2011 State Soccer Tournament Boys 1A Semifinal; Benilde-St. Margaret’s vs. St. Paul Academy
Mall of America Field (Metrodome)
Benilde-St. Margaret’s 1-0 St. Paul Academy
In the first semi-final in the 1A State Tournament 2nd seed Benilde-St. Margret’s (18-2-1) faced off against 3rd seed St. Paul Academy (18-3-0) in an end-to-end style game full of chances and attacking runs. From their first possession SPA looked to get the ball to the feet of Senior attackers Gabe Brennaman and Sam Forsgren, the state’s points leaders for 1A and 2AA. “Given the pressure that was put on us we thought we could relieve the pressure by putting two very quick guys up front,” explained SPA Coach Franklin Tawah. However, a tough Benilde St. Margret’s defense kept Forsgren to only two shots on goal all game. “He’s a very good player and is scoring lots of goals,” said Benilde-St. Margret’s Coach Dave Platt, but admitted that SPA’s attacking strategy made it simpler for his team. “It is nice to basically focus on one guy.”
While SPA had difficulty getting shots on goal, Benilde-St. Margret’s couldn’t get their shots past SPA Junior keeper Ben Braman who finished the game with 7 saves while coming out to intercept a number of dangerous crosses and long balls. “That’s why he was All-State,” said coach Tawah. “He has been very outstanding all year.” Despite the clinic Braman was putting on, Benilde-St. Margret’s was finally able to pull ahead in the 47th minute when senior forward Jake Horton fired a shot from 25 yards out that took a deflection on its way to goal, beating Braman who had already committed to his right. Horton was one of four Benilde-St. Margret’s players to reach 10 goals in the season. “It’s one of the advantages we had this year, a lot of our guys do our scoring,” explained Coach Platt.
SPA nearly pulled level with less than 15 minutes left in the game when Brennaman weaved his way through the Benilde-St. Margret’s defense in the 18 yard box. Brennaman was able to get a touch past the keeper before the two collided, but the ball was cleared away by senior defender Paul Graupner with a goal-saving slide at the near post.
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