Senior middie Cassie Hoyez scored three goals and added an assist to lead second-seeded Centennial to an 11-10 victory over top-seeded Mahtomedi in the Minnesota State High School League Section 4 championship game Thursday night.

Junior attack Ali Lindy added three goals, and junior middie Maddie Ulfig had three points on two goals and an assist to help the Cougars (13-2) win their first Section 4 title and advance to the state semifinals for the first time in school history.

Centennial will almost certainly be the No. 3 seed and face defending state champion Blake on Tuesday, June 3, at Hopkins High School.

“We’re going to have to stop (Michelle) Tremblay and use our speed to control the ball, because once they get it, they’re phenomenal to watch,” Centennial head coach Gary Nelson said. “We’re just hopefully going to try to keep it a close game.”

On Thursday, sophomore attack Britta Brolin, freshman middie Kayla Fuechtmann and sophomore attack Sam McGough all had a goal to round out the scoring for Centennial.

Mahtomedi finished its season 14-2.

Centennial led 7-5 at halftime and extended its advantage to 11-8 in the second half when Ulfig scored with about five minutes remaining. Mahtomedi pulled two back to close within one, but it couldn’t get the equalizer.

“This means a lot,” Nelson said. “It’s kind of a new program, so the kids are pretty excited. Hopefully, it’ll get more kids excited about lacrosse in the area.”