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All four of the local high school soccer teams opened their section playoffs on Tuesday, October 8.  The only one of the four teams to win and stay alive in the playoffs were the Chisago Lakes girls.

Chisago Lakes Girls

The third-seeded Wildcat girls didn’t even have to play to win their game in the Section 4AA quarterfinals.  The sixth-seeded St. Paul Como Park Cougars had so many injuries they had to forfeit.  So, the Wildcats will get a couple more days of rest before they take on the second-seeded Totino Grace in a semifinal matchup tonight at 5 p.m. at Totino-Grace High School.

This may be the most even matchup in the girls’ high school soccer playoffs this year, at least on paper, and it will not likely be a high scoring affair.  For the Wildcats to win this one, they will need one or more of their top scorers – Emma Knabe, Katelyn Barnick, Emily Carroll – to step up.  Some help setting up goals from Barnick, Carroll, and playmaker Alexandra Bartz would be appreciated, too.

Chisago Lake Boys

The eighth-seeded Wildcats boys faced the top-seeded, seventh-ranked Totino Grace Eagles in the Section 4AA quarterfinals and were shut out 5-0, ending their season.  The game was played at Totino-Grace High School.

North Branch Girls

The Duluth Denfeld Hunters were seeded fourth and the Vikings were seeded fifth, which means the Vikings had to travel to Duluth for the playoff quarterfinal game.  The Hunters won 2-1, eliminating the Vikings from the playoffs.  

North Branch Boys

Jacob Edmonds scored the only goal for the seventh-seeded Viking boys as their season ended with a 5-1 loss to the second-seeded Hermantown Hawks in the quarterfinal round of the Section 7AA playoffs at Hermantown High School.

Final Regular Season Results

The Wildcats girls finished out their regular season with a tie and a win.  They tied Monticello 0-0 at home on Thursday, October 3, and crushed the Hibbing/Chisholm Bluejackets 6-0 at home in their final regular season game.  Six different players scored goals against the Bluejackets:  Katelyn Barnick, Emily Carroll, Civeah McDonald, Alexandra Bartz, Paige Peterson, and Emma Knabe.  It was the first career goal for Peterson, a senior.  Barnick, Knabe and Taylor Kubalek each picked up an assist.

The Wildcat boys played two home games to end the regular season.  They lost 2-0 to the Monticello Magic on Thursday, October 3 and overwhelmed the Hibbing/Chisholm Bluejackets 6-1 on Saturday, October 5.

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