St. Michael-Albertville vs. Edina

12 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 28

Edina recorded its first loss of the season on Sept. 12. The Hornets, it would seem, were not pleased. They blitzed Minnetonka 5-0 in their next outing, never mind that the Skippers were the state’s second-ranked team in Class 2A at the time.

All has been right with Edina’s world since that loss. The Hornets (11-1-0, 7-1-0), ranked No. 2 in the Class 2A coaches' poll from Sept. 16, reeled off four straight victories, all by shutout, beating opponents by a combined score of 14-0.

By the way, "that loss” came against St. Michael-Albertville, making Saturday’s rematch our choice for the Top Game of the Week.

Of all the juicy subplots sure to be swirling around the match (postseason seeding, state rankings and Lake Conference positioning are all at stake), we like the head-to-head showdown between Edina’s Maddie Dahlien (18 goals, 10 assists) and Sophia Bowman (12 goals) and standout St. Michael-Albertville goalkeeper Meriel Orham (.924 save percentage) best.

Dahlien, a sophomore, has two hat tricks this season and has scored at least one goal in every game but two.

The No. 5-2A Knights (6-1-2, 5-0-2) are familiar with big games and tough opponents: they’ve reached the last three Class 2A state tournaments. Edina has made 11 state tournament appearances, the most recent coming in 2017.