Huskies score Big Nine title

With a gutsy 6-5 win over Rochester Century last week, Owatonna girls’ lacrosse won its fifth-ever Big Nine Conference title and the team’s second in the past three years.

The Huskies ran the table to the title by winning all nine conference games played so far this season, most crucially beating Rochester Century for the second time to take sole possession of first place.

“We knew coming into the night against Century that if we lost we shared it, but if we won it’s ours. There was a lot on the line tonight – and it was great that it was senior night too because this really meant a lot to the team. Century are our nemesis. We play them twice a year and generally come out with a win and a loss, but it’s nice to come out with two wins this year to seal the deal,” said Owatonna head coach Dani Licht.

Owatonna was the first team to break through in the game with senior Annika Moran cashing in on a free shot 1:48 into the first half.

Moran was far from finished early on as she scored two more goals in under seven minutes time to give Owatonna a 3-0 lead with 17:07 remaining.

While the Huskies looked poised to run right through the Panthers in the opening minutes, Rochester Century was able to get hot almost at a moment’s notice.

Just 59 seconds after Moran’s hat-trick goal, the Panthers managed to score twice to cut the Huskies’ lead to 3-2.

Owatonna gained a goal back on a pass from Moran to Lauren Busho following a free shot that gave the Huskies a 4-2 lead.

Neither team was able to score again before the half, giving Owatonna a two-score advantage heading into the second half.

Rochester Century was able to score first in the second half to cut the lead down again, but alternating goals afterward by both teams kept the score at 5-4 in favor of Owatonna.

Moran ended up potting the game-winning goal and the 160^th of her career on a free shot from the eight-meter box with 13:11 left to play.

The Panthers kept fans on their feet well into the last moments of the game after scoring with 2:03 remaining to make the score 65, but there would be no comeback possible after Owatonna goaltender Nora Marshall and the Huskies’ defense slammed the door shut.

Leading Owatonna in scoring was Moran with five goals and one assist – contributing on every goal scored by Owatonna in the game.

The Huskies would go on to lose their final game of the week 14-11 in a non-conference road matchup against Duluth.

The loss snapped Owatonna’s eight-game winning streak.

Up next for the squad is a home game against Rochester John Marshall/Lourdes on Wednesday, May 24 at 7:45 p.m.

The team’s home game will be the last ever organized Huskies’ event played on the school’s historic Huskies’ stadium.