The quest for a trip to the Metrodome ended for the Albert Lea girls’ soccer team with a 2-0 loss to Rochester Lourdes in the Class A quarterfinals at Park High School.

The second time around for the Tigers at the state tournament proved just as challenging as the first, but Albert Lea battled the entire game and had its opportunities late in the game.

The Eagles were making their sixth tournament appearance while the Tigers were making their second.

“It was about as much as you could expect,” Albert Lea head coach Rick Barnhill said. “We’re just a modest team. We’re playing one of the elite programs in the state, Lourdes has a rich history in the sport.”

After the game Barnhill compared the struggles the team has faced in its first two state appearances to that of the team’s first two appearances in the section finals. It took Albert Lea a third consecutive section final appearance to finally break through and earn a state trip last season.

“The experience is always a positive one regardless of the outcome,” Barnhill said. “There’s probably a multitude of teams that would like to get here.”

The Tigers (15-5-2) held the Eagles (16-4-1) scoreless through the first half as the defense held strong. But Lourdes scored in the 51st minute of the match when Olivia Muyres sent a shot past Albert Lea goalie Steph Ferguson into the right corner of the net from eight yards out.

Albert Lea defender Sophie Miller made the initial clearance but the ball found its way to the feet of Danielle Nonn, who sent a pass to Muyres as Miller stepped in to pressure Nonn. With the open space Muyres fired a well struck shot into the net.

Lourdes added a second goal in the 56th minute of play when Jessie Wilcken sent a shot toward the left goal post. The shot appeared to be wide of the net, but took an unusual bounce and skipped past Ferguson and into the net for a 2-0 Eagles lead.

The Tigers started sending attackers forward from that point on and nearly scored on a pair of chances. With a little over 20 minutes to play in the game Taylor Friehl slipped a pass to Madi Passingham, who had a wide open look at the goal but her shot sailed wide right of the net. Mariah Maras also had a quality chance late in the game when, after Lourdes failed to clear the ball, Maras found herself with an open look at the net from 20 yards out. Her shot sailed over the crossbar and the Tigers were kept off the scoreboard.

“We had opportunities to tie the game,” Barnhill said. “They were legitimate chances and we could have got back into the game which would have been incredible.”

Albert Lea’s flurry of offensive activity in the final 20 minutes of play was a big difference from last season’s game against Blake, Barnhill said.

“I think it felt a little different than last year,” Barnhill said. “This time around it felt a little bit better because we created more offensive chances, especially in the last 18 minutes when we really had to do it. It was a good, spirited effort.”

Albert Lea did well to keep the game scoreless in the first half as the defense absorbed pressure from the Eagle attack. Lourdes controlled the majority of the first half through the midfield with its passing and quick challenges.

Ferguson faced a number of shots in the first half but turned away all of them. Ferguson continued to face pressure in the second half and made some difficult, diving saves on a number of Eagle shots. Lourdes finished with 14 shots on goal in the game while Albert Lea had just four.

Much of the game played out at the midfield and the Tigers tried to counteract the strong midfield play from Eagle midfielders Wilcken and Claire Rieder. Barnhill changed his formation multiple times to quell their effect and had some success in the second half, but Lourdes still held much more possession and created more dangerous scoring opportunities than Albert Lea.

“They were a fast team,” Albert Lea midfielder Morgan Stadheim said. “They were very good at using the width of the field.”

While the Tigers tried to solve the problem in the midfield, the Eagles were busy applying steady pressure on Albert Lea attackers. Lourdes was quick to the ball and was very strong in winning balls.

The field was far different from what the Tigers had seen all season as it was a much larger field. The sidelines stretched 10 yards past the football sidelines on both sides. The extra width suited the Eagles best as it allowed them to spread their attack and utilize the extra space for more passing lanes to build the attack.

The Eagles move onto the semifinals at the Metrodome Monday where they will face No. 1 seed Mahtomedi. The Zephyrs defeated Hermantown 2-1 before the Tigers and Lourdes took the field Thursday.

After a season of adversity, Albert Lea has much to celebrate. Despite losing two of its best players for the season, the Tigers set a school recored for wins with 15 and another school record with 63 goals.

Albert Lea graduates seven seniors, but showed it has some talent coming through the ranks in the younger classes throughout the season. The Tigers will be guided next season by a strong core of juniors who will look for another trip to state and perhaps a break-through game much like they had in the section finals last year.

The trip to state will likely leave a strong impression on the younger classes as the team will try for another trip next season.

“Playing at the state level is unlike anything else,” Stadheim said. “There’s nothing that can describe it or the competition.”