After two years of shivering at St. Cloud State University, high school soccer fans can head inside to US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Monday for the first state high school tournament to be played at the new home of the Minnesota Vikings.
St. Croix Valley soccer fans will have to set their alarm clocks early because the top seeded and unbeaten Stillwater Ponies will have the honor of playing the first game in the new venue as they take on the Andover Huskies in the Class AA semifinals at 8 AM.
The Ponies advanced with the second straight win over their Suburban East Conference rival the Mounds View Mustangs 6-1 and the Huskies shut out the Moorhead Spuds 2-0.
At 10 AM, it's a battle of two Lake Conference teams as the Wayzata Trojans face the Edina Hornets. Both teams advanced by way of a shut out. Wayzata got two goals from Maclane King to beat the Owatonna Huskies 5-0. Edina had a pair of goals from Matt Lindberg to beat the Burnsville Blaze 2-0. The Trojans won both games against the Hornets by the identical score of 2-0. Can they make it three in a row?
Whether or not you leave for lunch, there's more soccer at noon as a couple of Big Nine Conference teams open the Class A boys semifinals, the Northfield Raiders and the Mankato West Scarlets. It took a shootout for the Scarlets to win their quarterfinal game over the Bemidji Lumberjacks 2-1 and the Raiders also won in a shootout over the Willmar Cardinals by the same 2-1 score.
The 2 PM game pits the Blake Bears and the St. Thomas Academy Cadets. The Bears came from behind with three unanswered goals to beat the Duluth Denfeld Hunters 3-1. The Cadets got two goals apiece from Amanuel Bird and Logan Davis for a 5-0 shut out of St. Paul Como Park.
Concluding the inaugural day's festivities is a Class A girls semifinal twinbill. First up, it's the defending Class A champion Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights taking on a rival that's familiar to hockey fans, the Hill-Murray Pioneers. Vivian Shinall scored four goals to lead the Red Knights to a 6-0 win over the St. Cloud Apollo Eagles and Katherine Schindler's goal 1:26 into the second half was the game winner for the Pioneers over the Waconia Wildcats 1-0.
The day's final game features the Dover-Eyota Eagles and the Mankato West Scarlets. Ashlee Olson, who played on the state Class AA girls basketball championship team in 2015, scored two second half goals to lead the Eagles over the St. Paul Academy Spartans. Junior Shelby Lund got the hat trick to help the Scarlets rout the North Branch Vikings 7-1.
So there's the first day of competition at US Bank Stadium. It should be a monumental day as state tournament action comes in from the cold.
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Martin is Key to Hopkins Volleyball Success
She's one of Minnesota's top volleyball players and part of the Hopkins Royals successful season as they are the fourth ranked team in Class AAA and the top seed in Section 6AAA.
Jazmyn Martin took some time before the Royals quarterfinal match with the St. Louis Park Orioles for an interview.
Before Martin went full tilt with volleyball, she also was a member of the Hopkins girls basketball team that has been coach for years by Brian Cosgriff. "he's a good guy to be around and taught me a lot of sports in general," Martin said. "He's really good to be around.
One of the top players that was a teammate of Martin is now a freshman at Michigan State, Nia Hollie. Martin gave her thoughts on how Hollie will do with the Spartans. "I think she's going to do great. She's a great player and she has a lot coming for her."
Martin decided to forego basketball and concentrate on volleyball. She felt it was hard to do both basketball and volleyball.
Martin's volleyball career will continue on the collegiate level when she will play next season at the University of Minnesota. She will be reunited with her former Royal teammate who is having an outstanding sophomore season as the Gopher setter, Samantha Seliger-Swenson. "The Gophers is a great program and one of the main reasons I picked the program is to play with Sam again."
She also commented on playing next season for Gopher head coach Hugh McCutcheon. "I very excited to get trained by him."
But first, Martin has to hep Hopkins in their quest to a return trip to the state volleyball tournament and she did in a big way Thursday night as she made some key blocks and kills to lead the Royals to a three set sweep of the St. Louis Park Orioles. The first two sets were an identical 25-16 score and in the third set, Martins outstanding serving and powerful attacks were the key to advancing Hopkins into the Section 6AAA semifinals with a 25-8 win.
