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Chisago Lakes 3,

North Branch 0

Cassie Trandahl scored one goal in each half for the Wildcats as they beat the Vikings 3-0 in a game played at Chisago Lakes Thursday, September 13.

Sarah Lasiuk opened the scoring for the Wildcats in the 20th minute. She took a direct free kick from about 25 yards out, sailing it into the top left corner of the net for her first goal of the season. "She was surprised she scored from that far out," said Wildcat head coach Brett Kjos. She said 'Omigosh! I just scored!' She didn't know what to do." The Wildcats added to their lead in the 35th minute. Tara Wilson picked up a ball on the end line to the left of the net. Wilson passed the ball through traffic to Trandahl at the far post, and Trandahl knocked it into the back of the net to make the score 2-0.

The Wildcats scored their final goal on a breakaway 10 minutes into the second half. Amanda Farrell played a through ball to Trandahl. Trandahl dribbled the ball toward the goalkeeper, got within a few yards of her and shot it inside the left post. Neither team scored the rest of the way, leaving the final score at Chisago Lakes 3, North Branch 0.

"We worked on breakaways the day before the North Branch game," said Kjos, "because of the trouble we had against South St. Paul. Cassie was excited about the breakaway goal because it worked just like we practiced it. And it's nice to see Tara starting to get her game back. She had a nice assist and had five or six shots in this game, even hitting a couple of crossbars."

"In the clash of two fairly young teams in front of a nice crowd, the home team from Chisago Lakes won deservedly" said Viking head coach Peter Grand. "A few years ago, double digit victories for the Wildcats were quite common. So, a 3-0 loss for the Vikings can be considered a good result. That,s really promising for the future of the North Branch girls' soccer program."

Hermantown 4, North Branch 0

Trailing just 1-0 at halftime, the Vikings were on the short end of a controversial call early in the second half. The visitors from Hermantown converted the ensuing penalty kick to go up 2-0 on their way to a 4-0 win over the Vikings Saturday, September 15.

The Viking faithful, coaches and players were stunned by the call. "I am really proud by the way the girls reacted on the field," said Viking head coach Peter Grand. "Of course they were disappointed but did not show it in the game. Sometimes the outcome of a game is not really decided by the two teams playing. Having it happen two times in a couple of days makes it even more difficult to explain. But you have to overcome misjudgment and imperfection in daily life, too. So we are just hoping for some fairer treatment during the remainder of our season."

Upcoming: The Vikings are scheduled to play seven home games in a row. The first four start with conference opponent St. Francis Tuesday, September 18; PACT Charter School today, Thursday, September 20 at 5 p.m.; St. Croix Lutheran Monday, September 24 at 7 p.m.; and conference opponent St. Louis Park Tuesday, September 25 at 5 p.m.

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