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Friday, October 3, 2008
Back on Top
St. Paul, MN
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By: Tom Carothers
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Photo(s) By: Tom Carothers
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The coach knows a little bit about what it takes to succeed after leading more than his share of top-notch teams while patrolling the sidelines for the brown-and-gold.
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While Apple Valley has been accustomed to its share of winning when it comes to boys soccer, not even longtime coach Chuck Scanlon was bargaining on the kind of season 2008 has been for the Eagles.
“Nobody thought we’d be doing this well,” Scanlon, who has coached the Apple Valley boys since game one in 1978, said. “I didn’t anticipate us doing this well.”
Yet, after losing 17 seniors from last season’s 19-2-2, third-place state Class AA finisher, the Eagles are again hovering near the top of the Lake Conference standings and state polls with another stunningly successful season.
“It’s a younger team, but a hard working one,” Scanlon said. “These kids push themselves because they know what our teams have done in the past and they want to be a part of that success.”
Apple Valley spent the first few weeks of the season ranked as the No. 1 team in Class AA before losing its first game at No. 2 Eden Prairie, the team that the Eagles defeated for the third-place state trophy last October.
Not only has the team been ranked at the top of the state poll, they also ranked as high as No. 2 in the regional poll and in the national Top-25.
“We’ve got to keep working hard for the rest of the year if we want keep ourselves at the top,” Scanlon said The coach knows a little bit about what it takes to succeed after leading more than his share of top-notch teams while patrolling the sidelines for the brown-and-gold.
After the Eagles made their first state appearance in 1983, the team returned to claim the crown the next season — it would be the first of seven Minnesota soccer championships for Apple Valley.
And the program shows no signs of stopping.
Through mid-September, three of the Eagles’ top five goal scorers — striker David Rosenthal, midfielder Cory Winkler, midfielder Kyle Webb and stopper Steven Johnson — are juniors. The other, striker Alex Schams, is a sophomore.
Two of the team’s three captains, goalkeeper Scott Tangen and defender Sean O’Toole, are among the five seniors on the 2008 club. The third captain, sweeper Bijan Jabari, isn’t slated to graduate until 2010 — meaning he could be around for not only a possible eighth but maybe even a ninth state championship.
Scanlon agreed with an assumption that success has built upon itself in recent seasons. “Kids know what’s expected and what to expect,” Scanlon said. “We know what it’s like to go to the (Metrodome).”
The Eagles re-established themselves upon the state stage in 2006, when, just one year after finishing last in the Lake Conference, they won the Class AA title in the team’s first trip to the tournament since winning the championship in 1998.
“That was quite a comeback, to go from last to first,” Scanlon said. “It’s been a good run since then.”
Apple Valley has made a total of 14 appearances in the state tournament and after going nearly a full month of the season before losing its first game this year, the youthful Eagles appear on course to qualify for a record 15th time as sectional playoffs commence in the second week of October.
“We’ve played a number of tough teams,” Scanlon said. “But it’s a quality program and we’re looking forward to a strong finish.”
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