Jazmyn Martin took some time before the Royals quarterfinal match with the St. Louis Park Orioles for an interview.
Before Martin went full tilt with volleyball, she also was a member of the Hopkins girls basketball team that has been coach for years by Brian Cosgriff. "he's a good guy to be around and taught me a lot of sports in general," Martin said. "He's really good to be around.
One of the top players that was a teammate of Martin is now a freshman at Michigan State, Nia Hollie. Martin gave her thoughts on how Hollie will do with the Spartans. "I think she's going to do great. She's a great player and she has a lot coming for her."
Martin decided to forego basketball and concentrate on volleyball. She felt it was hard to do both basketball and volleyball.
Martin's volleyball career will continue on the collegiate level when she will play next season at the University of Minnesota. She will be reunited with her former Royal teammate who is having an outstanding sophomore season as the Gopher setter, Samantha Seliger-Swenson. "The Gophers is a great program and one of the main reasons I picked the program is to play with Sam again."
She also commented on playing next season for Gopher head coach Hugh McCutcheon. "I very excited to get trained by him."
But first, Martin has to hep Hopkins in their quest to a return trip to the state volleyball tournament and she did in a big way Thursday night as she made some key blocks and kills to lead the Royals to a three set sweep of the St. Louis Park Orioles. The first two sets were an identical 25-16 score and in the third set, Martins outstanding serving and powerful attacks were the key to advancing Hopkins into the Section 6AAA semifinals with a 25-8 win.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Romero's Big Night Bolsters SLP Orioles into Section 5AAAAA Semifinals
The weather was wet and the crowd was sparse but it didn't stop the host St. Louis Park Orioles from having a breakout game as quarterback Logan Romero scored four first half touchdowns to lead them to a 49-0 sinking of the Minneapolis Southwest Lakers in the Section 5AAAAA quarterfinals Tuesday night.
After the Lakers first drive took :55, the Orioles got the ball for their first series and Romero would go up the middle on a keeper for a nine yard touchdown. Romero would head for the end zone a second time as he kept the ball and cut to the left side to score from 27 yards. St. Louis Park took a 15-0 lead.
In the second quarter, Romero scored two more touchdowns as the Southwest offense looked like it was stuck in traffic on Excelsior Blvd. The senior quarterback got the center snap, broke through a couple of tackles and scored a 16 yard touchdown. The only bad news for Romero was he had a touchdown called back due to a holding penalty. The good news was that he redeemed himself and picked up touchdown number four on a one yard keeper. The Orioles led at the half 28-0.
It wasn't all Romero for St. Louis Park on this cold and damp Tuesday night. Peyton Morrison began the second half scoring with a one yard touchdown run. Then sophomore Aaron Sledge would wrap up the scoring with two touchdowns. The first came from four yards and the second a one yard run. Defense was also a factor as Riley Dvorak intercepted Laker quarterback Brennan Hawkins. The small throng in the stadium bleachers would get running time in the fourth quarter so they could thaw out after being pelted with rain and shivering in the cold weather.
The Orioles improved their record to 2-7 and advanced to the semifinals on Saturday, October 29 as the head up Highway 65 to face the top seeded Spring Lake Park Panthers at 1 PM. The Lakers end their season at 1-8.
After the Lakers first drive took :55, the Orioles got the ball for their first series and Romero would go up the middle on a keeper for a nine yard touchdown. Romero would head for the end zone a second time as he kept the ball and cut to the left side to score from 27 yards. St. Louis Park took a 15-0 lead.
In the second quarter, Romero scored two more touchdowns as the Southwest offense looked like it was stuck in traffic on Excelsior Blvd. The senior quarterback got the center snap, broke through a couple of tackles and scored a 16 yard touchdown. The only bad news for Romero was he had a touchdown called back due to a holding penalty. The good news was that he redeemed himself and picked up touchdown number four on a one yard keeper. The Orioles led at the half 28-0.
It wasn't all Romero for St. Louis Park on this cold and damp Tuesday night. Peyton Morrison began the second half scoring with a one yard touchdown run. Then sophomore Aaron Sledge would wrap up the scoring with two touchdowns. The first came from four yards and the second a one yard run. Defense was also a factor as Riley Dvorak intercepted Laker quarterback Brennan Hawkins. The small throng in the stadium bleachers would get running time in the fourth quarter so they could thaw out after being pelted with rain and shivering in the cold weather.
