Prior Lake defeats Stillwater 13-8 to win girls lacrosse state championship

Prior Lake senior midfielder Abby Grove played in a reserve role as an eighth grader in 2021, when her school won its second girls lacrosse state championship. Grove learned the ropes from the team’s veteran stars, including her older sister Lindsey.

Last season as a junior, Grove helped the Lakers return to the state final, but the team fell to undefeated Lakeville South.

On Saturday, Grove seized her opportunity to bring another title back to Prior Lake, scoring a game-high five goals to lead the No. 1-seed Lakers to a resounding 13-8 win over No. 3-seed Stillwater at Eden Prairie High School.

“It’s truly [indescribable],” said Grove, a captain and Rutgers commit. “It’s so special because I had my big sister there, but now I’m such a big sister to all these younger girls. We’re truly a family.”

With the win, the Lakers secured the program’s third state title and completed a perfect undefeated season at 19-0. The game marked a full-circle moment for both teams, as they matched up on April 12.

Prior Lake won the initial meeting 11-6.

Entering Saturday’s championship, four Lakers seniors had scored at least 70 points this season. Stillwater coach Carly Fedorowski dialed up a faceguard on Prior Lake senior Emerson Mattox, taking the 90-point scorer out of the Lakers’ offensive sets.

“We know they like to get the ball low and feed their cutters,” Fedorowski said. “We’ve got a solid defense, a great goaltender. We knew if we could play together, play our game, we’d be alright. We were just a step behind today.”

On a senior-laden offense, Prior Lake sophomore midfielder Maddi Beaulieu broke out for three first-quarter goals. Beaulieu also shifted into the draw-taking role as the Lakers grappled with Stillwater specialist and Florida State commit Indira Capelle.

“We don’t have one or two people running our offense. Each person can score and play,” Beaulieu said. “I wouldn’t have gotten those goals if my teammates weren’t trusting me.”

While the matchup felt like a track meet early on, with both squads trading runs early, Prior Lake’s defense held Stillwater scoreless in the second quarter to help build a 7-3 halftime advantage.

From there, Prior Lake pulled away with a 4-0 run in the second half and held off a late Ponies push to solidify a five-goal win.

“I don’t even think it even hit me that we won,” Grove said. “I’m just going to celebrate with my team, my family and let this sink in.”