Elk River Elks Run Past Rogers Royals

 The Rogers defense couldn't play keep away against Cade Osterman as the Elk River quarterback ran for three touchdowns to lead the Elks to a 35-14 win over the Royals Friday night at Jerry Schremf Field in Elk River.  

The Royals got the inter battle off to a good start when Kalvin Eull broke a couple of Elk tackles and ran 33 yards into the end zone.  The Elks would bounce back facing a third down and nine.  Osterman kept the ball and ran down the left sideline 49 yards to tie the game at seven.  

Osterman would reach the end zone again in the second quarter as he scampered down the field like cars going through the construction on Highway 169 and scored a 76 yard touchdown.  They would extend their lead on Myles Gordon's four yard touchdown run.  But Rogers was not out of it yet.  Anthony Powell would run 69 yards into the end zone with :06.4 left in the first half and the Elks led 21-14 at halftime.  

Neither team would tally in the third quarter though Osterman left the game due to an injury and was replaced by Darioh Balisidya.  There would be good news for the red and black clad fans.  Osterman's injury was not serious and he did return to the game.  His presence was vital to the Elks in the fourth quarter when it looked like he scored on an eight yard run but he came up short of the goal line.  The next play would result in his third touchdown on the game.  Elk River would wrap up the scoring on a 32 yard run up the middle from Logan Bunker and he put the game out of reach for Rogers.  The Royals headed closer to the end zone on two pass interference penalties by the Elks but they lost the ball in the end zone and Elk River would down the ball twice to end the game.  

At half time, member of the 1982 Elk River team were honored.  They played in the Class AA semifinals and lost to eventual champion Stillwater.  

The Elks improved their record to 5-0 and will host the Moorhead Spuds in their Homecoming game Friday, October 7 at 7 PM.  The Royals fell to 2-3 and will also be home on the 7th against the Brainerd Warriors at 7 PM.  

SLP Orioles-Orono Spartans Football Preview

 For the second straight week, the St. Louis Park Oriole football team will be on the road.  Friday night they will head to Pesonen Stadium in Long Lake to take on the Orono Spartans.

Last Saturday the Orioles headed to Benilde-St. Margaret's and they were victorious in the Battle of St. Louis Park 33-28.  Jimmy Hager scored the winning touchdown with :30 in regulation and rushed for a season high 163 yards to spoil the Red Knights Homecoming.  His best game since Week Two when he rushed for 158 yards and entered the end zone.  Stefano Giovannelli caught only two passes and they were both for touchdowns.  

Defense also factored into the equation as Tony Kruse intercepted two Nirvaan Yogarajah passes, the first was a 53 yard touchdown.  Zach Helfmann recorded 11 tackles.  \

The key to the game for the Orioles is to stay focused and for Hager to have a solid running game.  

This season, there have likely been a lot of long faces in Long Lake since the Orono Spartans enter Week five with a record of 1-3.  The Spartans three losses have been to Holy Angels, Waconia and last week to the fifth ranked team in Class AAAAA the Chanhassen Storm 10-7.  The Spartans were up 7-3 in the fourth quarter until Storm quarterback Grant Muffenbier scored on a one yard touchdown run that would be the game winner.  The bright spot for Orono was junior running back Liam Rodgers who had his best output since the opener against the Cooper Hawks, rushing 26 times for 191 yards.  On defense, Nash Tichy had 11 tackles.  

The key to the game for the Spartans is for quarterback Charles Kraus to get into a rhythm.  He has not had a game this season where he has completed more than 50% of his passes.  

It will be a favorable weather picture with a high in the low 70s but you might want to bring a jacket since the temperature my cool down in the second half.  Game time is 7 PM.  

SLP Orioles Win Football Battle of St. Louis Park

The battle lines were being drawn for Benilde St. Margaret's Homecoming football game against its intercity rival the St. Louis Park Orioles but it was Jimmy Hager who scored the game winning touchdown with :30 to play to lead the Orioles to a 33-28 win Saturday afternoon.  

