diving keeper.

By contrast, it was a slow night at the defensive end of the field as the Packers could only get off two offensive shots in each half and no corner kicks.

Albert Lea, on the other hand, put 27 shots on goal and had 11 corner kicks during the game.

Only some incredible saves by the Austin keeper kept the score from being wildly lopsided.

&8220;You have to give their keeper a lot of credit,&8221; said Albert Lea head coach Rick Barnhill. &8220;She really kept them in the game.

Our offense created a lot of quality opportunities, but she had hot hands.

Amanda (Arends) really made an impact on the game; we are very glad to have her back.”

The Tigers regular season finale is Saturday at Hammer Stadium against the Winona Winhawks.

Junior varsity starts at noon, with varsity following at 2 p.m.