2011 State Soccer Tournament Girls 2A Semifinal; Lakeville North vs Wayzata

Mall of America Field (Metrodome)

Wayzata  1-0 Lakeville North  (5-3 in PKs) 

The last Minnesota State High School Soccer Tournament semifinal game of the day on Monday saw the number one seeded Lakeville North Panthers (18-1-2) with Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year, Simone Kolander, take on the #4 seed Wayzata Trojans (17-2-2). The game had the markings of an eventful match but the first half proved anything but. Both teams were cautious, probing the other’s defensive back line but very few clear-cut chances were had by either side.

There was controversy in the 12th minute on a corner kick for Wayzata. The ball was played in to goal and Panthers goalkeeper Alexis Joyce came out and snatched the ball over her head. But a collision with a Wayzata player ensued causing her to drop the ball. The referee allowed play to go on and the ball was kicked at goal. The ball at least partially crossed the line and then was cleared. As play continued head official Deb Hiestand looked to her AR who signaled that the ball had not wholly crossed the line.

Eight minutes into the second half Wayzata came close when a ball was played into Kiana Nickel from a deep-wide position. The junior midfielder let the ball run through her legs, turned and tried to shoot on goal from close range. The ball went through Lakeville North keeper Alexis Joyce’s legs. But there wasn’t enough on the ball for it to carry into goal and Joyce pounced on it.

In the 68th minute a ball was played into Wayzata senior midfielder Maddie Eklin who turned and fired from a tight angle. She drilled the ball hard on goal but Joyce was up to the task with a reaction drop save to palm the ball away.

As the 2nd half wore on it seemed a goal was inevitable as both sides got stretched. Wayzata dropped their defensive midfielder and went to a three-man front line which allowed them more firepower up top but also thinned them in the back.

With the game still deadlocked, Wayzata was awarded their 4th corner kick of the game with 15 seconds left in regulation. The ball was not played in well curling away from the goal, but a Trojans midfielder at the top of the arc popped the ball back into the fray. The ball caromed around in the box several times as the horn sounded, bringing regulation time to a close.

With a little more than a minute remaining in the second overtime, Lakeville North nearly took the game on a corner kick that was redirected to goal. But when the mob of players cleared, the Trojans’ goalkeeper Delane Swanson emerged with the ball and the game went to penalty kicks.

Wayzata’s Rachel Swenson was up first and made her attempt as did Lakeville North’s Erica Elias. The Trojans Kiana Nickel made her team’s second attempt but the Panthers’ Sarah Fisco had her shot blocked by Swanson.
The third and forth shots were made by both teams which left it up to the 5th Wayzata shooter, Olivia Musser. She stepped up and hit her shot low and hard past Joyce sending her team to the finals.

“Would I have said in the beginning of the season we would be in the final? No! But I think we’ve got a good group of girls and I thought they carried most of the game today and we were the better side,” Wayzata head coach Tony Peszneker said. “We just seemed to lack that little bit in and around the goal to finish. We had 5 good kicks today so credit to the girls because I know they probably felt some pressure up there. We practice them from day one and some of the girls have taken over 50 of them that we actually chart. So all that work we do from the beginning of the season pays off instead of saying we are now in the sections so we have to work on them. It’s nice to see them rewarded for that.”

“I chose the side I was going on while I was standing in the center circle waiting my turn,” said junior midfielder Musser.

Musser, who hit the game winner, said it eased the pressure off the last shooters when Swanson made the save on Lakeville North’s 2nd shooter. “It was awesome! It definitely took a lot of the pressure off of us knowing we were shooting to win the game than shooting to keep your team in the game.”

Wayzata will now face unseeded Burnsville in the final on Thursday.