Alexandria senior Kristin Trosvig had played in four state tournaments before this year but her team never had made the state semifinals.
That changed Wednesday, as fourth-seeded Alexandria rallied from a 1-0 deficit to defeat St. Paul United 3-2 in the Class 1A quarterfinals at Xcel Energy Center.
Trosvig scored twice in the second period for the Cardinals (21-7), who have made state trips 13 of the past 15 years but hadn't reached the semifinals since 2010.
Junior McKenna Ellingson added a goal on a breakaway with seven minutes left, and eighth-grade goalie Hailey Bailey saved 33 shots.
"It's crazy," Trosvig said of the win. "I just burst into tears when the buzzer sounded. It's such an incredible moment."
Alexandria took a 3-1 lead on Ellingson's goal, but fifth-seeded St. Paul United (19-10) cut the lead to one on a Catherine Kerin goal with 57 seconds to play.
United skated with an empty net the final minutes, and had a 6-on-4 chance for the final 20 seconds but did not score.
"It was nerve-racking, but I knew my team was there for me," Bailey said.
St. Paul United (19-10) was making its third consecutive state appearance and fourth in five years. Samantha Burke scored the first goal for United, which outshot Alexandria 35-18.
"The pressure was there, and it kind of seemed like our team got tired after the first seven, eight minutes," United coach Nate Mauer said.
NATE GOTLIEB
