On a frigid Thursday night in St. Louis Park, the Section 6AA boys soccer quarterfinals took place between the seventh seeded Minneapolis South Tigers and the second seeded St. Louis Park Orioles that would be be scoreless until Nick Riley's goal with 3:28 in overtime that led the Orioles to a 1-0 win over the Tigers.
Neither team would tally in the first half. The start of the second half would be delayed due to a tripped circuit breaker that darkened the visitor's side of the stadium. The second half would go on but without any power in the center light standard between the team's benches. Defense would prevail as Mpls. South played tight defense on the Orioles. St. Louis Park had a chance to win the game in regulation time but Alex Ruiz-Shimada's shout bounced off the crossbar. On to overtime.
The good news would be that the fans wouldn't have to sit in the freezing cold bleachers for a long overtime period. The Orioles controlled the ball for much of the period and it resulted in Riley lining a shot that ricocheted off the left goal post and into the net. And the celebration began.
St. Louis Park improved their record to 13-1-1 and will host the Bloomington Kennedy Eagles in the semifinals Saturday, October 13 at 1 PM. The sixth seeded Eagles advanced with a 1-0 upset victory over the Minneapolis Southwest Lakers. The second semifinal game will pit the Wayzata Trojans at the Minneapolis Washburn Millers, also a 1 PM start. The Trojans beat the Armstrong Falcons 4-1 and the Millers had no problem with the Richfield Spartans as they dominated the game with an 8-0 win.
Minneapolis South ended their season with a record of 4-8-1.
Thursday, October 11, 2018
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
Irondale Knights-SLP Orioles Football Preview
To quote a hit song by John Denver, "It's good to be back home again" would be fitting for the St. Louis Park Orioles football team who return to the stadium Friday night after losing two road games to the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights and the Orono Spartans. They will battle one of the top teams in their section the Ironedale Knights.
Last Friday, there was good news and bad news for the Orioles. The good news was that quarterback Aaron Ellingson threw two touchdown passes and running back Sajid Nathim ran for 159 yards and caught one of Ellingson's touchdown passes. The bad news is that they couldn't stop the Orono Spartans top receiver Jimmy Buck, who scored the tying touchdown with 1:17 left in regulation time and caught an eight yard pass from Nick Prentice in overtime that led Orono to a 20-14 win that dropped St. Louis Park to a 2-4 record. The Orioles will need to have an outstanding game from Ellingson and Nathim and the defense has to shut down the Knights offense.
As for the Knights, the maroon and gold armor has been shining bright in New Brighton as Irondale enters the game with a 5-1 record. Last week, the Knights traveled to Mendota Heights and held off the Henry Sibley Warriors 41-27. Irondale was led by running back Parker Freiberg who also ran for 159 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns. The senior running back has broken the 100 yard mark in all but the opening game of the season against the Spring Lake Park Panthers. He has 815 rushing yards and needs 185 to reach 1000 for the season. But the Knights offense is not all Freiberg, There's also quarterback Leighton Glodek who has thrown six touchdown passes in 2018 and wide receiver Aden Price who has reached the end zone five times. Taj Best and Joshua Apperson anchor the Knights defense.
A caveat for those who plan on attending the game. The weather picture calls for a temperature of 44 degrees Friday night. Bundle up. Game time is 7 PM.
Last Friday, there was good news and bad news for the Orioles. The good news was that quarterback Aaron Ellingson threw two touchdown passes and running back Sajid Nathim ran for 159 yards and caught one of Ellingson's touchdown passes. The bad news is that they couldn't stop the Orono Spartans top receiver Jimmy Buck, who scored the tying touchdown with 1:17 left in regulation time and caught an eight yard pass from Nick Prentice in overtime that led Orono to a 20-14 win that dropped St. Louis Park to a 2-4 record. The Orioles will need to have an outstanding game from Ellingson and Nathim and the defense has to shut down the Knights offense.