The Orioles would score the lone touchdown of the first quarter on a 14 yard pass from Declan Gaines to Stefano Giovannelli.  

In the second quarter, the Red Knights would even the score when Naarvann Yogarajah threw aa 20 yard left side touchdown pass to Jack Shull and both teams went into the locker rooms even at seven.  

If you arrived for the game at halftime, you didn't miss a lot of third quarter scoring.  BSM would take the lead on a 11 touchdown pass from Yogarajah to Luke Guggenberger.  The Red Knights would get the ball back after a shotgun snap to Gaines went awry that William Frattalone recovered at the Oriole one yard line and on the next play, Yogarajah kept the ball and entered the end zone.  The Orioles would bounce back as the Gaines to Giovannelli combination would prevail for a second time, which would be a 37 yard touchdown.  BSM would counter :18 later on Yogarajah's pass to Khalif Brown on the left sideline and he scampered down the field for a 70 yard touchdown.   St. Louis Park would come close to BSM on a 67 yard touchdown pass to Javaris Ellis and AJ Foater's two point conversion cut the Red Knight lead to 28-21.

Defense would be the key for the Orioles in the fourth quarter.  The Red Knights had the ball and Yogarajah's pass was intercepted by Tony Kruse.  He went into cruise control and went 53 yards for a touchdown to to cut the lead to 28-27.  BSM had a chance to send the red and white clad fans home happy on Homecoming but Yogarajah's pass was intercepted by Kruse that gave the ball back to St. Louis Park.  Facing a fourth down conversion, Hager would come up big to give the Orioles first and goal, followed by a four yard touchdown run with :30 left in the game.  The Red Knights had another chance to win the game with :01 remaining but after a couple of laterals following a Yogarajah pass, they would come up short to end the game.  

St. Louis Park improved their record to 2-2 and will head to Long Lake next Friday, September 30 to face the Orono Spartans at Pesonen Stadium at 7 PM.  BSM fell to -04 and they will also return to action on the 30th as they head to Richfield for a 7 PM game with the Holy Angels Stars.  

SLP Orioles-Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights Football Preview

 It's a rarity for both St. Louis Park schools to play a Saturday afternoon football game as the St. Louis Park Orioles head to Benilde-St. Margaret's to battle the Red Knights.  

The Orioles enter Week 4 with a record of 1-2.  Last week against the Two Rivers Warriors, a team who came into the game scoring only eight points in two games,  St. Louis Park came up empty on their final drive and lost to Two Rivers 20-15.  All the scoring was done in the first half that started with a 77 yard touchdown pass from Declan Gaines to Stefano Giovannelli and a rushing touchdown from Jimmy Hager.  Hager had 28 carries for 75 yards.  On the defensive side, Bryson Huntley recorded 15 tackles.  

The key to the game for the Orioles is to take care of the football and cut down on turnovers.  Also the Gaines to Giovannelli combination can also be a factor.  

This season, the Red Knights armor hasn't been shining as much as they head into their Homecoming game with a record of 0-3.  Bear in mind that two of their three losses have come to Class 5A powers Spring Lake Park and Chaska.  Last week, BSM fell to the Chaska Hawks 28-7.  Hawks quarterback Jammarius Courtney ran for four touchdowns.  The Red Knights lone touchdown came from Luke Guggenberger, who caught 11 passes for 121 yards.  

The keys to the game for the Red Knights is for quarterback Nirvaan Yogarajah to have a big game and for the defense to put pressure on games.  

After a wet Friday night, the weather picture for Saturday is expected to be much better with the high temperature close to 70 degrees.  Game time is 12 noon.  

SLP Orioles Pound Park Center Pirates

There was no Saturday morning confusion for the host St. Louis Park Orioles as Vesna Dennison,  Halima Bigirindavyi and Lucia Versailles scored two goals apiece to lead them to a 9-1 rout of the Park Center Pirates.  

