1A, Section 6: Santoni's goal sends Edina girls to first state tourney, but victory was team effort Senior Nicola Santoni scored midway through overtime, while teammate Uma Corniea made a series of key saves in regularion to help the Hornets sting Prior Lake. Edina, despite its No. 4 ranking the final coaches' poll for the regular season, entered Thursday’s Class 1A, Section 6 championship as a decided underdog to No. 2-ranked Prior Lake. The Hornets played the role to perfection. Twice Edina (14-2) rallied from deficits to catch the Lakers, the second time coming back from five goals down late in the first half, and went on to beat Prior Lake 10-9 in overtime and secure the program’s first state tournament appearance. The Lakers (13-2) will miss the state tournament for the second consecutive season after participating in the season’s final week each year from 2015-21. “We planned on that, knowing we were going to give up some goals, and we were going to work hard not to let that get into our heads,” said Edina senior Nicola Santoni, whose goal 2 minutes, 48 seconds into the five-minute overtime secured the Hornets’ victory. “I’m so proud of this team for sticking to that plan and not giving in to it.” Prior Lake went ahead 3-1 before the Hornets came back to tie the game on Kaylee Idrogo-Lam’s goal with 14:13 left in the first half. But the Lakers responded immediately, scoring five consecutive goals over the next nine minutes to grab an 8-3 lead. Edina’s Josie Moe scored with 50 seconds left in the half to close the gap to four goals. Edina reached the Section 6 final in 2021 but lost to Prior Lake, and the Hornets lost to eventual section champion Rosemount in last season’s semifinals. But Santoni, who scored four goals, and senior goaltender Uma Corniea made sure Edina made it out of the section tournament this season. Corniea and the Edina defense tightened up in the second half, after the Lakers built an 8-4 lead in the first 25 minutes. The Hornets surrendered just one goal over the last 30-plus minutes and held Prior Lake to fewer than 10 goals for the first time this season.