TURNER — After Lake Region and Leavitt combined for four goals in the first half of their Class B South girls’ preliminary soccer game, offensive chances were much more difficult to come by in the second half.

With the game tied a two with four minutes remaining, Lake Region High School’s Aisley Sturk put home a loose ball after a direct kick to snap the deadlock and help lift the No. 10 Lakers to a 4-2 win over the No. 7 Hornets.

Lake Region (8-7) advances to face the No. 2 York Wildcats (8-3-3) in the quarterfinal round.

“I had one of my backs step up, she’s a senior, and we decided she was going to take the (direct) kick,” Lake Region coach Peter Webb said. “The keeper bobbled it and we put it away. That was huge.”

Two minutes later, Neva Leavitt added the insurance marker as the Hornets (6-5-4) tried to push for overtime.

Despite the difference in offense between the two halves, the Lakers continued to preach their game plan.

“We didn’t change much really, we stayed in the formation that we went with and we felt we had to move the ball better than we did,” Webb said. “We needed to take our opportunities, we didn’t really change much.”

The Lakers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with the wind at their backs for the first half. Kristen Huntress pushed up the field and got in the box down the right side where she fired the ball towards the net. The ball rode the wind over Leavitt keeper Angela Daigle’s reach and sailed into the net. The goal goal came 10:31 into the game.

“I felt we have been working hard at possessing and working the ball out of the back,” Webb said. “I felt we worked well together.”

Huntress kept attacking. A shot went in on Daigle, she mishandle it and Huntress was there for the easy goal at the 17:45 mark.

“It’s a tough spot because you aren’t moving,” Leavitt coach Chris Cifelli said. “Both goalies, I think a couple times today, they were cold. Yeah, they did take advantage of that, but the think I liked again, Angie kept making key saves. Maybe ten minutes later, she made a great stop on Huntress that was huge. That could have been the game.”

The Hornets quickly responded off a corner when Emmalee Duguay put home a set piece 49 seconds after Huntress’ goal.

“Set plays have been big for us this year,” Cifelli said. “Off the top of my head, I don’t know how many goals we have scored, but I think over ten have been off set plays, corners, direct and indirect (kicks). We were hoping if we could get a couple of corners, we might have a shot of getting one. We had our chances, we absolutely did.”

Leavitt tied the game in the 22nd minute when Sophie Gilbert shot sailed over Chandler True, Lake Region’s keeper, into the net.

“We have battled back all season,” Cifelli said. “We got down two so if was a new challenge that we haven’t seen this year, but to see them respond to give us a shot in the second half, there’s nothing more we can ask for, we had a shot.”

In the second half, Cifelli dropped Gilbert back from her normal striker position to play defense to shadow Huntress.