The Orioles got their first goal when Anna Williams made a centering pass to Bigirindavyi and she sent the ball to the net.  They would go up by two on Dennison's penalty kick goal.  St. Louis Park wasn't finished yet.  They would increase their lead to three after the ball deflected off a Pirate and into the net.  Versailles was credited with the goal.  It would be a four goal lead when Alicia Margalli fed Maren Wilsey and put it past Park Center goalkeeper Nefertari Moor.  The Orioles would capitalize on Moor played out of the net, enabling Dennison to find an opening and build their halftime lead to six.  

It wouldn't take long for St. Louis Park to further distance themselves from Park Center in the second half.  Sophia Dvorak was awarded a corner kick and getting into position was Versailles who received the kick and put the ball into the net.  Even the reserves got into the scoring column as Jana Faust would tally :53 later.  Birgirindavyi would round out the Oriole scoring.  

St. Louis Park improved their record to 2-5-1 and embark on a four game road trip Monday, September 19 at 7 PM in Chaska against the Hawks.  Park Center fell to 0-6 and will also be in action on the 19th when they head up Highway 65 to Spring Lake Park for a 7 PM game with the Panthers.  

It's Win Number One for Two Rivers Warriors

 Two Rivers football fans would head home over the Mendota Bridge happy when Adam Suchy scored the game winning touchdown with 1:30 left to lead the Warriors to a 20-15 win over the host St. Louis Park Orioles Friday night.  

The Warriors, who came into Friday's game scoring eight points in two games, got off to a tough start on their first drive.  A bad snap to quarterback Nate Schaffer was recovered in the end zone and resulted in an Oriole safety.  St. Louis Park would go up by nine on Declan Gaines' 77 yard touchdown pass to Stefano Giovannelli.  Two Rivers would conclude the first quarter scoring on Mason Moynihan's seven yard touchdown run.  

Both teams would tally in the second quarter.  The Warriors would vault into the lead when Schaffer passed to Suchy.  He broke an Oriole tackle and scampered 54 yards for a touchdown.  The Orioles would go back in front on Jimmy Hager's three yard touchdown run and they led 15-14 at halftime.  

Neither team would score in the third quarter.  Heading into the fourth quarter, Two Rivers would follow up a key fourth down conversion with Suchy's second touchdown, a 27 yard pass from Schaffer.  St. Louis Park would get the ball, looking to wrap up the win.  But Gaines' pass was intercepted by Jonny Youness.  The Warriors did not run out the clock and would eventually punt the ball back to the Orioles and give them another chance to become victorious.  Unfortunately, it didn't happen as they were stopped past midfield.  

Two Rivers improved their record to 1-2 and will host the Hill-Murray Pioneers on Friday, September 23 at 7 PM.  St. Louis Park fell to 1-2 and will head to Benilde-St. Margaret's on Saturday, September 24 for a noon game with the Red Knights.  

Friday night's game was a Tackle Cancer Game to raise money for the Randy Shaver Cancer Research and Community Fund.  The total amount raised was $524.  

Battle of St. Louis Park Soccer a Split Decision

 Thursday night was The Battle of St. Louis Park Soccer as the St. Louis Park Orioles hosted their city rival the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights with the girls routing the Orioles 6-1 and the boys holding off BSM 2-1.  

First up was the girls game where Kiya Gilliand broke open a close game with two goals in a four goal second half to lead the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights to a 6-1 victory over the St. Louis Park Orioles.  

The Red Knights would take the early lead when Nicolette Bisson made a left side pass to Lauren Hillins and she would connect.  They would go up by two on Grace Horejsi's center slot goal.  The Orioles would end the shutout as a result of BSM goalkeeper Clara Luger playing far out of the crease.  Vesna Dennison headed downfield, saw the opening on Luger's right side and sent the ball past the goal line.  The Red Knights led 2-1 at halftime.  

BSM would put the game away in the second half with four unanswered goals.  Siena Carver would score from the left side and Gilliand would tally twice, the second goal on a rebound.  Brooklyn Miller would wrap up the Red Knight scoring as she received a pass from Kayla Smart and sent it to the net.  

The Red Knights, ranked fifth in Class AA improved their record to 4-3-2 and will head up I-35 on Saturday, September 17 to take on the Hermantown Hawks at 3 PM.  The Orioles fell to 1-6-1 and will also be in action on the 17th, hosting the Park Center Pirates at 11 AM. 

