The fall sports season gets underway Thursday as the St. Louis Park soccer teams open their season at home against the Hopkins Royals. Here's a preview of the upcoming season.
When we last left the Oriole boys soccer team, their state tournament hopes were dashed on an own goal in the Section 6AA final against the Wayzata Trojans. This season, St. Louis Park will get an early rematch against Wayzata on Saturday, January 24 in Plymouth.
Many of the players from last season's team received their diploma so the Orioles will be a bit younger with seven sophomores playing for veteran head coach Chato. One sophomore will likely be the starting goalkeeper, Beau Finley. Another sophomore played last season as a freshman, Nicholas Kent, son of St. Louis Park soccer coach Benji Kent. The Orioles do have veteran senior leadership in Nick Riley, Thomas Salamzadeh, Mohamed Mohamed and Randy Mayele.
A key nonconference matchup takes place at St. Louis Park September 17 as the Orioles host perennial Class A power the Blake Bears.
On the girls side, head coach Benji Kent has a number of returning veterans including seniors Ava Bishop and Aliviah Mcclinton, who also plays lacrosse in the spring. But St. Louis Park is still a young team with nine juniors and five sophomores, including returning goalkeeper Sophia Romero.
The Orioles also have an eighth grader in Vesna Dennison, who played last year with the 13U Tonka Fusion Elite. She is also a talented gymnast. Can she bring athleticism to a team that could be on the rise in 2019?
The girls game gets underway at 5 PM, followed by the boys at 7 PM. The weather picture for Thursday is going to be fabulous so get outside and head to the stadium for the Oriole soccer home opener.
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