high schools

Emily Frankenfeld had heard it before. She just figured it would be better to do what she was told and not have to face a coach's questions later.

The Edina senior scored a once-in-a-lifetime goal, a rightfooted rocket from 30 yards out that caught the upper corner of the goal with less than 13 minutes remaining, giving the Hornets a 2-1 victory over No. 1-ranked Woodbury.

Edina (18-1-2) will play Lakeville South, a 1-0 victor over Armstrong, in Thursday's championship game.

"I told Emily in the locker room at halftime that I just wanted one good shot from her," Edina coach Simon Whitehead said. "Just one good shot. And look what happened when she did."

While the result made Whitehead seem prescient, Frankenfeld admitted that wasn't quite the case.

"He says that to me all the time," the midfielder said. "I'd rather pass than shoot, but I figured I'd better shoot because I didn't want to hear about it later."

Most soccer observers believed that Woodbury (19-2-1), the defending Class 2A champion, was a strong favorite to win its fourth title in five years.

But the No. 4-seeded Hornets showed early that they would not be intimidated. They stayed with the Royals from the outset, playing excellent position defense and defusing Woodbury's potent attack.

"That was our usual great play from our midfielders and our defenders," Whitehead said.

Edina got on the board first when Julie Sierks converted a rebound off a long shot by Corinne Buie in the 18th minute.

Woodbury tied the score 1-1 just before halftime when Catherine Sessions made a run down the right side and placed a perfect crossing pass on the foot of a rushing Alyssa DuVal, who scored easily.

Neither team had a clear advantage in the second half and the game appeared headed to overtime before Frankenfeld hit the shot heard 'round the southwest metro.

"We'll let them a have all of the accolades," Whitehead said. "We knew we could play with them. We were the better team."

Lakeville South 1, Armstrong 0: The chance they always believed they would get has finally become reality for the Cougars (19-2).

No. 3 seed Lakeville South protected a one-goal lead for much of the game and held on through some tense moments in the later stages against the seventh-seeded Falcons.

Many of the Cougars players were members of the 2004 Lakeville team that advanced to the Class 2A championship game. They fully expected that playing for state championships would be a common occurrence.

And with good reason. They won their section in each of the past two years, making the state semifinals each time before losing.

This year, however, the Cougars have found that sense of urgency they previously were missing.