The Orioles improved their record to 2-7 and advanced to the semifinals on Saturday, October 29 as the head up Highway 65 to face the top seeded Spring Lake Park Panthers at 1 PM. The Lakers end their season at 1-8.
Monday, October 24, 2016
2016 Section 5AAAAA Football Preview
The road to the first Prep Bowl at the new US Bank Stadium gets underway throughout Minnesota Tuesday night as Section 5AAAAA quarterfinal action is the first step on the road to a state tournament berth.
In the upper bracket, the top seeded Spring Lake Park Panthers get a first round bye and they will await the winner of the game between the fifth seeded Minneapolis Southwest Lakers and the fourth seeded St. Louis Park Orioles. Last time the two schools met was in the 2014 section semifinals in Linden Hills with the Lakers eliminating the Orioles on a chilly Saturday night. This year, the scene shifts to St. Louis Park where both teams have identical 1-7 records. The Orioles lone win came against Park Center and the Lakers only victory was against Minneapolis South on September 22 41-0.
Last week, St. Louis Park had a chance to win their second game of the season but quarterback Logan Romero's pass on fourth and goal to Mykel Howard with :10.4 to go was incomplete. The key to the game for the Orioles is to take care of the football and play strong defense.
As for Southwest, they came up short last week against the St. Anthony Village Huskies. They did get their offense going against the Huskies, losing 28-22. They will need to get the offense going just like they did last week.
Now to the lower bracket where the second seeded Cooper Hawks wait in the wings for the winner of the second quarterfinal game between the Park Center Pirates and the Irondale Knights. No, this isn't a rerun of last week's game that had the Knights beat the Pirates 28-13 to improve their record to 2-6 while Park Center fell to 0-8. Sean Sutherlin caught two touchdown passes from Brendan White and Deandre Clarke ran for 80 yards and reached the end zone twice. It's pretty unusual that two teams that played each other the previous week play the following week. Irondale has the talent to go for its second straight win against the Pirates.
Following semifinal play on the 29th, the section final game takes place on Friday, November 4. It could have the makings of another battle between Spring Lake Park and Cooper. The Panthers beat the Hawks on October 19 57-39. How many points will the two teams combine for if it does come to fruition?
In the upper bracket, the top seeded Spring Lake Park Panthers get a first round bye and they will await the winner of the game between the fifth seeded Minneapolis Southwest Lakers and the fourth seeded St. Louis Park Orioles. Last time the two schools met was in the 2014 section semifinals in Linden Hills with the Lakers eliminating the Orioles on a chilly Saturday night. This year, the scene shifts to St. Louis Park where both teams have identical 1-7 records. The Orioles lone win came against Park Center and the Lakers only victory was against Minneapolis South on September 22 41-0.
Last week, St. Louis Park had a chance to win their second game of the season but quarterback Logan Romero's pass on fourth and goal to Mykel Howard with :10.4 to go was incomplete. The key to the game for the Orioles is to take care of the football and play strong defense.
As for Southwest, they came up short last week against the St. Anthony Village Huskies. They did get their offense going against the Huskies, losing 28-22. They will need to get the offense going just like they did last week.
Now to the lower bracket where the second seeded Cooper Hawks wait in the wings for the winner of the second quarterfinal game between the Park Center Pirates and the Irondale Knights. No, this isn't a rerun of last week's game that had the Knights beat the Pirates 28-13 to improve their record to 2-6 while Park Center fell to 0-8. Sean Sutherlin caught two touchdown passes from Brendan White and Deandre Clarke ran for 80 yards and reached the end zone twice. It's pretty unusual that two teams that played each other the previous week play the following week. Irondale has the talent to go for its second straight win against the Pirates.
Following semifinal play on the 29th, the section final game takes place on Friday, November 4. It could have the makings of another battle between Spring Lake Park and Cooper. The Panthers beat the Hawks on October 19 57-39. How many points will the two teams combine for if it does come to fruition?
