The last time the Owatonna girls lacrosse team and the Rochester Century Panthers shared the same field in Owatonna, the Huskies gutted out a 6-5 victory that secured their spot at the top of the Big 9 Conference as the 2023 Big 9 champs.
But since then, the Huskies’ lineup has seen some changes and a young Owatonna roster is looking to improve while remaining in the hunt for another Big 9 championship.
Century got its revenge from last season, as the Huskies were outlasted 11-10 by the Panthers in the 2024 season opener at Federated Field Monday night.
Owatonna had to battle a series of runs that left the Huskies having to claw their way out of a couple of holes and ultimately led to a final surge to tie the game in the last 20 seconds that ultimately came up short.
“Obviously that wasn’t the outcome we hoped to get,” said head coach Dani Licht. “Every time we match up with Century, we know it’s going to be a good game. I wasn’t expecting to be down and digging out as much as we did. But with the amount of young midfielders we currently have on our team this season, that’s definitely an area that we’re going to learn and grow with every single game that we step on the field.”
Junior midfielder Lauren Busho wasted little time getting things going by taking the opening faceoff down for a goal just a handful of seconds into the game.
Century rattled off three goals to take a 3-1 lead to close out the first quarter of play. Junior attacker Ellery Blacker helped cut it within 3-2 to open the second quarter. The Panthers put in back-to-back goals to go up 5-2 before Owatonna tied it behind a goal from Busho and two goals from senior attacker Madison McGinn.
Just as the Huskies tied things back up, Century went on another run to go up 9-5 with nearly 1:30 left to play in the first half. Sophomore attacker Addy Schroht scored with a minute left to make it a three-goal deficit at half.
Schroht and senior attacker Halle Oldefendt both tallied a goal in the third quarter and the Panthers matched the two goals to keep the three-goal lead going into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter took a bit for the goals to get going and Schroht completed her hat trick with a couple of minutes remaining to pull it within 11-9. Blacker scored her second goal of the night to make it a one-goal game with 1:49 left to play.
Century was able to burn off a good chunk of time after the faceoff and with around 30 seconds left to play, Owatonna went on one last push in an attempt to tie things. Junior midfielder Kylee Eaton tried to score point blank at the buzzer, but a save clinched Century’s win over the Huskies.
“This team, we’re going to bounce back,” Licht said. “Even though we lost tonight against Century, we do get to see them again this season.”
Like the first game for most sports, there were a couple of first-game jitters to shake off, but one of the biggest changes that Owatonna had to work through against the Panthers was adjusting to life without Anni Moran.
For the past few seasons, Moran had been a staple of Owatonna girls lacrosse and routinely found herself as one of the state’s top midfielders and goal scorers. She helped keep the Huskies at the top of the conference standings while breaking the team’s record for most points and is now playing Division II lacrosse with Quincy University.
Having to replace one of the best players in the state is a tough challenge for any team and Owatonna is doubling down by playing with a young roster. One of the players they’re looking at helping step up is Schroht.
An injury kept Schroht away last year, but the sophomore attacker is back and ready to step up as a scoring threat for Owatonna that opposing team’s didn’t get a good look at last season. Schroht’s three goals led the Huskies in the season opener and she’ll look to continue being a top goal producer.
While there are going to be a lot of newer faces stepping into bigger roles this year, the Huskies still have a strong core to rely on.
McGinn formed a tough 1-2 punch with Moran last year to finish as one of Owatonna’s top goal scorers. The senior attacker is also committed to playing Division II lacrosse at D’Youville University next year and got her year started with two goals.
Junior midfielder Lauren Busho will be one of their leaders this season and had two goals for the Huskies until two yellow cards ended her night early against the Panthers.
“We were really thankful that, going into the season, we did have players that were able to learn, grow and develop with Anni,” Licht said. “You were able to see some of them come out and excel beyond what they could do last season.”
Senior defender Britta Henderson will help guide a young defensive core as the only returning starter on defense from last year’s Big 9 title-winning lineup. Along with a young defense, sophomore Nora Marshall is stepping back in the net after being a first-year starting goalie as a freshman.
The season is still young and with the talent the Huskies have with the players they’re hoping to develop, there will be plenty of opportunities to add plenty of wins into the record. Owatonna will go on the road to face Rochester John Marshall on Monday, April 22.
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