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St. Thomas Academy 2, CL 1

The youthful Wildcats fell behind St. Thomas early and couldn't complete the comeback as they lost to the St. Thomas Academy Cadets 2-1 Saturday, August 25.

The Cadets scored on a crossing play 10 minutes into the game and scored again at the 20-minute mark on a long shot to go up 2-0 midway through the first half. The Wildcats pulled within one goal a few minutes later as Cameron Bouwens fed Aaron Bergerson outside the penalty area and Bergerson ran in on the net and scored. Each team had several scoring chances in the second half, but neither managed to find the back of the net as the final score remained St. Thomas Academy 2, Chisago Lakes 1.

"We didn't really know what to expect out of our team today," said Wildcat head coach Mark Leigh. "We only have three returning starters. We have a brand new goalie who's a senior, David Berget, and we started quite a few freshman and sophomores.

"Our most experienced group is in the midfield. We moved senior Brandyn Johnson from defense to midfield this year, and Brandyn worked very hard in the middle today. Tyler Kari had a nice game. He works hard, goes where the ball is and mixes it up. As a team, we had the better of the play in the second half, but we just couldn't convert," Leigh added.

The Wildcats were scheduled to host Meadow Creek Christian Tuesday, August 28. They'll play at conference opponent Cooper in New Hope today, Thursday August 30, at 5 p.m., before making the trek to Two Harbors tomorrow afternoon to take on the Agates at 1 p.m. They'll play one more road game next Tuesday, September 4 at St. Francis at 7 p.m.

BY CHUCK FITZER

The Wildcat girls' soccer team opened the season with a new formation and many new players and gave 11th-ranked Mounds Park Academy a run for their money. CL Played the Panthers to a 0-0 tie Saturday, August 25 in St. Paul.

"No one knew what to expect," said Wildcat head coach Brett Kjos. "We have a lot of new upperclassmen and quite a few ninth-graders. I thought we controlled a lot of the game. We're a young team, though. We put a few shots off the pipes and crossbar, and we missed a penalty shot. We're not quite together on finishing yet."

Junior goaltender Lisa Schommer made 10 saves to earn a shutout in her varsity debut. "Lisa did a great job for us," said Kjos. "And our center midfielders, Katie Peterson, Amanda Farrell and senior rookie Ariel Novak, played a strong game in the new formation. Overall, I'm pleased with our performance for the first game of the season."

The Wildcats were scheduled to begin the conference season at St. Louis Park Tuesday, August 28. They'll stay on the road tonight, Thursday, August 30, playing at Cooper at 5 p.m. The Wildcats will play one more road game before returning home. They travel to St. Francis Tuesday, September 4 to take on the Fighting Saints at 5 p.m.

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