2012 Minnesota State High School Soccer Tournament Champions Decided

Four matches determined the winners of the boys and girls class A and 2A state high school soccer tournament on Thursday. Two of those matches were decided by a goal and a third went to penalty kicks to decide a winner.

Boys 2A: Blaine 2-3 Eastview

Girls 2A: White Bear Lake 0-2 Wayzata

Boys A: St. Paul Academy 1-2 Rochester Lourdes

Girls A: Benilde-St. Margaret’s 3-2 Blake School

Game summaries:
Game summaries courtesy of the Minnesota State High School League

Boys 2A: Blaine 2-3 Eastview  STATS
The No. 3-seeded Lightning of Eastview (15-2-5) won their first state title in their second consecutive and overall appearance with a 3-2 victory over the unseeded Bengals of Blaine (16-4-1) who had advanced to the title tilt with a quarterfinal victory over top-seeded Champlin Park and a semifinal win over fifth-seeded Bloomington Jefferson. The score was 2-1 in favor of Eastview with just less than 20 minutes to play in the first half. And the score remained that way for nearly 40 more minutes. The game-winner was scored by senior midfielder Jacob Opheim on a pass from junior midfielder Pierce Erickson at 63:44. About three minutes earlier Blaine had evened the score when a blocked shot by Zach Brunko fell right to the feet of senior midfielder Zachary Wright who put it in. Senior defender Michael Stockton opened the scoring for Eastview by heading in a pass from junior defender Sam Fluegge just two minutes and 12 seconds into the game. Exactly four minutes later Blaine senior midfielder Ian Durbin rattled a shot off the post that senior forward Mitch Boege then scored on the rebound. At 19:59 Eastview went back on top when Opheim headed a ball into an empty net on a long ball into the box from Fluegge.

Girls 2A: White Bear Lake 0-2 Wayzata   STATS
In their fifth consecutive appearance, the Trojans of Wayzata (17-2-2) succeeded in defending their title, which is their sixth overall in 24 overall appearances. Wayzata, seeded No. 2, defeated White Bear Lake Area, the fourth seed, 2-0. The Bears were making their sixth tournament appearance. Wayzata led White Bear Lake Area 5-1 in both shots on goal and corner kicks. Senior defender Katie Schulz launched a long ball down field that left senior midfielder Kylie Schwarz one-on-one with Bears senior goalkeeper Tarah Hobbs and Schwarz won the confrontation at 38:27. Late in the second half, at 78:48, ninth-grade forward Ruby Stauber headed in a crisp crossing pass from senior midfielder Olivia Musser. Senior goalkeeper Mara Dougherty earned the win and made just one save.

Boys A: St. Paul Academy 1-2 Rochester Lourdes   STATS
The Eagles of Rochester Lourdes (22-1-0) earned their third state title with a 2-1 shootout victory over the Spartans of St. Paul Academy and Summit School (19-1-2). The Eagles, seeded No. 3, finished third in 2011 and were making their third consecutive and 11th overall appearance. This championship trophy will be proudly displayed next to those the Eagles won in 1998 and 1999. The Spartans, who were fourth in 2011 and also were making their third consecutive appearance, scored first, late in the first half, when senior forward Lorenzo Pavoloni received a free kick from senior forward Cameron Causey and drove it into the net. Sophomore midfielder Issac Forsgren was awarded a second assist. Slightly more than a minute later the Eagles knotted the score by senior forward Gabe Salerno who dribbled around the keeper and scored after receiving a pass from senior midfielder Alan Schembri-Wismayer. There was no more scoring, either through regulation or two 10-minute overtime periods. Both teams had five players shoot penalty kicks in the shootout. Senior Rochester Lourdes goalkeeper Will Elder made saves on the Spartans’ second and fifth attempts. After the first Eagles attempt was denied, the following four players succeeded to finish the shootout with a 4-3 advantage.

Girls A: Benilde-St. Margaret’s 3-2 Blake School   STATS
Could The Blake School (17-3-2) repeat? Could Benilde-St. Margaret’s (21-0-1) triumph to win its first state title? The Knights of Benilde-St. Margaret’s had earned the top seed and the Bears of The Blake School were seeded second. The match was their second meeting this season. The first ended in a scoreless tie on Aug. 28. The match didn’t disappoint as both teams played tight defense and sent the game into overtime before senior forward Dana Buckhorn scored on a deflected direct free kick 8 minutes and 54 seconds into the extra period, giving the Knights their first state championship. The first half ended in a 1-1 draw. The Bears tallied first at 10:51. Senior forward Hannah Randolph launched a long shot that caromed off the cross bar but right to the foot of junior midfielder Lydia Sutton who tapped it in easily. Roughly 15 minutes later Knights junior midfielder Kelly Pannek was in the right position to punch in a deflection off a defender to even the score. Pannek scored again early in the second half and the Knights protected that lead until Bears ninth-grader Maggie Warner, a defender, took a shot from outside the penalty box into the top corner to tie the game at 2-2. Buckhorn’s game-winner was credited to her even though the last player to touch it was a defender. Because that defender was not trying to clear the ball or pass it to a teammate, the momentum of the shot that carried the ball into the goal came from Buckhorn.