Eden Prairie senior Julia Mixon watches soccer highlights before every game, anticipating her chance to score a spectacular goal in dramatic fashion.
Scoring just one goal in the regular season, she wasn’t the prime target of the Eagles’ opponents heading into playoffs.
After scoring top-seeded Eden Prairie’s final goal in a 3-1 victory over third-seeded Chanhassen in the Class 2A, Section 2 championship Thursday night, she may have placed her a name firmly in opposing teams’ scouting reports.
“She’s got a lot more playing time at her ideal position (outside forward),” Eagles coach Noel Quinn said. “When you get a bit of confidence and you score that one goal, there tends to be other ones that come after it.”
The goals came in bunches for Mixon, who scored in each of Eden Prairie’s three playoff games. A recent scheme change for the Eagles paid dividends as they eased past the Storm (13-3-3), who defeated them 1-0 in the regular season.
“We knew they would come at us aggressively off the bat,” Chanhassen coach Joe Szorcsik said.
In the 58th minute, senior captain Brianna Lupo was awarded a free kick and crossed the ball into a mass of players. Having seen a multitude of crosses from Lupo through the season, Mixon knew where the ball was headed.
“She has the best free kicks, so I always know where they’re going to go,” Mixon said.
Mixon jumped above the crowd and headed the ball past Storm goalie Dylan Melby and into the net, giving Eden Prairie (13-3-3) some room to breathe.
“We’re glad she’s scoring at this time,” Quinn said. “I don’t really care about the regular-season goals, but the playoff ones count a bit more.”
Each of the last four seasons, Eden Prairie has made it deeper in the Class 2A state tournament. Following last year's 1-0 loss to Eagan in the championship, the Eagles are looking to capture their first state championship since 2010.
“The experience we have in the past four years should keep us in good standing,” Quinn said. "We just have to hope the ball breaks our way.”