Friday, October 21, 2016
Blake Bears and BSM Red Knights Clinch State Soccer Tournament Berths
It was a chill Thursday night in St. Louis Park as the Section 5A boys and girls soccer championship games heated up with the Blake Bears clinching a berth in the boys tournament and the defending state Class A girls champions the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights on their way to their fourth state title in seven years.
The boys title game was first and just when you thought there would be sudden death overtime you would be wrong as Ethan roe scored the game winning goal with :38.8 left in regulation time to lead the Blake Bears to a 1-0 win over the Breck Mustangs.
It was a rematch of the September 22 game where the Bears and the Mustangs played to a 1-1 tie.
Neither team would score in the first half though Blake goalkeeper Quinn Kiernat made several outstanding saves to keep second seeded Breck from scoring. In the second half, the game looked like it would be headed to two sudden death overtime periods until Mustang goalkeeper Hudson Haecker played way out of the net and Ethan roe found a huge gap near the net and put it in with :38.8 to go.
The Bears, seeded fourth in Section 5A advanced to the Class A boys state tournament and have a record of 15-3-2. The tournament will be seeded this weekend. The Mustangs 12 game unbeaten streak came to an end and they finish the season 14-3-3.
Now to the girls game as the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights will go for their fourth state title in seven years thanks to two goals apiece from Amanda Cassidy and Vivian Shinall that led them to a 5-1 victory over the top seeded Totino-Grace Eagles.
The Red Knights got the only goal of the first half as Maren Noble fed Cassidy on the right side and she would scored to give BSM a 1-0 halftime lead.
In the second half, the Eagles would even the score when Arianna Del Morals corner kick was headed into the net by Lexi Serryn :42 into the half. BSM would send Totino-Grace back up Highway 65 to Fridley with four unanswered goals to clinch a return trip to the state tournament. Cassidy would pass to Shinall and she would score with 26:00 left to put the Red Knights ahead and Cassidy, a sophomore, would score her second goal to solidify the lead. She would pick up her second assist as she made a pass to Noble in the center slot to put BSM ahead by three. With the game decided, Red Knight head coach Scott Helling-Christy emptied his bench and let the reserve players get their shot in the section final.. One reserve who would contribute to the scoring was Brooke Ferrer who picked up an assist on Shinall's second goal with 3:50 left in the game.
BSM won their fifth straight game and improved their record to 15-4-1 and advanced to the state Class A girls soccer tournament that will be seeded this weekend. Totino Grace finished the season 14-4 and ended their seven game winning streak.
The boys title game was first and just when you thought there would be sudden death overtime you would be wrong as Ethan roe scored the game winning goal with :38.8 left in regulation time to lead the Blake Bears to a 1-0 win over the Breck Mustangs.
It was a rematch of the September 22 game where the Bears and the Mustangs played to a 1-1 tie.
Neither team would score in the first half though Blake goalkeeper Quinn Kiernat made several outstanding saves to keep second seeded Breck from scoring. In the second half, the game looked like it would be headed to two sudden death overtime periods until Mustang goalkeeper Hudson Haecker played way out of the net and Ethan roe found a huge gap near the net and put it in with :38.8 to go.
The Bears, seeded fourth in Section 5A advanced to the Class A boys state tournament and have a record of 15-3-2. The tournament will be seeded this weekend. The Mustangs 12 game unbeaten streak came to an end and they finish the season 14-3-3.
Now to the girls game as the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights will go for their fourth state title in seven years thanks to two goals apiece from Amanda Cassidy and Vivian Shinall that led them to a 5-1 victory over the top seeded Totino-Grace Eagles.
The Red Knights got the only goal of the first half as Maren Noble fed Cassidy on the right side and she would scored to give BSM a 1-0 halftime lead.
In the second half, the Eagles would even the score when Arianna Del Morals corner kick was headed into the net by Lexi Serryn :42 into the half. BSM would send Totino-Grace back up Highway 65 to Fridley with four unanswered goals to clinch a return trip to the state tournament. Cassidy would pass to Shinall and she would score with 26:00 left to put the Red Knights ahead and Cassidy, a sophomore, would score her second goal to solidify the lead. She would pick up her second assist as she made a pass to Noble in the center slot to put BSM ahead by three. With the game decided, Red Knight head coach Scott Helling-Christy emptied his bench and let the reserve players get their shot in the section final.. One reserve who would contribute to the scoring was Brooke Ferrer who picked up an assist on Shinall's second goal with 3:50 left in the game.
