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Benilde-St. Margaret’s 5, CL 0

The Wildcats trailed 1-0 at halftime against the Benilde-St. Margaret’s Red Knights. Four second-half goals by the state’s number three-ranked team however, resulted in a 5-0 conference loss at Benilde in St. Louis Park Monday, October 2.

The Red Knights’ only goal of the first half came on a free kick. Wildcat senior goalie Kristi Verhey made a nice effort, but the ball glanced off her fingertips to put the Red Knights, the conference co-champions, up 1-0. The Red Knights’ second half goals came on two corner kicks and two breakaways. “They made some adjustments at halftime,” said Wildcat head coach Brett Kjos. “They did a good job at switching fields to set up breakaways to take advantage of their speed. Overall, I was pleased with how our team played against the top team in our conference and one of the top-ranked teams in the state.”

CL 3, Columbia Heights 0

The Wildcats scored more than two goals for just the second time this season as they dominated the Columbia Heights Hylanders and came away with a 3-0 win Tuesday, October 3 at Chisago Lakes.

The Wildcats scored the only goal of the first half in the 15th minute. Sophomore Tara Wilson took a close-in shot and the goalie made a great save. The ball rolled to senior Courtney Skoog, who passed it back to Wilson. Wilson knocked the ball into the back of the net to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. “The Hylander goalkeeper played a fantastic game,” said Wildcat head coach Brett Kjos. “She was clearly the best player on their team, making diving saves and leaping to full extension to knock balls away. It was fun to watch her.”

In the 50th minute, senior Shana Meath played a through ball down the middle to sophomore Hannah Cadry at the top of the penalty area. The Hylander goalie raced out to challenge Cadry. Cadry chipped the ball over the goalie’s head to put the Wildcats up 2-0.

The Wildcats added their third goal with just three minutes left in the game. Eighth-grader Cassie Trandahl got a ball at the top of the box, spun and laid a pass off toward the left side of the net. Senior Allie Rostad ran onto it and fired a shot inside the right post for her first goal of the season. The final score was Chisago Lakes 3, Columbia Heights 0.

“That was an unselfish play by Trandahl,” said Wildcat head coach Brett Kjos. At first, I didn’t see Rostad coming in, and I was yelling at her to shoot. But Trandahl showed her awareness of the situation by laying the ball off to Rostad. It was nice to see Allie get a goal.

“We handled them pretty well. We kept the ball in their end of the field almost the entire second half. It was nice to have that feeling.”

Spring Lake Park 4, CL0

The Wildcats hosted the other conference co-champion Thursday, October 5, losing to the Spring Lake Park Panthers 4-0.

The Panthers boast the top goal-scorer in the conference, Laura Hamer. “We had Sarah Lasiuk mark her,” said Wildcat head coach Brett Kjos. “Hamer scored the first goal of the game at the five minute mark on a little chip that just squeaked into the net. After that, Sarah got mad and shut her down. She took charge and was on Hamer, picking at her the whole game. Sarah learned a lot – it was a great experience for her.

“I’m glad we played well against such a fast team. We held our own. Spring Lake Park has beaten us by scores like 11-0 and 9-0 in the past. Their coach came over after the game and said we’re getting better every year. We had the best season in the short history of Wildcat girls’ soccer, and I think our program will continue to improve.”

SECTION PLAYOFF

PREVIEW

The Wildcats (5-10-2 overall, 3-7-0 conference) were seeded fifth in Section 3A heading into the playoffs. They’ll travel to Mendota Heights to face the Visitation Blazers (12-3-0 overall, 7-3-0 in the Tri-Metro Conference) in the quarterfinal round of the section playoffs this Saturday, October 14 at 4 p.m. The winner of that game will have the honor of facing the top-ranked team in the state, the Mahtomedi Zephyrs, in the semifinal round next Tuesday, October 17 at Mahtomedi. The section championship game will take place next Thursday, October 19 at the home of the top remaining seed in the section playoffs.

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