As for the Knights, the maroon and gold armor has been shining bright in New Brighton as Irondale enters the game with a 5-1 record. Last week, the Knights traveled to Mendota Heights and held off the Henry Sibley Warriors 41-27. Irondale was led by running back Parker Freiberg who also ran for 159 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns. The senior running back has broken the 100 yard mark in all but the opening game of the season against the Spring Lake Park Panthers. He has 815 rushing yards and needs 185 to reach 1000 for the season. But the Knights offense is not all Freiberg, There's also quarterback Leighton Glodek who has thrown six touchdown passes in 2018 and wide receiver Aden Price who has reached the end zone five times. Taj Best and Joshua Apperson anchor the Knights defense.
A caveat for those who plan on attending the game. The weather picture calls for a temperature of 44 degrees Friday night. Bundle up. Game time is 7 PM.
Monday, October 8, 2018
2018 Section 6AA Boys Soccer Tournament Preview
A rematch of last Saturday's Minneapolis Washburn-St. Louis Park could take place since both school are the top two seeds in the Section 6AA boys Soccer Tournament. Here's a preview of the quarterfinal field.
Before the Millers play their quarterfinal game on Thursday, October 11, there will be a play-in game between the ninth seeded Richfield Spartans and the eighth seeded Hopkins Royals. The Royals have tied five times this season and head into the tournament following a scoreless tie in their regular season finale against the Waconia Wildcats. As for the Spartans, they have lost three of their last four games. The winner will go against the Millers, who have been the number one team in Class AA soccer most of the season before they were defeated by the Minneapolis Southwest Lakers on October 4. Washburn has a couple of key nonconference win over the Edina Hornets and the Stillwater Ponies. They play outstanding defense and are one of the favorites to win the section title.
It will "The Battle of Plymouth" as the fifth seeded Wayzata Trojans head up Highway 169 to face the Armstrong Falcons. The Trojans also have five ties this season, two of them to Hopkins and one to St. Louis Park. They will go up against a red hot Armstrong team that concluded their season on a six game winning streak, outscoring their opponents 14-3. This should be an interesting match up.
Now to the lower bracket as the sixth seed Bloomington Kennedy Eagles take on the third seeded Minneapolis Southwest Lakers. It's a game that can go either way since both teams enter section play on winning streaks. The Eagles have won four straight games and the Lakers are on a five game winning streak, including the win over Washburn. Southwest is a high scoring that has scored more than 10 goals in three games this season. Defense will be a factor for both teams. The Lakers only loss against a section opponent was on September 6 when they were defeated 5-1 by Washburn. Can the Lakers stay hot or will the Eagles pull the upset?
Concluding the quarterfinals is the seventh seeded Minneapolis South Tigers and the second seeded St. Louis Park Orioles. The Tigers have lost five of their last six games with the lone win a 7-0 shut out of Mpls. Henry/North. As for the Orioles, they went into the final day of the regular season on a 13 game unbeaten streak before losing to Washburn 2-1 in overtime. The key to the Orioles success has been a team oriented style of play where there are no stars. It's a team they relies on outstanding passing and stellar defense. Don't count out St. Louis Park as a favorite to bring home the championship trophy.
Those are the pairings for the boys and girls 6AA sections. Plenty of exciting soccer action coming up.
Before the Millers play their quarterfinal game on Thursday, October 11, there will be a play-in game between the ninth seeded Richfield Spartans and the eighth seeded Hopkins Royals. The Royals have tied five times this season and head into the tournament following a scoreless tie in their regular season finale against the Waconia Wildcats. As for the Spartans, they have lost three of their last four games. The winner will go against the Millers, who have been the number one team in Class AA soccer most of the season before they were defeated by the Minneapolis Southwest Lakers on October 4. Washburn has a couple of key nonconference win over the Edina Hornets and the Stillwater Ponies. They play outstanding defense and are one of the favorites to win the section title.
It will "The Battle of Plymouth" as the fifth seeded Wayzata Trojans head up Highway 169 to face the Armstrong Falcons. The Trojans also have five ties this season, two of them to Hopkins and one to St. Louis Park. They will go up against a red hot Armstrong team that concluded their season on a six game winning streak, outscoring their opponents 14-3. This should be an interesting match up.
