A tough season ended for the Prior Lake boys soccer team Oct. 8.
The seventh-seeded Lakers lost 3-1 at second-seeded Shakopee in the Section 2AA quarterfinals, finishing the season with a 4-12 overall mark (3-6 in the South Suburban Conference).
The Lakers were a young team this fall with just six seniors — Kyle Anderson, Jack Bollinger, Melane Mor, Jonah Reed, Maxwell Emerson and Lucas Pochon. They returned only three varsity regulars from last year.
Prior Lake had a tough time scoring goals all season long, netting just 10 goals in 16 games and getting shut out eight times.
In the loss to Shakopee, Anderson scored on a free kick to tie the game 1-1 in the second half. But the Sabers’ Tyler Grausnick followed with a pair of goals en route to the victory.
Prior Lake went into the playoffs winning its final SSC game Oct. 3. Bollinger had a pair of goals in the Lakers’ 2-1 home win over Rosemount.
Prior Lake’s four wins are the fewest for the program since it joined the top class in 2003. The Lakers had a five-win season in 2015 and seven wins in 2012.
Prior Lake has posted double-digit victories in six of the last nine years and has had a winning record in eight of the last 12 seasons.
Two years ago, Prior Lake beat Chanhassen in the Section 2AA final to earn the program’s first-ever state berth as a Class 2A program. The Lakers’ other state berth came in 2000 in Class A.
Last year, Prior Lake lost in the section semifinals to Minnetonka in a shootout.