The final week of the season brings plenty of vital conference battles — and that includes one in the Lakes to Prairie Conference, where Bemidji and Detroit Lakes are set to play the decider Thursday in the year's final league contest for both teams.
The Lumberjacks (10-4, 6-0) have carved out a perfect conference record by cutting down opponents 38-5 in six league wins, including a 2-0 win on Aug. 30 against the Lakers. Emma Dean and Lindsey Hildenbrand scored in that game, and Hildenbrand's was the first of her team-leading 11 goals this season.
A Bemidji win would seal the conference and secure a higher Class 1A, Section 8 seed in a tournament it won last year.
The Lakers (9-2-2, 5-1-1), meanwhile, bowed out of last year's section tournament following a 3-0 loss to the Lumberjacks in the quarterfinals. Sure, a conference title should provide plenty of motivation, but so should revenge: Detroit Lakes hasn't beat Bemidji since 2014.
Ava Steinmetz, a senior midfielder who recently found the back of the net twice in a 9-1 steamrolling of Walker-Hackensack-Akeley on Sept. 24, could help bring a meaningful conference title to Detroit Lakes.