2010 State Soccer Tournament Boys Class AA State Quarterfinal Action

Roseville H.S. – Boys Class AA

Lakeville North Panthers  2-1 Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars
The last time the Jefferson Jaguars (13-3-4) played the Lakeville North Panthers (9-5-5) it was September 7th. The temperature was almost 40 degrees warmer than the high 30′s that greeted the two teams on Thursday afternoon. Bloomington Jefferson defeated Lakeville North 1-0 in that game, but it took an overtime session to get the job done. While the temps were vastly different on Thursday’s quarterfinals of the Boys Class AA Tournament, the results were not. The two teams found themselves locked in a tie again at the end of regulation play. This time the game went all the way to penalty kick shootouts to determine a winner.

Both teams started the game briskly with several momentum shots throughout the first half of play. With just 3 minutes left in the first half, Bloomington Jefferson was awarded a free kick from 30 yards out on the right side of the field. Tyler Anderson took the kick and fed a driven ball over the top of the Lakeville North defense and right to the head of Tyler Tumberg. The junior midfielder was left unmarked on the far post and only 6 yards out. He redirected the ball to the far post and past Panther goalkeeper Conner Revsbeck. It was only Tumberg’s second goal of the season.

With just under 15 minutes to play in the second half Lakeville North received a corner kick after some good pressure on the Jaguar defense. The initial ball was driven into the box where a scramble ensued. Junior Joey Decklever knocked the ball back out of the goalbox to senior defenseman Jon Hopkins. He drove the ball through the crowd and into the goal bringing the game even at 1-1.

Neither team was able to come up with a game winner so the contest went to overtime. Both teams pressed hard as the game opened up and was stretched because of tired legs. Scott Clinton for the Jaguars broke through in the second overtime and went one-on-one with Revsbeck but was thwarted by the keeper who had an outstanding game. It would be the best opportunity either team had.

The game ended 1-1 after two overtimes, sending the contest into penalty kick shootouts. Both teams’ first shots were saved. The second round saw Lakeville North with a goal but Bloomington Jefferson’s shot was saved again by Revsbeck. The third and fourth round saw both teams’ shots finding their mark. Perhaps the most confident of all the kickers was Panther goalkeeper Revsbeck who took the 3rd kick for his team. He blasted the ball high and dead center.

With Lakeville North up 3-2 they needed their 5th spot kick to win the game and advance to the semifinals at the Metrodome next week. Sophomore Joey Decklever stepped up and calmly punched his shot hard into the upper left corner for the win.

“All the fans cheering and my teammates yelling – yeah, I felt the pressure,” said Decklever after the game winning kick. “I just told myself, be calm and pick a corner. That’s what I did.”

“The only thing we had to do to motivate these guys is to remind them that they made it this far,” said Lakeville North coach Pete Tyma. “We told them it’s almost like a bonus track on a CD. This is your bonus time. We have to enjoy but we also have to remember we deserve to be here – we earned it.”

Apple Valley Eagles  6-0  Elk River Elks
The Apple Valley Eagles (20-0-0) came into Thursday evening’s State Quarterfinal game with a 44-game streak of consecutive wins. They left the game with a streak of 45, rolling over the Elk River Elks (11-1-0) by a score of 6-0.

It took the Eagles 17 minutes to get warmed up and into the goal-scoring swing that the team has become accustomed to. Apple Valley received a free kick  from 40 yards out. In typical Eagle fashion, no less than 4 players swarmed the goal to pounce on the delivered ball. Elk River goalkeeper Joey Petrich bravely came out of goal to meet the swarm of Apple Valley players. The Elks’ keeper was only able to knock the ball away and the rebound was pounced on by Dane Grundstrom. His pass found Nate Tenpas who scored his 12th goal of the season to put Apple Valley ahead 1-0.

In the 28th minute Tom Obarski scored his 26th goal of the season. Simon Goettl played provider by chipping a ball from the left  side over to Obarski, who was making a far post run. The senior forward deftly headed the ball past Petrich to put Apple Valley up 2-0.

Apple Valley’s Goettl added to the tally in the 46th minute when the Eagles were awarded a penalty kick. The senior midfielder slotted the ball home for his team’s 3rd of the night.

Obarski scored his second of the night on a nice series of passes by Apple Valley. The ball finally ended up at Obarski’s feet, who drove the ball past Petrich.

At 57:53 Tom Obarski received a ball at midfield. With a defender at his side he used his speed and took the ball all the way to the 18-yard box before slotting home for his third of the night. The hat trick was celebrated by Eagles supporters throwing hats onto the surrounding track.

But Obarski wasn’t done for the evening. He scored his 4th of the evening in the 64th minute by popping the ball over a defender’s foot on the left side of the penalty box and then using the outside of his right foot to knock the ball into the far post. The goal ended the scoring for the Eagles who will now move on to the semifinals next week at the Metrodome and look for win number 46.