BSM won their fifth straight game and improved their record to 15-4-1 and advanced to the state Class A girls soccer tournament that will be seeded this weekend. Totino Grace finished the season 14-4 and ended their seven game winning streak.
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
SLP Orioles Come up Short in Regular Season Finale
Xavier Roberts scored the game winning touchdown with 10:29 to play as the DeLaSalle Islanders held off a game winning rally by the host St. Louis Park Orioles 21-16 Wednesday night.
Sage Booker would open the scoring for the Islanders in the first quarter with a six yard touchdown run up the middle. The Orioles had an opportunity to reach the end zone but they couldn't convert on fourth down and two at the DeLaSalle eight yard line.
Both teams would score in the second quarter. Booker got his second touchdown of the game for DeLaSalle on a two yard run around right guard. St. Louis Park would get on the scoreboard as quarterback Logan Romero threw a 41 yard pass to Johnny Sorenson then Romero would end the Islander shutout with a one yard touchdown run. DeLaSalle led at halftime 15-8.
There would be good news for the Orioles on Senior Night where 14 seniors were honored prior to the opening kickoff. They would take the lead in the third quarter on Romero's second keeper touchdown, this time a 13 yard run around right end. It would be 16-15 in favor of the Orioles.
The Islanders would take lead in the fourth quarter as Roberts would score a one yard touchdown with 10:29 to go. Could St. Louis Park send the small throng in attendance home happy on that chilly Wednssday night? They had a golden opportunity late in the game with the ball spotted first and goal at the Islander six yard line. They would pick up two yards on three plays and Romero and the Oriole offense lined up at the four yard line with :10.4 left to play. Romero would fire a right side pass to Mykel Howard in the end zone and he was unable to hang on which resulted in Islander ball and they would run out the clock to clinch the win.
DeLaSalle wrapped up the regular season with a record of 3-5 and St. Louis Park ended their season at 1-7. Section play begins throughout the state on Tuesday, October 25.
Sage Booker would open the scoring for the Islanders in the first quarter with a six yard touchdown run up the middle. The Orioles had an opportunity to reach the end zone but they couldn't convert on fourth down and two at the DeLaSalle eight yard line.
Both teams would score in the second quarter. Booker got his second touchdown of the game for DeLaSalle on a two yard run around right guard. St. Louis Park would get on the scoreboard as quarterback Logan Romero threw a 41 yard pass to Johnny Sorenson then Romero would end the Islander shutout with a one yard touchdown run. DeLaSalle led at halftime 15-8.
There would be good news for the Orioles on Senior Night where 14 seniors were honored prior to the opening kickoff. They would take the lead in the third quarter on Romero's second keeper touchdown, this time a 13 yard run around right end. It would be 16-15 in favor of the Orioles.
The Islanders would take lead in the fourth quarter as Roberts would score a one yard touchdown with 10:29 to go. Could St. Louis Park send the small throng in attendance home happy on that chilly Wednssday night? They had a golden opportunity late in the game with the ball spotted first and goal at the Islander six yard line. They would pick up two yards on three plays and Romero and the Oriole offense lined up at the four yard line with :10.4 left to play. Romero would fire a right side pass to Mykel Howard in the end zone and he was unable to hang on which resulted in Islander ball and they would run out the clock to clinch the win.
DeLaSalle wrapped up the regular season with a record of 3-5 and St. Louis Park ended their season at 1-7. Section play begins throughout the state on Tuesday, October 25.
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Final Week of Regular Season Could Settle Logjam in Section 5AAAAA Football
As the Minnesota high school football season heads into its final week of the regular season, rather than do a St. Louis Park football preview post, HSGN will preview the match ups among the Section 5AAAAA schools since there's a three way tie between Irondale, St. Louis Park and Minneapolis Southwest with overall records of 1-6.
First up is the St. Louis Park Orioles hosting the DeLaSalle Islanders. Good news for Orioles fans last Friday. They saw St. Louis Park pick up the season's first win as they beat the Park Center Pirates 29-21. It was a big night for quarterback Logan Romero as he ran for two touchdowns and threw a 26 yard pass to Johnny Sorenson in the end zone. Romero would rush for 184 yards.