Now to the lower bracket as the sixth seed Bloomington Kennedy Eagles take on the third seeded Minneapolis Southwest Lakers. It's a game that can go either way since both teams enter section play on winning streaks. The Eagles have won four straight games and the Lakers are on a five game winning streak, including the win over Washburn. Southwest is a high scoring that has scored more than 10 goals in three games this season. Defense will be a factor for both teams. The Lakers only loss against a section opponent was on September 6 when they were defeated 5-1 by Washburn. Can the Lakers stay hot or will the Eagles pull the upset?
Concluding the quarterfinals is the seventh seeded Minneapolis South Tigers and the second seeded St. Louis Park Orioles. The Tigers have lost five of their last six games with the lone win a 7-0 shut out of Mpls. Henry/North. As for the Orioles, they went into the final day of the regular season on a 13 game unbeaten streak before losing to Washburn 2-1 in overtime. The key to the Orioles success has been a team oriented style of play where there are no stars. It's a team they relies on outstanding passing and stellar defense. Don't count out St. Louis Park as a favorite to bring home the championship trophy.
Those are the pairings for the boys and girls 6AA sections. Plenty of exciting soccer action coming up.
Sunday, October 7, 2018
2018 Section 6AA Girls Soccer Tournament Preview
The 2018 high school soccer regular season concluded last Saturday and the road to the state tournament begins Thursday, October 11 with the quarterfinals of the Section 6AA Girls Soccer Tournament. Here's a preview of the four quarterfinal games.
In the first game, the Minneapolis South Tigers will need to find a way to create scoring opportunities as they face one of the state's top teams, the top seeded Wayzata Trojans. Mpls. South's last four games have been decided by a 3-0 margin and they have lost three with the lone win coming against Mpls. Henry. As for the Trojans, they took third in last year's state Class AA tournament and head coach Tony Pesznecker has another outstanding team that won their first four games by a combined score of 14-0. Though Wayzata lost their final regular season game to the Blake Bears on October 4 1-0, they are the favorites to return to the state tournament.
The second upper bracket game will feature a rematch between a pair of Mpls. City Conference teams, the fifth seeded Mpls. Southwest Lakers and the fourth seeded Mpls. Washburn Millers. It will be the third meeting between the two schools. Washburn won the first game on September 4 1-0 and in the second meeting October 4, no balls went into the net as both teams played to a scoreless tie. It's a game that go either way or their could be a shootout to find out who will play Wayzata in the semifinals.
Now to the lower bracket where the sixth seeded Hopkins Royals ended a five game losing streak last Saturday with a 3-0 win over the Mpls. South Tigers. They will face the third seeded Armstrong Falcons who have won three of their last four games via shutout and lost their regular season finale to the Maple Grove Crimson. The Falcons are 1-2 against Section 6AA opponents with their only win against Southwest and the losses to Wayzata and Cretin-Derham Hall. Can they hit the .500 mark if they beat Hopkins?
Wrapping up the quarterfinal bracket is the seventh seeded St. Louis Park Orioles and the second seeded Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders. The two teams played each other on August 29 with Cretin-Derham Hall defeating St. Louis Park 3-1. The Orioles got off to a slow start, losing their first three games before they shut out the Mpls. South Tigers 3-0 September 4. They would have a strong finish this season, including a stretch where they won three consecutive games by an identical 2-0 score. CDH has been on a roll, winning eiight of their last nine games. Can the Orioles pull off the upset or will the Raiders continue their hot run toward a possible showdown with Wayzata?
Next up, the 2018 Section 6AA Boys Soccer Tournament Preview
In the first game, the Minneapolis South Tigers will need to find a way to create scoring opportunities as they face one of the state's top teams, the top seeded Wayzata Trojans. Mpls. South's last four games have been decided by a 3-0 margin and they have lost three with the lone win coming against Mpls. Henry. As for the Trojans, they took third in last year's state Class AA tournament and head coach Tony Pesznecker has another outstanding team that won their first four games by a combined score of 14-0. Though Wayzata lost their final regular season game to the Blake Bears on October 4 1-0, they are the favorites to return to the state tournament.
