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Chisago Lakes Boys

The Wildcat boys won just their second game of the season, defeating the Zimmerman Thunder 2-1 on Thursday, September 26 at Zimmerman High School.  The Wildcats went on to lose two straight games.  They were stung 2-0 by the Big Lake Hornets this past Monday, September 30 at home, and thrashed by the St. Paul Como Park Cougars 8-1 on Tuesday, October 1.  The Wildcats will finish out the regular season with two home games.  Tonight, they will take on the Monticello Magic at home at 7 p.m., and on Saturday, the Hibbing/Chisholm Bluejackets will come to Lindstrom for an 11 a.m. match.

North Branch Boys

The winless Vikings played four games over the past week and didn’t score a goal.  They lost at home to the Princeton Panthers 2-0 last Thursday, September 26.  On Saturday, the PACT Charter School Panthers throttled the Vikings 7-0 at Rhinestone Park in Ramsey.  On Monday, September 30, the Vikings had just one shot on goal at home against the Zimmerman Thunder but ended up with a 0-0 tie, their fourth tie of the season.  And on Tuesday, October 1, the Vikings played their final home game of the season, falling to the eighth-ranked Cloquet/Esko/Carlton Lumberjacks 7-0.  The Vikings will finish out the regular season at Fridley tonight, taking on the Tigers at 6:30 p.m.

Chisago Lakes Girls

Katelyn Barnick scored the only goal for the Wildcats in a 2-1 loss to the St. Croix Preparatory Academy Lions on Wednesday, September 25 in Stillwater.  On Thursday, September 26, Wildcat goalkeeper Ruby Anderson stopped 12 of 13 shots on goal in a 1-0 loss to the Zimmerman Thunder at Zimmerman.  The Wildcats returned to their home field on Monday, September 30, shutting out the Big Lake Hornets 3-0.  Barnick,  Isabella Heinsch, and Taylor Kubalek scored for the Wildcats, with Emma Knabe picking up two assists.  And at home on Tuesday, October 1, Knabe scored her team-leading 15th and 16th goals of the season as the Wildcats swamped the DeLaSalle Islanders 3-0.  Barnick scored the other goal for the Wildcats, and Emily Carroll had two assists.  The Wildcat will finish out the regular season with two more home games.  They will take on the Monticello Magic tonight at 5 p.m., and play the Hibbing/Chisholm Bluejackets this Saturday at 1 p.m.

North Branch Girls

The Viking girls finished out the regular season with three straight home games and went 1-1-1 in the process.  They shut out the Princeton Panthers 1-0 on Thursday, September 26.  They lost to the Duluth Denfeld Hunters 2-0 on Saturday, September 28.  And on Monday, September 30 they tied the Zimmerman Thunder 3-3.

Playoff Preview

Playoffs for all four soccer teams are scheduled to start next Tuesday, October 8.  They will continue on Thursday, October 10, and section championships will take place Tuesday, October 15.  Seedings have not been posted as of press time.  Here are potential matchups for each of the local teams in the first round, assuming current QRF rankings stay the same:

Chisago Lakes Boys – the Wildcat boys (2-8-1) are currently seventh in the QRF rankings in Section 4AA.  Their first-round game will likely be away against the second-seeded Mahtomedi Zephyrs (11-3-0).  Mahtomedi is currently ranked third in that state in Class AA, so it’s not likely the Wildcats will advance past the first round.

North Branch Boys – the Viking boys (0-10-3) are currently sixth in the QRF rankings in Section 7AA.  Their first round game will likely be away at the third-seeded Grand Rapids Thunderhawks (8-4-3).  While the Vikings would be able to provide some decent competition against the Thunderhawks, their lack of scoring will likely send them to a first-round playoff exit.

Chisago Lakes Girls – the Wildcat girls (7-3-2) are currently second in the QRF rankings in Section 4AA.  In the first round, they will likely host either the seventh-seeded St. Paul Johnson Governors (1-8-1) or the eighth-seeded North St. Paul Polars (1-9-1), who are virtually tied in the QRF rankings.  The Wildcats should have no trouble getting by either team.

North Branch Girls - the Viking girls (4-5-4) are currently third in the QRF rankings in Section 7AA.  They will likely host the sixth-seeded Hibbing/Chisholm Bluejackets (1-11-0) in the first round.  The Viking should beat the Bluejackets fairly easily.

For any of these teams that make it past the first round, we will have a preview of the rest of the section tournament in next week’s Press.

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