Newly named the No. 2 girls lacrosse team in the state, the Park Wolfpack showed why Monday in a hard-fought Class 1A, Section 3 semifinal against fourth-seeded St. Croix Prep.

Star senior Madi Brinkman powered in 200th career goal to help the Wolfpack score a 12-8 victory.

The win was sweet for the Wolfpack, who had lost in the section semifinals as favorites the last two season, falling to Woodbury and to Simley in 2023, both by 8-7 scores.

In fact, Park has been knocking on the door to state for four straight seasons, losing in the section semifinals in 2021, 2023 and 2024 and in the finals in 2022.

Park led just 7-6 after a weather-delayed first half but outscored the visitors 5-2 after intermission. St. Croix Prep ended the season with a 10-5 record.

Top-seeded Park (15-0) will host second-seeded Cretin-Derham Hall (12-3) in the Section 3 finals Wednesday, starting at 7 p.m. The winner goes to state. Park edged Cretin 7-6 during the regular season, one of three one-goal wins for the Wolfpack this season.

Cretin edged East Ridge 10-7 in the other section semifinal.

Park 18, St. Paul/Two Rivers 1

Park senior Josie Leonard banged in her 150th career goal, totaled 200 points and the then third-ranked Park rolled to an easy 18-1 triumph over visiting St. Paul/Two Rivers in the Class 1A, Section 3 quarterfinals Thursday.

The top-seeded Wolfpack wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard as star senior midfielder Madi Brinkman took the opening tip and punching it in just 11 seconds into the matchup. Park led 8-0 after the first period and 14-0 at the half.

Park improved to 14-0 on the season. The Wolfpack have been rolling, winning their last three games by scores of 23-2, 21-2 and 18-1.

St. Paul/Two Rivers ended the season at 6-8.

Madi Brinkman led Park with four goals, Maleah McMorrow and Sidni Gitzen scored three times, Krya Stofer and Leonard scored two each, while Alaina Wright, Mo Brinkman, Lila Krumrie, Hollen Thompson, Alyssa Hill and Lexi Sullivan added one apiece.

“I think we grew a lot through the season, and I think we cleaned up a lot of small things that we kind of saw in the early games like East Ridge and Stillwater and Cretin,” said Leonard on Thursday, who added four assists to her two goals.

The Wolfpack found the back of the net on 18 of 23 attempts.

“I think just doing the little things throughout the whole game, starting strong and finishing, making teams not want to play us throughout the whole game,” said McMorrow when asked if there were still areas the Wolfpack could improve upon this season.

Goalies Lauryn Ehrenstrom and Audree Laska faced just five shots in goal, stopping four. Ehrenstrom stopped both shots she faces in the first half. Laska allowed one goal in three attempts.

The eighth-seeded St. Paul/Two Rivers Ducks had advanced with a 16-15 win over St. Paul Academy and Summit School in round one.

Other quarterfinal team to advance Thursday were fourth-seeded St. Croix Preparatory, a 12-9 winner over fifth-seeded Simley, second-seeded Cretin-Derham, which ambushed seventh -seeded Visitations 17-2; and third-seeded East Ridge, which eliminated Woodbury 13-4. That set up Monday’s semifinals, between Park and St. Croix Prep and East Ridge at Cretin.