The second upper bracket game will feature a rematch between a pair of Mpls. City Conference teams, the fifth seeded Mpls. Southwest Lakers and the fourth seeded Mpls. Washburn Millers. It will be the third meeting between the two schools. Washburn won the first game on September 4 1-0 and in the second meeting October 4, no balls went into the net as both teams played to a scoreless tie. It's a game that go either way or their could be a shootout to find out who will play Wayzata in the semifinals.
Now to the lower bracket where the sixth seeded Hopkins Royals ended a five game losing streak last Saturday with a 3-0 win over the Mpls. South Tigers. They will face the third seeded Armstrong Falcons who have won three of their last four games via shutout and lost their regular season finale to the Maple Grove Crimson. The Falcons are 1-2 against Section 6AA opponents with their only win against Southwest and the losses to Wayzata and Cretin-Derham Hall. Can they hit the .500 mark if they beat Hopkins?
Wrapping up the quarterfinal bracket is the seventh seeded St. Louis Park Orioles and the second seeded Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders. The two teams played each other on August 29 with Cretin-Derham Hall defeating St. Louis Park 3-1. The Orioles got off to a slow start, losing their first three games before they shut out the Mpls. South Tigers 3-0 September 4. They would have a strong finish this season, including a stretch where they won three consecutive games by an identical 2-0 score. CDH has been on a roll, winning eiight of their last nine games. Can the Orioles pull off the upset or will the Raiders continue their hot run toward a possible showdown with Wayzata?
Next up, the 2018 Section 6AA Boys Soccer Tournament Preview
Saturday, October 6, 2018
Minneapolis Washburn Millers Sweep SLP Orioles
It wasn't a wash out for the St. Louis Park Oriole soccer teams Saturday afternoon as both the girls and the boys teams lost to the Minneapolis Washburn Millers 2-1.
First up was the girls game where all the scoring was on the basis of free or penalty kicks as the Mpls. Washburn Millers beat the St. Louis Park Orioles 2-1
The Millers would strike first as Emily Kuhfuss lined a free kick past Oriole goalkeeper Sophia Romero that landed in the net, giving Washburn a 1-0 halftime lead.
The lead would increase to two when Cadence Kocanda would be awarded a free kick following a St. Louis Park foul. Going up against a five player Oriole wall, she would send the ball high, deep and into the goal. St. Louis Park would get on the scoreboard when Ellie Kent received a penalty kick and she would score with 6:10 to go in regulation time. That would wrap up the scoring as St. Louis Park didn't send the game into overtime.
Mpls. Washburn concluded their regular season with a record of 6-5-3 and St. Louis Park ended their regular season campaign with a 6-6-3 record.
The boys game would be the feature game on this chilly Saturday as the top ranked Millers got the game winning goal from Darley Florvil with 2:38 left in the second overtime to beat the fifth ranked Orioles 2-1.
Washburn would tally first as Sam Fritsch sent the ball up field and Nick Katzman would score to give the Millers a 1-0 halftime lead.
As the second half progressed, it looked like the Millers would hold on to a one goal lead even though they lost starting goalkeeper Ben Schliemann due to an injury and he would be replaced by Isaac Barnhill. Wrong. It would be Nick Riley who would send a liner past Barnhill that landed into the goal with 3:13 left to play in regulation time. The score would be 1-1 and on to overtime. In the second overtime, Florvil fired a shot from the center slot and he would score the game winner with 2:38 left to possibly clinch the top seed in next weeks Section 6AA tournament.
Mpls. Washburn ended their regular season with a record of 9-1-2. St. Louis Park snapped a 13 game unbeaten streak and fell to 12-1-1.
The Section 6AA boys and girls soccer tournaments get underway next week. Pairings will be determined following Sunday's seedings.
First up was the girls game where all the scoring was on the basis of free or penalty kicks as the Mpls. Washburn Millers beat the St. Louis Park Orioles 2-1
The Millers would strike first as Emily Kuhfuss lined a free kick past Oriole goalkeeper Sophia Romero that landed in the net, giving Washburn a 1-0 halftime lead.
