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Friday, October 3, 2008
Blaze Under Construction
St. Paul, MN
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One doesn’t have to look far for to learn the motto for the Burnsville girls soccer team as the phrase is emblazoned upon coach Paige Hoff’s game shirt.
“Under construction — building champions”
The Blaze are a continual work in process as they attempt to rebuild the kind of program that won back-to-back state championships in 1992 and 1993 amidst a stretch in which Burnsville qualified for state in six of seven seasons.
This year marks the 12th season since the Blaze’s last state appearance, which was in the days of a one-class system in 1996.
However, Hoff and her Burnsville players are continuing to build towards a hoped-for return to the big stage.
It’s a continual effort, as it is in any program, to build a consistent winner as players have a short span with any club before graduating. The Blaze graduated their second leading scorer (Tamara Stahota, with 10 goals) as well as their lead goalkeeper (Allison Berquist, 990 minutes, 2.34 goals against average) last spring.
Burnsville did retain a number of top contributors from their 2007 squad as they look to finish in the upper-half of a competitive Lake Conference this season.
Forward Lauren DiGregorio led the Blaze in goals last season with 12 and continues to spearhead the Burnsville attack in her junior campaign. Netminder Krista Tveitbakk, who posted a 3.317 GAA in 2007 while playing approximately one-third of the minutes in goal, is the undisputed varsity starter this time around and is averaging nearly 12 saves per contest.
Junior forwards Jenny Stover and Amanda Colin, along with senior midfielder Bea Soderholm help give the Blaze a pesky and determined look on offense, while defenders Desirae Murphy and Emily Herkenhoff provide support in the Burnsville backfield.
The Blaze will be looking to improve on last season’s 5-9-4 record and hope to pull even in the Lake, where they finished with a 3-5-2 mark.
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