“It’s insane for her to be offered that,” said Edina coach Katie Aafedt. “It’s like getting a basketball scholarship to Duke, or a football scholarship to Alabama. This doesn’t happen for many kids in Minnesota.”

With a growing spotlight on her, the Tar Heel commit didn’t flinch in her season debut. Her first goal for Edina (1-0, 1-0) came thanks to her speed as she breezed past the Trojan defense and beat Wayzata goalkeeper Rebecca Carroll less than six minutes into the first half.

Dahlien made Wayzata (0-1, 0-1) pay with a free kick that beat Carroll for her second goal later in the opening half. She nearly had a third tally in the second half from about 15 yards out that smacked off the post.

Dahlien’s teammates followed suit by using their speed to make life difficult for the defense. That was evident with Edina’s third strike, which came off a penalty kick from senior Emma Frommelt. She earned the kick after being taken down on a breakaway.

While the Hornets’ forwards starred in Thursday’s win, their efforts were slowed to some extent by Carroll. The sophomore stopped six shots in Thursday’s win.

“It was very good and encouraging to see that from her,” said Wayzata coach Tony Peszneker. “It’s disappointing that we couldn’t give her enough support on defense.”

Carroll’s teammates struggled to beat the Edina defenders. The Trojans managed to boot five shots but all were stopped by Hornets senior goalkeeper Olivia Jamison. It was just one of many things that were encouraging for Edina on Thursday.

"We ripped the Band-Aid off really quickly and got going," Aafedt said. "We're taking a different approach to this season. We're looking forward to every game because it could be our last."