Benilde-St. Margaret's rode a hot start and hot goaltending to win the Class 2A girls soccer state tournament championship game 1-0 over top-seeded Holy Angels on Friday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Olivia Olson made seven saves to preserve the victory for the second-seeded Red Knights.
Olson, well known as a basketball standout committed to Michigan for college, made her best and most important save of the game on a penalty kick with 19:30 left in the first half. Stars sophomore Ellen Neuharth tried to beat Olson low and to her right.
"That [save] was super important," Red Knights senior Kiya Gilliand said. "We had a lot of confidence in her to make a save like that. It was a little bit of a wakeup call. After that we responded really well. That was an amazing save by her."
The Red Knights (19-0-4) had the first offensive pressure of the game. They capitalized on a defensive breakdown to provide the only offense Olson needed. Sienna Carver picked the ball out of a crowd of Stars defenders, found room and fired a shot over the outstretched arms of Stars goalkeeper Tea Opitz.
"We knew it was going to be a tough battle both ways," said Red Knights senior Lauren Hillins, who assisted on the goal. "We were saying at the beginning of the game, 'Start off strong and pressure them fast so we can set the tone of the game.' When we were able to do that, we were all feeling it right away."
The Red Knights had an opportunity to extend the lead, but Opitz kept the ball out of the net by knocking it off the crossbar late in the first half.
Along with having seven shots on goal, the Stars (19-2-1) had three shots blocked and missed the net on four others in good scoring areas.
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