Two years ago, the DeLaSalle Islanders advance to the Class AAAA championship game, losing to the Becker Bulldogs. This season the Islanders have had a miserable 2-5 season. Last week, they lost to the Armstrong Falcons 48-26. The Falcons had a monumental game from Jesse Sherwood who rushed for 176 yards and reached the end zone five times. DeLaSalle got off to a 2-1 start and has lost four straight games. Can the Islanders snap their losing streak or will the Orioles win their second consecutive game?
It will be a battle of 1-6 teams in the Linden Hills section of Minneapolis as the Southwest Lakers host the St. Anthony Village Huskies. St. Anthony Village, coming off their first win of the season against Brooklyn Center on October 7 got shut out by the Fridley Tigers the following week 34-0. The Lakers were routed last week by the St. Paul Highland Park Scots 42-6. They also had a three game stretch when they scored 14 points in losing efforts to St. Paul Central, Minneapolis Washburn and the top ranked team in Class AAA, the St. Croix Lutheran Crusaders.
The Irondale Knights will host the only 0-7 team in the section, the Park Center Pirates. Irondale got beat last week by the Cooper Hawks 28-7 as Sean sutherlin scored the Knights only touchdown. The Pirates are still looking for their first win and if they solve the Knights, the season could end with a pair of 1-7 teams.
And to wrap up this week's preview, the game that could be a preview of the section final November 4, the two unbeaten teams in the section will converge on the turf field in New Hope, the Spring Lake Panthers and the Cooper Hawks. Both teams are ranked in the Class AAAAA top ten with Spring Lake Park third and Cooper sixth. It should be a great game that features a pair of high powered offense and some outstanding defense. Whoever wins this game could clinch the number one see and a first round bye in Section 5AAAAA. If you plan on attending the game, get there early. The stadium will be packed for this showdown of unbeatens.
First up is the St. Louis Park Orioles hosting the DeLaSalle Islanders. Good news for Orioles fans last Friday. They saw St. Louis Park pick up the season's first win as they beat the Park Center Pirates 29-21. It was a big night for quarterback Logan Romero as he ran for two touchdowns and threw a 26 yard pass to Johnny Sorenson in the end zone. Romero would rush for 184 yards.
Two years ago, the DeLaSalle Islanders advance to the Class AAAA championship game, losing to the Becker Bulldogs. This season the Islanders have had a miserable 2-5 season. Last week, they lost to the Armstrong Falcons 48-26. The Falcons had a monumental game from Jesse Sherwood who rushed for 176 yards and reached the end zone five times. DeLaSalle got off to a 2-1 start and has lost four straight games. Can the Islanders snap their losing streak or will the Orioles win their second consecutive game?
It will be a battle of 1-6 teams in the Linden Hills section of Minneapolis as the Southwest Lakers host the St. Anthony Village Huskies. St. Anthony Village, coming off their first win of the season against Brooklyn Center on October 7 got shut out by the Fridley Tigers the following week 34-0. The Lakers were routed last week by the St. Paul Highland Park Scots 42-6. They also had a three game stretch when they scored 14 points in losing efforts to St. Paul Central, Minneapolis Washburn and the top ranked team in Class AAA, the St. Croix Lutheran Crusaders.
The Irondale Knights will host the only 0-7 team in the section, the Park Center Pirates. Irondale got beat last week by the Cooper Hawks 28-7 as Sean sutherlin scored the Knights only touchdown. The Pirates are still looking for their first win and if they solve the Knights, the season could end with a pair of 1-7 teams.
And to wrap up this week's preview, the game that could be a preview of the section final November 4, the two unbeaten teams in the section will converge on the turf field in New Hope, the Spring Lake Panthers and the Cooper Hawks. Both teams are ranked in the Class AAAAA top ten with Spring Lake Park third and Cooper sixth. It should be a great game that features a pair of high powered offense and some outstanding defense. Whoever wins this game could clinch the number one see and a first round bye in Section 5AAAAA. If you plan on attending the game, get there early. The stadium will be packed for this showdown of unbeatens.
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