Since Anson Opara took over for Chato as head coach of the Orioles soccer team, they have gone 4-1-2 since the season opening loss to Wayzata.  Opara and the Orioles got a big win Thursday night as they upset the fifth ranked team in class AA, the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights 2-1.  

St. Louis Park got on the scoreboard when Robel Tefara, making his first start of the season, lined an indirect free kick into the net.  BSM would tie the game on Matthew Robinson's goal from the far right side of the net.  The Orioles would regain the lead on Abdi Abdullahi's goal with 14:34 left in the first half and it would eventually be the game winner since both teams would play solid defense the remainder of the game.  

The Orioles improved their record to 4-2-2 and will return to action on Monday, September 19 as they head to Chaska for a 5 PM game against the Hawks.  The Red Knights fell to 4-2-1 and return to action on Saturday, September 17 as they head to Minneapolis Southwest to face the Lakers at 3 PM.  It was the first game this season where BSM has given up two goals.  

Two Rivers Warriors-SLP Orioles Football Preview

 The St. Louis Park Oriole football team goes for their second straight win Friday night as they host the Two Rivers Warriors.  

Two Rivers, based in Mendota Heights, has had a couple of weeks where their opponents have been shooting at the walls of heartaches for Warrior fans the last two weeks as the Warriors have been outscored 61-8.  Last week, Two Rivers was shut out by their city rival the St. Thomas Academy Cadets 51-0.  Savion Hart ran for three touchdowns for the Cadets.  The Warriors only touchdown so far has been a six yard reception by Ramzi Rislove against Tartan.  

The key to the game for Two Rivers is to establish a running game and generate some offense.  

On a rainy Bloomington Stadium field last Friday, the St. Louis Park Orioles got their first win 28-15 over the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars.  

The big story for the Orioles last week was Stefano Giovannelli.  He threw a touchdown pass to Mason Amelse and intercepted two Jaguar passes that he took to the end zone, including a 65 yard run.  Jimmy Hager also recorded a touchdown as he rushed 13 times for 158 yards.  

In addition to Giovannelli's defensive success, another player who also excelled on defense was Zach Helfmann with 13 tackles.  

The key to the game for St. Louis Park is for Hager to have another outstanding running game and the defense to come up big against a Warrior team that hasn't found their offensive rhythm.  

If you're planning to go to the game, you might want to take an umbrella.  The weather picture calls for showers around the second half.  Game time as usual is 7 PM.  

SLP Orioles Split With Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars

 Like a Schoolhouse Rock song from the early 1970s, three was a magic number Tuesday as the St. Louis Park girls soccer team was shutout by the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars 3-0 and the boys blanked the Jaguars by the same score.  

First up was the girls game as McKenna Long scored a goal and an assist to lead the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars to a 3-0 shutout of the host St. Louis Park Orioles.  

The Jaguars scored the lone goal of the first half when Sarah Totten fed Long in the center slot and she put Jefferson ahead.  

Long would help set up the Jaguars first goal in the second half on a pass to Becca Brendalen and she would score from the left side.  They would score their final goal on a throw in that deflected off of Ayah Makled and rolled into the net.  

Jefferson won their third straight game and improved their record to 6-1-1.  They will travel to New Prague on Thursday, September 15 for a 5 PM game with the Trojans.  

The Orioles fell to 1-5-1 and will also return to action on the 15th, hosting the Benilde-St. Maragret's Red Knights at 5 PM.  

On to the boys game as the St. Louis Park Orioles used a three goal second half to shout out the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars 3\-0.  

Neither team erased the zeros from their end of the scoreboard in the first half as both teams played solid defense.  

The Orioles would erase the deadlock in the second half when Tyler Puentes kick was fielded by Elijah Puchner and he sent the ball to the net.  They would go up by two on Amanuel Shetaye's liner from around the 30 yard line that landed past the goal line.  St. Louis Park concluded the scoring on Bjorn Bleske's shot that hit the crossbar and landed in the net.  

