Blake began its quest to retake the Class 1A girls' soccer state tournament championship in orderly fashion on Thursday.
Senior forward Lydia Sutton scored in the opening three minutes, and the top-seeded Bears went on to beat Sartell-St. Stephen 3-0 at St. Cloud State. Junior Maddy Moe and sophomore Maggie Warner also scored for the winners.
Blake (16-3-1) defeated Benilde-St. Margaret's 1-0 for the state crown in 2011 and lost to the Red Knights by a 3-2 score in the championship match in 2012.
In the other quarterfinal matchups:
Benilde-St. Margaret's 1, Duluth Denfeld 0: The Red Knights (16-3-1) held the Hunters without a shot on goal in advancing to the semifinals. Junior midfielder Emma Van der Heide scored the only goal in the 14th minute.
Mankato West 5, La Crescent 2: The Scarlets (13-6-2) scored the first three goals in their upset victory over the third-seeded Lancers. Senior midfielder Madison Burandt had two goals and two assists while senior attacker Hannah Fox chipped in with two goals and one assist for Mankato West.
Totino-Grace 1, Hill-Murray 0: Sophomore midfielder Nicole Newman scored the lone goal as the Eagles (13-4-4) edged the Pioneers. Junior goalkeeper Gabrielle Eisfelder was stellar, making 16 saves.
RON HAGGSTROM
