Centennial at Andover
5 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 7

Andover made just its second trip to the state tournament in school history last year and its first since 2013. That state tournament experience should have seasoned a team capable of returning to that stage again this year, now that its 2016 core of juniors have returned for another year.

Erin Becker, who scored 26 goals last year, returns. Sophomore Corynn Grabau has also been a force, scoring three times for Andover (2-1-1, 1-0-1) in a 4-1 victory on Aug. 26 against Woodbury.

Centennial graduated first team all-state forward Ashley Ebeling, who scored 21 goals in 2016, including the game-winner in a 2-1 Class 2A semifinal win over Andover. Centennial (3-0-1, 2-0), which has reached the state tournament the last three years, has run its unbeaten streak 25 games.

The Cougars began the season with a 2-1 win over No. 10-2A White Bear Lake on Aug. 24 and a 1-1 draw with No. 2-1A Hill-Murray on Aug. 26. Since the tie, Centennial hasn't let an opponent score and its offense has kicked it up a notch, securing a 2-0 victory against Irondale last Tuesday, and a 5-0 win over Osseo on Thursday. Aria Burgess scored twice against Osseo.