Tuesday night was also Youth Night where two teams of Park Valley United U10 teams scrimmaged at halftime of both games.  

The Orioles improved their record to 3-2-2 and return to action on Thursday, September 15 as they host the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights at 7 PM.  

The Jaguars fell to 5-2-1 and will also be in action on the 15th when they travel to New Prague for a 7 PM game with the Trojans.  In four of Jefferson's wins this season, they have outscored their opponents 10-0.  

SLP Orioles Split With Chanhassen Storm

 Thursday night was the first home Metro West Conference soccer double header as the host St. Louis Park Orioles battled the Chanhassen Storm with the boys coming out on top 1-0 and the girls blown out by the Storm 9-1.  

First up was the boys game where one goal turned out to be enough, thanks to Tylor Puentes second half goal that led the St. Louis Park Orioles to a 1-0 win over the Chanhassen Storm.  

Neither team would tally in the first half.  The Storm had an opportunity to take the early lead when Aayan Shrestha went two on one downfield but his shot was blocked by Oriole goalkeeper Luis Benitez Matias.  

St. Louis Park would find the net in the second half as Abdi Abdullahi fed Puentes on the left side of the net and he propelled the ball to the goal.  It would turn out to be the deciding goal of the game.  

The Orioles improved their record to 2-2-1 and return to action Saturday, September 10 at noon in Bloomington against the Kennedy Eagles.  The Storm fell to 2-3-1 and will host their district rival the Chanhassen Storm on Thursday, September 15 at 7 PM.  

The girls game would turn out to be a stormy stormy night for the St. Louis Park Orioles as Grace Fogarty scored a record six goals to lead the Chanhassen Storm to a 6-1 win.

Fogarty, who will be wearing a maroon and gold jersey next season at Minnesota scored her first goal from the center slot.  The Orioles tied the game on Vesna Dennison's goal 1:30 later.  But Chanhassen came right back to take the lead for good on Fogarty's second goal.  The Storm would add four more goals to their ledger with two coming from fogarty and Bella Naples to take a 6-1 halftime lead.  

Chanhassen continued their goal run in the second half with three more goals.  The first came from Kaia Burroughs, followed by two more from Fogarty in a span of 1:31.  

The Storm improved their record to 4-1 and will host the Chaska Hawks on Thursday, September 15 at 5 PM.  The Orioles fell to 1-4 and return to action on Saturday, September 10 at 2 PM against the Kennedy Eagles in Bloomington.  

SLP Orioles-Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars Football Preview

 Hearts will be heavy Friday night when the St. Louis Park Orioles face the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars at Bloomington Stadium following the news that Jaguar freshman Ethan Glynn suffered a paralyzing injury in last week's freshman team's opener against the Chaska Hawks.

Glynn lost feeling in his shoulders following a tackle and could be paralyzed from the waist down.  The good news is that his surgery was successful.  

More important, there will be a varsity game as both the Orioles and Jaguars are on a quest for their first win this season.  Last week, St. Louis Park was shut out by the Simley Spartans 20-0 and Jefferson fell to the Chaska Hawks 35-7.  

In the Orioles season opener, freshman quarterback Declan Gaines made his varsity debut and his inexperience showed completing 10 of 25 passes for 69 yards, 61 of them were to Stefano Giovannelli.  The ground game was led by Jimmy Hager, who had 12 carries for 55 yards.  The bright spot on defense was Zach Helfmann, leading the Orioles with 22 tackles.  

The key to the game for the Orioles is for Gaines to become more comfortable running the offense and spreading the ball around to his receiving corps.  The Helfmann anchored defense has to stop the Jaguar passing attack.  

Looking at the Jaguars, junior quarterback Tyson Schultz in their opener against Chaska completed 16 of 33 passes for 249 yards and accounted for Jefferson's only touchdown, a seven yard pass to Daniel Freitag.  If the name Freitag sounds familiar, he's also an outstanding basketball player for Jefferson.  He also excelled on defense, recording an interception.  