The lead would increase to two when Cadence Kocanda would be awarded a free kick following a St. Louis Park foul. Going up against a five player Oriole wall, she would send the ball high, deep and into the goal. St. Louis Park would get on the scoreboard when Ellie Kent received a penalty kick and she would score with 6:10 to go in regulation time. That would wrap up the scoring as St. Louis Park didn't send the game into overtime.
Mpls. Washburn concluded their regular season with a record of 6-5-3 and St. Louis Park ended their regular season campaign with a 6-6-3 record.
The boys game would be the feature game on this chilly Saturday as the top ranked Millers got the game winning goal from Darley Florvil with 2:38 left in the second overtime to beat the fifth ranked Orioles 2-1.
Washburn would tally first as Sam Fritsch sent the ball up field and Nick Katzman would score to give the Millers a 1-0 halftime lead.
As the second half progressed, it looked like the Millers would hold on to a one goal lead even though they lost starting goalkeeper Ben Schliemann due to an injury and he would be replaced by Isaac Barnhill. Wrong. It would be Nick Riley who would send a liner past Barnhill that landed into the goal with 3:13 left to play in regulation time. The score would be 1-1 and on to overtime. In the second overtime, Florvil fired a shot from the center slot and he would score the game winner with 2:38 left to possibly clinch the top seed in next weeks Section 6AA tournament.
Mpls. Washburn ended their regular season with a record of 9-1-2. St. Louis Park snapped a 13 game unbeaten streak and fell to 12-1-1.
The Section 6AA boys and girls soccer tournaments get underway next week. Pairings will be determined following Sunday's seedings.
Thursday, October 4, 2018
SLP Orioles-Orono Spartans Football Preview
This week's St. Louis Park Oriole football preview is brought to you by the number two.
The St. Louis Park Orioles conclude a two game road trip as they try to end a two game losing streak against the Orono Spartans Friday night at 7 PM at Pesonen Stadium on the Orono High School campus. Both the Orioles and Spartans come into the game with identical 2-3 records.
Last Friday night, St. Louis Park battled their private school counterparts the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights. There would be good news for Oriole fans in the first half as McCabe Dvorak hauled in a 15 yard touchdown pass from Aaron Ellingson and Sajid Nathim scored on an 11 yard run to put St. Louis Park ahead at halftime 13-7.
Unfortunately, there would be bad news for the orange and black as BSM would score 28 unanswered points in the second half to celebrate a Happy Homecoming with a 35-13 win. Red Knight quarterback Nick Peterson threw two touchdown passes and scored on a three yard run. BSM had two 100 yard rushers who also reached the end zone. Isaiah Smith ran for 130 yards and Will Petty accounted for 113.
The Orioles will need to have a better game from Ellingson, who completed 10 of 32 passes for 91 yards and play a strong defense against a potent Spartan offense.
As for the Spartans, they were shut out the fifth ranked team in Class AAAAA the Waconia Wildcats 26-0. Orono is led by quarterback Nick Prentice who had his worst game of the season last week completing four of 15 passes for 66 yards. It's the first time this season that he has thrown for under 200 yards. He also has sent 11 balls into the end zone. Also headlining the backfield is running back Fisher Eiss, who has 555 rushing yards including three games over 100 yards. Last week, the Wildcats put a "Gone Fishing" sign on Eiss as they held him to 16 yards rushing. He did catch a pass for 20 yards. Danny Striggow, Gus Hendeickson and Sam Wagner-Lund anchor a strong Spartan defense and they will need to shut down the Oriole offense.
If you plan on heading down I-394 toward Orono, be sure and bundle up. The weather picture for Friday night is cloudy and the temperature should be about 51 degrees. Who will hit the .500 mark after Friday night's game with two weeks left in the regular season?
The St. Louis Park Orioles conclude a two game road trip as they try to end a two game losing streak against the Orono Spartans Friday night at 7 PM at Pesonen Stadium on the Orono High School campus. Both the Orioles and Spartans come into the game with identical 2-3 records.
