LAKE MILLS — Sophomore forward Ben Springer, in the 97th minute, headed home the game-winning goal as second-seeded Lake Mills outlasted seventh-seeded Luther Prep 3-2 in a WIAA Division 4 regional final at LMHS on Saturday night, marking the L-Cats' second straight regional championship.

"Welcome to playoff soccer," Lake Mills boys soccer coach Josh Vinluan said. "Luther Prep came to play, but it wasn’t a surprise. I’ve been scouting them and they kept looking better and better."

Three minutes before penalty kicks would have ensued, senior midfielder Trey Smith took a free kick shot just outside the Phoenix's box that smoked the crossbar. Springer was there to head it back into the net.

"Lucky for us, Springer doesn't quit," Vinluan said. "This game took a lot out of us. Marty Pagel is a great coach and has done some great things over at Luther Prep. Just in this season alone, that team has gotten exponentially better. It’s too bad we met tonight and not later on, they could’ve been regional champs for sure.

"We are going to take Sunday to heal, get rid of the sickness running through our team and start to get ready for Heights come Monday."

The L-Cats host third-seeded Wisconsin Heights/Barneveld, 3-1 winners over sixth-seeded Columbus, in Thursday's sectional semifinal at 7 p.m. Lake Mills topped conference rival Heights in the regular season, 2-1 at home on Oct. 6.

Coaches Poll D4 10th-ranked Lake Mills, now 5-0-1 in its last six games, scored first against Luther Prep. Junior midfielder and defender Talon Lepak, on a corner kick by senior forward and midfielder Luis Lopez, scored in the fifth minute.

"It was a very back-and-forth game even though we scored early," Vinluan said. "Luis played a great corner kick and Talon jumped out of his shoes to put it side netting."

The Phoenix (8-7-1) equalized in the 19th minute on a goal from junior forward Owen Bode, who received a pinpoint through ball and slid it past L-Cats junior goalie Eli McHenry.

Lake Mills (13-2-3) drew first blood in the second half when Springer scored on a Lopez assist in the 66th minute. Six minutes later, however, the Phoenix retied the game after an own goal.

"We didn’t play our style of soccer and just kept trading punches with them," Vinluan said of the second half. "Finally in the 66th, we got another corner and Luis played it near post. Springer came streaking by and headed it near post upper 90. That definitely lifted our spirits, but Luther Prep didn’t quit.

"They just kept sending the ball into our last third. Finally, one of their long crosses was too high for Brandon Lopez and he misplayed it. It skidded off the top of his head into our own goal."

Neither team scored in the first 10-minute overtime period. Springer's game-winning goal came seven minutes into the second OT, which did continue for the final three minutes but Luther Prep could not find a third equalizer in a rematch of a season-opening game the L-Cats won, 4-0.

"Overtime was evenly matched like the rest of the game, but I feel we had a slight edge," Vinluan said. "We possessed and had some good looks before Trey's free-kick shot Ben scored off."

McHenry made eight saves for the L-Cats, who held a 15-9 edge in shots. Senior goalie Conner Hinz stopped eight shots for Luther Prep.