The key to the game for the Jaguars is to test the Orioles pass defense and for Schultz to have a solid game.  The defense last week gave up 213 yards and three touchdowns by Reese turner so they need to stop the running game.  

There could be a wet weather picture Friday night so you might want to pack an umbrella to the game.  Game time is 7 PM.  

SLP Oriole Soccer Teams Swept in Nonconference Play

 It was a warm Tuesday night but things got chilly for the St. Louis Park soccer teams at home as the girls were beaten by the Minneapolis Southwest Lakers 3-1 and the boys lost a heartbreaker to the DeLaSalle Islanders 3-2.  

First up was the girls game that featured balance scoring from three different players to lead the Minneapolis Southwest Lakers to a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Park Orioles.  

The first half looked like it was going to be scoreless but Wren VanDeWalker let a shot fly into the net to put the Lakers ahead.  They would go up by two at the half when the ball deflected off Elika Vahhaji's foot and rolled into the net.  

Minneapolis Southwest would increase their lead to three in the second half when Anne Layon laid her foot on the ball and drove it to the net.  There would be no shutout for the Lakers since the Orioles would erase the zero from their portion of the scoreboard on a penalty kick from Vesna Dennison.  Neither team would find the net and that's how the game ended.  

Southwest improved their record to 3-1.  The Lakers have won three straight games including two by identical 3-1 scores since losing their season opener to the Minnehaha Academy Redhawks on August 25.  They return to action on Thursday, September 8 as they travel to Minneapolis Washburn for a 5 PM game against the Millers.  

St. Louis Park fell to 1-3 and will also be in action on the 8th when they host the Chanhassen Storm at 7 PM.  

Now to the boys game and just when you thought the game was headed into overtime, there would be a game winning goal from Myles Dillon-Parks with 1:43 in regulation time to lead the DeLaSalle Islanders to a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Park Orioles.  

The Islanders would strike twice in the first half.  The first goal coming from Kenevan Carter and the second on a penalty kick from Dillon-Parks.  

There would be some good news for the Orioles in the second half as they came back to tie the game.  Tylor Puentes would score from the left side and Abdi Abdullahi would line a shot into the net to tie the game.  Would there be overtime on this warm Tuesday night>  The answer would be no when Dillon-Parks scored on a header with 1:43 to go.  

DeLaSalle won their third straight game and improved their record to 3-0.  They will head to Bloomington to face the Kennedy Eagles on Thursday, September 8 at 7 PM.  St. Louis Park fell to 1-2-1 and will also be in action on the 8th as they host the Chanhassen Storm at 5 PM.  

Simley Spartans Shut Out SLP Orioles

 The St. Louis Park defense got a full nelson in their season opener Friday night as Gavin Nelson scored two touchdowns to lead the Simley Spartans to a 20-0 shutout of the host Orioles.  

Defense would prevail in the early going when the Spartans Jake Stanton intercepted Orioles quarterback Declan Gaines on his first varsity possession.  St. Louis Park helped stop a fourth down conversion on Zach Helfmann's sack of Simley quarterback Caden Renslow.  On offense, Simley scored the lone first quarter touchdown when Nelson recovered a fumble inside the end zone.  

Nelson would make his second trip across the goal line in the second quarter.  He went up the middle, broke several St. Louis Park tackles and scored a 19 yard touchdown to put the Spartans ahead 14-0.  Renslow would wrap up the scoring for Simley, scoring on a 10 yard keeper run.  There would be no scoring in the second half as both teams failed to reach the red zone.

Simley opened the season with a 1-0 record and will head to Maplewood on Friday, September 9 to face the Hill-Murray Pioneers at 7 PM.  St. Louis Park fell to 0-1 and will also be on the road the 9th as they head to Bloomington Sradium to face the Jefferson Jaguars at 7 PM.  

Simley Spartans-SLP Orioles Football Preview

 It's a sign that Labor Day weekend is looming.  It also signifies the start of the Minnesota high school football season as the St. Louis Park Orioles begin the 2022 campaign hosting the Simley Spartans Friday, September 2.  