Last Friday night, St. Louis Park battled their private school counterparts the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights. There would be good news for Oriole fans in the first half as McCabe Dvorak hauled in a 15 yard touchdown pass from Aaron Ellingson and Sajid Nathim scored on an 11 yard run to put St. Louis Park ahead at halftime 13-7.
Unfortunately, there would be bad news for the orange and black as BSM would score 28 unanswered points in the second half to celebrate a Happy Homecoming with a 35-13 win. Red Knight quarterback Nick Peterson threw two touchdown passes and scored on a three yard run. BSM had two 100 yard rushers who also reached the end zone. Isaiah Smith ran for 130 yards and Will Petty accounted for 113.
The Orioles will need to have a better game from Ellingson, who completed 10 of 32 passes for 91 yards and play a strong defense against a potent Spartan offense.
As for the Spartans, they were shut out the fifth ranked team in Class AAAAA the Waconia Wildcats 26-0. Orono is led by quarterback Nick Prentice who had his worst game of the season last week completing four of 15 passes for 66 yards. It's the first time this season that he has thrown for under 200 yards. He also has sent 11 balls into the end zone. Also headlining the backfield is running back Fisher Eiss, who has 555 rushing yards including three games over 100 yards. Last week, the Wildcats put a "Gone Fishing" sign on Eiss as they held him to 16 yards rushing. He did catch a pass for 20 yards. Danny Striggow, Gus Hendeickson and Sam Wagner-Lund anchor a strong Spartan defense and they will need to shut down the Oriole offense.
If you plan on heading down I-394 toward Orono, be sure and bundle up. The weather picture for Friday night is cloudy and the temperature should be about 51 degrees. Who will hit the .500 mark after Friday night's game with two weeks left in the regular season?
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Senior Night Success for SLP Oriole Girls Soccer
Tuesday night was Senior Night for the St. Louis Park girls soccer team and one of the honored seniors in a halftime ceremony Ellie Kent provided leadership with two goals to lead the Orioles to a 3-1 win over the Forest Lake Rangers.
Both teams would tally in the first half. The Orioles would strike first as Alma Beaton made a centering pass to Kent and she would put St. Louis Park ahead. The Rangers would tie the game on a line drive goal from Abby Jones and it would be 1-1 at the half.
It would be Beaton who would beat Forest Lake goalkeeper Teegan Johnson when a lined kick would deflect off the senior netminder and into the goal. Kent would wrap up the scoring for the Orioles after she received a pass from Samantha McGurgan and her shot centered below the crossbar and landed in the net.
In addition to Kent, seven other Oriole seniors were honored. They were Anna Jennesen, Olivia Mosby, Anika Hanson, Rachel Young, junior varsity player Anika Christianson and student manager Grace Farley.
St. Louis Park improved their record to 6-5-2 and heads to Chanhassen on Thursday, October 4 for a 7 PM game against the Storm. Forest Lake fell to 3-11 and lost their third game in their last four. They will also be in action on the fourth as they will take on the Woodbury Royals in Woodbury at 5 PM.
Both teams would tally in the first half. The Orioles would strike first as Alma Beaton made a centering pass to Kent and she would put St. Louis Park ahead. The Rangers would tie the game on a line drive goal from Abby Jones and it would be 1-1 at the half.
It would be Beaton who would beat Forest Lake goalkeeper Teegan Johnson when a lined kick would deflect off the senior netminder and into the goal. Kent would wrap up the scoring for the Orioles after she received a pass from Samantha McGurgan and her shot centered below the crossbar and landed in the net.
In addition to Kent, seven other Oriole seniors were honored. They were Anna Jennesen, Olivia Mosby, Anika Hanson, Rachel Young, junior varsity player Anika Christianson and student manager Grace Farley.
St. Louis Park improved their record to 6-5-2 and heads to Chanhassen on Thursday, October 4 for a 7 PM game against the Storm. Forest Lake fell to 3-11 and lost their third game in their last four. They will also be in action on the fourth as they will take on the Woodbury Royals in Woodbury at 5 PM.
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