The past two days were strikingly similar for the Eastview girls' soccer team.

The Lightning got off to a slow start Wednesday night in preparing to face rival Burnsville, the team that defeated Eastview in the section championship last season, but the girls responded with a strong finish at practice.

Thursday night's game was nearly a carbon copy.

Kealie Espinada Banick's goal with 6:13 remaining capped a second-half rally by Eastview (7-0-0), ranked No. 3 in the Minnesota State High School Soccer Coaching Association's Class 2A rankings, and wrapped up a 2-1 victory over No. 7 Burnsville (3-2-0) at Burnsville High School.

Lightning coach David Herem said Eastview's lackluster start to Wednesday's practice was not up to his standards. He told the girls they needed to improve their performances to defeat Burnsville.

"After that, we had a great second half to practice," he said.

Herem's assessment turned out to be true 24 hours later as Eastview trailed Burnsville at halftime after the Lightning got off to another sluggish start.

The Blaze controlled the first half and took a 1-0 lead when freshman forward Morgan Keirstead scored with 1:58 remaining in the first half.

During the break, Lightning coaches game the team the same message they delivered the previous night: get back on track and start playing like the No. 3 team in Class 2A.

"(The halftime talk) was nothing tactical," Herem said. "It was the same thing as yesterday, so we had to get on them again and the result was pretty much the same."

The team, again, got the message.

"We just had to pick it up," said Espinada Banick, a senior defender. "We weren't talking out there at all and the effort needed to be better.

The Lightning responded by taking control in the second half.

Sophomore midfielder Molly Beckman tied the game when her shot from 10 yards out found the upper-left corner.

Beckman's goal helped build Eastview's confidence, Espinada Banick said.

"Just to get that first one and have us back in the game was huge," she added.

The Lightning completed the comeback and secured the victory on Espinada Banick's header from the corner with 6:18 remaining, giving Eastview a 2-1 lead.

"She is one of the best players I have seen with the ball in the air," Herem said. "She has the height and presence to handle those, and she did it perfectly."

Beckman said Espinada Banick has a lot of confidence when going after balls.

"When the ball gets up there, we know that she is going to have a good chance to do something with it," Banick said.

Burnsville's 3-2 victory in last year's Section 3AA final ended Eastview's season. The Lightning were still feeling the sting of the loss nearly 10 months later, especially the eight seniors on this year's team. Eastview, however, found some salve on Thursday night.

"It was good to get them back," Espinada Banick said. "They knocked us out last year, so it is good to get a good start and beat them now this year."

Kealie Espinada Banick scored with 6:13 remaining in the second half to give Eastview, ranked No. 3 in the Minnesota State High School Soccer Coaching Association's Class 2A rankings, a 2-1 victory over No. 7 Burnsville on Thursday at Burnsville High School.

Morgan Keirstead, a freshman forward, gave the Blaze a 1-0 lead with less than two minutes remaining before halftime, but the Lightning stormed back in the second with goals from sophomore midfielder Molly Beckman and Espinada Banick, a senior defender.

Eastview improves to 7-0-0 and travels Saturday to Duluth East while Burnsville falls to 3-2-0 and heads Saturday to Minneapolis Washburn.

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