On a day when the rest of the Twin Cities was doing everything in its power to cool down, the Benilde-St. Margaret's boys' lacrosse team never fully heated up.

But the undefeated, top-seeded and defending state champion Red Knights learned a lesson in perseverance in their state tournament semifinal Tuesday against fourth-seeded Burnsville, scoring three goals in the first four minutes of the second half and hanging on for an 11-10 victory and a berth in Thursday's championship game at Chanhassen High School against Eden Prairie, which had an equally tough time beating White Bear Lake 5-4. That will be a rematch of an earlier meeting won 10-6 by the Red Knights. But it almost didn't happen.

"They made us earn everything," BSM head coach Colin Mulcahy said of Burnsville. "We had to work twice as hard as we have all year."

With the starting time pushed from 6 to 7 p.m. because of excessive heat, the Red Knights looked out of sorts early and found themselves down 5-3 hole in the second quarter.

Benilde rallied to tie the score 6-6 at the break and built an 11-7 lead in the fourth quarter. But Burnsville continued to keep BSM attacker Will Hoesley off the scoreboard -- he had a team-high 63 goals coming in -- and moved within a goal with just under a minute remaining before falling short. BSM had seven different players score, led by three goals from midfielder Taylor Topousis.

In addition to the later starting time, teams in the first semifinal were given a one-minute break roughly halfway through each of the four quarters as a safety precaution. Burnsville coach Jesse Schelitzche said his players were spent afterward, but not because of the conditions.

"They were tired more just because they played their brains out," he said.

EP scores with 10.8 seconds leftMitch Hugdahl is used to feeling a sense of accomplishment after Eden Prairie victories. After Tuesday's semifinal victory over White Bear Lake, he primarily felt relief.

Hugdahl, a senior who teams with twin brother Matt to give the Eagles a dynamic duo, appeared to have given Eden Prairie a 4-1 lead midway through the third quarter before his goal was disallowed -- and he was sent off with a penalty -- for using an illegal stick. White Bear Lake scored twice with the ensuing advantage, and suddenly the game was 3-3 heading into the final quarter.

"I was just praying," Hugdahl said. "I was hoping I didn't just ruin the season."

His teammates had his back. After the teams traded goals, sophomore Riley Woodring scored with 10.8 seconds remaining in regulation.

"When things go wrong, you have to rise to the occasion," said Hugdahl, who added that he had his stick checked before the game and was told it was legal.

The abrupt finish ended a dream run for third-seeded White Bear Lake, which advanced to the state tournament after being seeded sixth in Section 4.

"They have nothing to hang their heads about," White Bear Lake coach Brandon Husak said. "They had a heck of a game."