The Spartans, based in Inver Grove Heights advance to the state Class AAAA football tournament last season with a record of 7-4 but the euphoria of a state tournament berth ended in the quarterfinals with a 40-0 rout from the eventual state champion Hutchinson Tigers.  This season, Simley has a couple of key offensive cogs returning in wide receiver Tayvion McCoy and running back Gavin Nelson.  Nelson, who also is part of the school's successful wrestling program will wrestle for the Gophers next season.  His athleticism could pin the Oriole defense and also put the ball in the end zone.  

As for the Orioles, the good news is that 85 players came out for football in 2022.  It's the largest turnout in many years (and likely since the author of this blog has been worked in various press box capacities, including timer and spotter.).  There's quite a bit of experience on both sides of the football, including wide receiver Stefano Giovannelli.  Giovannelli, who pitched a no-hitter in the Section 6AAAA baseball playoffs last may will continue his football career next season at St. Thomas.  

However, there is some bad news is that last year's quarterback will Dvorak graduated and the new St. Louis Park signal caller is sophomore Declan Gaines.  Last season, he played on the freshman team and did not appear in any varsity action.  But he worked hard during the offseason and he has an opportunity to lead the Oriole offense for three years.  The defense has a couple of key returning players in defensive linemen Brian Banks and William Howell.  

Will Simley's state tournament experience continue to this season or will St. Louis Park's new found depth be a factor in Gaines' first game?  The weather picture is going to be a warm one so bring plenty of water because the temperature will be in the 80s for about the first half and drop into the upper 70s when both teams begin their three minute warmup for the second half.  Game time, as usual is 7 PM.  

SLP Oriole Soccer Begins September With a Rout and a Tie

 The first day of September was a scorcher as both St. Louis Park Oriole soccer teams were in action Thursday night as the girls blew away the Minneapolis South Tigers 9-1 and the boys played to a 1-1 tie against the Eden Prairie Eagles.  

First up was the girls and it was a big night for Vesna Dennison who scored four goals to lead the St. Louis Park Orioles to a 9-91 rout of the Minneapolis South Tigers.  

The Orioles would jump out to a three goal lead in the first half that began with Dennison's first goal coming from an indirect free kick.  Hanna Wilsey would put St. Louis Park ahead by two on a shot from the center slot.  Dennison would tally for the second time to increase the lead to three.  There would be no shutout for the Orioles since Ella Tennant would tally.  It would be Minneapolis South's only goal since St. Louis Park would wrap up the first half scoring with two more goals.  Audrey Martin would score from the left side and Dennison would get the hat trick on a penalty kick with 5:55 left in the first half.  

Dennison was not done sending the ball to the net in the second half as she would score her fourth goal on a rebound.  For the second time in the game, the Orioles were awarded a penalty kick and they capitalized on it when Sophia Dvorak found the net.  Jordan Doliner concluded the scoring on a breakaway with :17 left.  

St. Louis Park ended a two game losing streak and now has a record of 1-2.  They will host the Minneapolis Southwest Lakers on Tuesday, September 6 at 5 PM.  Minneapolis South fell to 2-1 and will also return to action on the 6th as they travel to Chaska to face the Hawks at 7 PM.  

Now to the boys game.  Both the St. Louis Park Orioles and Eden Prairie Eagles scored one first half goal and that would be the final result as both teams would play to a 1-1 tie.  

The Orioles would strike first on Tylor Puentes goal and Alexander Yu would tie the game on a penalty kick.  It would be all the balls that would enter the net on this Thursday night.  Both teams had scoring opportunities, including Yu's chance to put the Eagles ahead on a free kick going up against a three player Oriole wall.  But Yu's shot would be blocked and the score would remain even at one.  

St. Louis Park's record stands at 1-1-1 and will be back in action on Tuesday, September 6 at 7 PM as they host the DeLaSalle Islanders.  Eden Prairie recorded their second tie of the season and now has a record of 1-0-2.  Their next game is Saturday, September 3 at 3 PM against the Edina Hornets at Kuhlman Stadium in Edina.