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Friday, September 5, 2008
Soccer
St. Paul, MN
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Photo(s) By: Tom Carothers
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On the boys side
The 2008 season began with a pair of familiar squads atop the initial Minnesota State High School Association polls as Benilde-St. Margaret’s and Anoka occupied the No. 1 slot in their respective Class A and AA surveys.
It was the same spot that each team finished the 2007 regular season in. However, the postseason treated the two teams quite differently — while the Tornadoes blew their way to the Class AA title, the Red Knights were upset in the first round by the eventual surprising state champ Duluth Marshall.
This year begins with the defending Class A titleholder at No. 2 behind Benilde, while Anoka was an easy choice for No. 1 in the big-school circuit.
Class AA
Anoka completed an undefeated season by winning its first boys soccer championship by means of a 2-0 win over Wayzata last November. The Tornadoes appear a sound bet to go back-to-back this autumn as they return top defender Joe Gustafson and midfielder Brian Haukos to name but a few from this deep and talented squad.
After finishing fourth at state in 2007, Eden Prairie entered 2008 as the No. 2-ranked club in Class AA. The Eagles incurred two of their four total losses from last year in state play and look to go unbeaten in the Class AA bracket this time around. Senior Alex Peterson and junior Nuradin Yusuf return to buoy the offense.
Apple Valley began 2008 right where they left off in 2007 — at No. 3. The Eagles graduated a vast number of seniors last year, yet bring in a number of reinforcements this go-around, including top returning scorer David Rosenthal and Scott Tangen in the net, as they seek to regain the championship they held in 2006.
The 2007 state runner-up is back as the No. 4 team Wayzata seeks to win its third-ever Class AA title this fall. While the Trojans graduated their top two scorers from 2007, junior Brandon Kalivoda figures to keep the scoreboard operator busy this season.
St. Louis Park is the highest-ranked non-state participant entering 2008. The Orioles saw their season end in the section finals against the previously mentioned Trojans. Both teams figure to be in the fight for a state berth yet again this season, with St. Louis Park returning leading scorer Adam Weickert for this fall.
Five more metro schools round out the Class AA top-10, including: Edina, Champlin Park, Minneapolis South, Stillwater and White Bear Lake. None of the five qualified for state last season.
Spots 11-15 belong to Lakeville North, Maple Grove, Hill-Murray, Woodbury and Hopkins. Hill-Murray was a state quarterfinalist last season.
Class A
With thoughts of their 2007 denial still fresh in memory, Benilde looks to hold on to its top ranking from wire-to-wire this year. The Red Knights lost their top three scorers to graduation, but return an adequate amount of players from last season’s three-loss crew, including junior forward Jack Allgaier and keeper Patrick Bergquist.
Two outstate schools occupy the next pair of slots in the initial coaches poll: Marshall and Mankato West. Unlike the Class AA poll, a number of outstate schools are prominently mentioned, including: Rochester Lourdes at No. 5, St. Cloud Cathedral at No. 7 and Northfield at No. 11.
Two westside private schools and a pair of Capitol City institutions round out the top-10 as Blake was awarded the No. 6 spot, followed by St. Paul Humboldt at No. 8, St. Paul Academy at No. 9 and Breck in the 10-spot.
Following Northfield in the pre-season 11-15 grouping was Fridley, Mahtomedi, Mounds Park Academy and St. Bernard’s. Blake, Fridley, Northfield and Mankato West joined fellow poll honoree Benilde in last year’s state field.
The Class A and AA state tournaments will be played Oct. 22-30, with first-round games being played at various sites with semifinal, final and third-place games being played at the Metrodome.
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