Zoe Lopez had six goals in the tourney to help lead Orono to a third-place finish, their fourth straight Top 3 finish. LPH PHOTO BY JEFF ANDERSONSpartans earn fourth straight Top 3 finish
Zoe Lopez capped of her excellent showing at the state tournament with a hat trick as Orono defeated Academy of Holy Angels 6-2 for third place in Class A. It was the fourth consecutive season the Spartans have finished third place or higher.
Lopez opened the scoring 32 seconds into the second period, and capped off the scoring with an empty netter.
The Spartans were coming off a heartbreeaking loss to defending champion Warroad from Friday where they lost in triple overtime. They outshot the Warriors 62-39, but Warroad goaltender Payton Rolli made several key saves to keep the game going.
Lauren Albrecht, Alex Christian and Maddy Kimbrel also scored for the Spartans.
Macy Rasmussen and Gabi Lopez each had a pair of assists and Anna Rausch, Zoe Lopez, Christian and Alex Paulsen also had helpers in the win.
Calli Holmes and Anya Anderson both scored for Holy Angels. Zoe Rimstad faced 41 shots and made 36 saves, Orono netminder Vivienne Anderson had 28 saves on 30 shots.
Orono finishes their season 21-6-3. Zoe Lopez finished with 38 goals and 59 points to lead the Spartans. Academy of Holy Angels finishes 19-8-3. Taylor Lesnar finishes with 22 goals and 23 assists to lead the team . Jori Jones finalist Zoe Rimstad finished the season with a .928 save percentage.
