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CL 3, Robbinsdale Cooper 0

Manny Cruceru, Cam Bouwens and senior Zak Vrudny each scored a first-half goal to help the Wildcats shut out Robbinsdale Cooper (2-11-1 overall, 1-7-0 conference) 3-0 Tuesday, September 23 at Cooper.

The Wildcats scored right away in the first half. They scored again with 10 minutes left and finalized the scoring with a goal just seconds before halftime. "Scoring first makes a big difference to our team," said Wildcat head coach Mark Leigh. "We continued to play well after we got the lead."

St. Francis 3, Chisago Lakes 0

The Fighting Saints (5-8-1 overall, 2-5-0 conference) took a 1-0 lead with just 20 minutes remaining in the game, then scored two more goals on their way to a 3-0 shutout win over the Wildcats Thursday, September 25 at Ki Chi Saga Park. St. Francis scored its second goal with seven minutes left and added another, with 17 seconds remaining.

"We wasted a lot of scoring opportunities in this one," said Leigh. "We just don't do as well once we get behind. We quit stringing passes together and just sent the ball upfield and tried to chase it down. That's not what this team needs to be doing."

St. Louis Park 3, CL 0

Just two days after their loss to a fairly weak St. Francis team, the Wildcats ran into one of the best teams in the state. The Class A Wildcats played well against the fifth-ranked Class AA St. Louis Park Orioles, but came away with a 3-0 loss Saturday, September 27 at St. Louis Park.

The Orioles had the better of the play early on, but didn't score until they took advantage of a Wildcat defensive mistake 25 minutes into the first half. A Wildcat defender tried to clear the ball out of the Wildcat penalty area, but sent it right to an Oriole forward at the top of the box. The Oriole curved a quick shot into the corner of the net for a 1-0 lead.

The Orioles (11-2-2 overall, 8-0-1 conference) scored on another defensive mistake later in the half. They crossed a ball from the corner to the front of the Wildcat net, and a Wildcat midfielder neglected to mark one of the Oriole players. That player headed the ball into the far corner of the net to put St. Louis Park up 2-0. The Orioles added the third and final goal of the game before halftime.

"The Orioles are the top team in our conference," said Leigh. "They beat Totino Grace 3-2 last week. We played a nice second half against them. We moved the ball a lot better, competed well and played a lot better defense. Anthony Lukas is still sick and was a little nicked up, and Shawn Gustafson played some good minutes in his place. John Gulbranson also played well for us as a starting midfielder and Zak Vrudny has been playing well at center mid."

UPCOMING GAMES

The Wildcats face two of their toughest tests as they finish out the regular season this week. They travel to St. Louis Park to take on Benilde-St. Margaret's (6-3-6 overall, 5-2-1 conference) tonight at 5 p.m. And they finally get to play on the brand new artificial turf at Chisago Lakes High School Saturday, October 4, ending the regular season with a non-conference game against one of the top Class A team in the state, the fifth-ranked St. Thomas Cadets this Saturday, October 4 at 1 p.m. "When we first got a chance to practice on the new field, the kids seemed more energized. Also, practicing at the school instead of at Ki Chi Saga will give us better access to the training room, the weight room and the locker room," said coach Leigh.

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