The Minnewaska Area boys soccer team opened up the season last week with two home wins against Fergus Falls and Heritage Christian.  Jose Contreras Mondragon had the only goal for the Lakers during a 1-0 victory over Fergus Falls, Thursday, during the season opener, while Blake Nelson had two goals during a 3-2 victory over Heritage, Saturday.

The Lakers are being coached this fall by first-year head coach David Vinje, who takes over the helm of the program after Ted Hill retired after serving as head coach for 26 years.

Vinje was one of the assistants on the team last year, serving with Tony Feigum, Manford Foster and Jarrid Jergenson.  He previously has served as head boys coach at Alexandria for at least two seasons and the head girls coach at Willmar for three years.  This year, Vinje will be assisted by Caleb Green (JV) and Jarrid Jergenson (junior high).

The team lost 10 players to graduation from last year’s team, including last year’s co-MVP’s Aaron Feigum and Genaro Contreras Mondragon.

This year’s Minnewaska Area boys soccer roster includes seniors Blake Nelson, Thomas Poegel, Connor Quelle, Ethan Curry and Jose Contreras Mondragon; juniors Tenzin Dahl, Chase Smith, Jackson Holmes, Morgan Meyer and Riley Thorfinnson; sophomores Riley Week, Ryan Greseth, Lane Curry, Connor Erickson and Lucas Curry; and ninth-graders Caden Christensen and Carter LeClair.

“We will lean on the experience of our seniors this season; Connor Quelle, Blake Nelson, Jose Contreras Mondragon, Ethan Curry and Thomas Poegel,” coach Vinje said.  “They will play significant roles on the team for us this year.”

The Lakers play in Section 8A again this year, which added East Grand Forks to become a 10-team section.  “The favorite is St. Cloud Cathedral, in both the section and the conference, and I’m also excited to see how Little Falls competes in the Granite Ridge Conference after co-oping with Long Prairie this fall,” coach Vinje said.

The Lakers are coming off an 7-8 season from a year ago, a season in which the team also went 5-4 in the Granite Ridge Conference.  St. Cloud Cathedral won last year’s Granite Ridge title with an 8-0 league mark, followed by Little Falls (8-2), Minnewaska (5-4), St. John’s Prep (2-6), Zimmerman (1-4) and Melrose Area (0-8).

Minnewaska Area ended its season with a 2-0 loss to Prinsburg in the opening round of the Section 8A Boys Soccer Tourney.  The Lakers started out 0-3 and 2-5 before turning things around and going 5-3 over their final eight games

“As far as team goals are concerned, we’re looking to compete in every game,” coach Vinje said.  “We play a difficult schedule and will look to limit the number of goals we concede. Being ‘tough to beat’ will hopefully become a hallmark of this team.”

The Lakers were set to play at Hillcrest Academy, Tuesday (tomorrow) before hosting two games the following week against St. Cloud Cathedral (Sept. 5) and Little Falls (Sept. 7).

Waska 1, Fer Falls 0

The Minnewaska Lakers Soccer team hosted the Fergus Falls Otters on a humid Thursday evening. The Lakers took a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute when center back Connor Erickson cleared a ball forward. With one touch, midfielder Connor Quelle deftly flicked the ball forward to a sprinting Jose Contreras Mondragon, who smashed the ball past the Fergus Falls goalkeeper.

That would be it for the scoring as the Lakers won the opener, 1-0.

The heat played a factor in the second half, as both teams took turns attacking the other. Junior goalkeeper Tenzin Dahl made two excellent saves, one coming in the 63rd minute to deny a Fergus Falls forward from scoring. With an even more impressive reflex save, Dahl instinctively swung his left arm up, blocking what would have been an equalizing goal from the Otters.

Waska 3, Heritage 2

The Minnewaska Lakers soccer team hosted he Heritage Christian Academy Eagles on a beautiful Saturday morning. The Lakers opened the half brightly, applying offensive pressure to the Eagles while effectively keeping Heritage from having quality attacking opportunities. 

The Lakers’ pressure paid off in the 14th minute when they won a corner kick. Senior midfielder Connor Quelle played a corner kick to the back post, where senior midfielder Blake Nelson was waiting to finish, giving the Lakers the 1-0 lead.

Five minutes later, Quelle added to his tally of assists by playing the ball to senior forward Jose Contreras Mondragon, who took a great first touch and scored to give the Lakers a 2-0 lead.  Moments later, the Lakers conceded a goal, making the game 2-1 at halftime.

Eight minutes into the second half, Blake Nelson received a bouncing ball at the top of the 18-yard box. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Nelson fired the ball low and hard past a diving Eagles goalkeeper to give the Lakers a 3-1 lead.

As the Eagles began to apply attacking pressure, the Lakers conceded another goal, making the game 3-2 with 20 minutes to play.

As momentum shifted in favor of the Eagles, the Lakers midfielders and defenders stuck in, deflecting multiple waves of Eagles attacks. Led by senior holding midfielder Thomas Poegel, senior defender Ethan Curry and sophomore defenders Connor Erickson and Lane Curry, the Eagles were denied the opportunity to create any easy chances.

Junior goalkeeper Tenzin Dahl had an excellent game, making seven saves, with the most important coming in the 73rd minute as he sprinted off his line to perfectly execute a “game-winning” save.

at Waska 1, Fergus Falls 0

Fergus Falls 0 0 — 0

Minnewaska (1-0) 1 0 — 1

First half:  (1) Jose Contreras Mondragon (Connor Quelle), 20th minute

Second half:  No scoring

Shots on goal:  UA

Saves:  Tenzin Dahl, Min UA

——————————————————–

at Waska 3, Heritage 2

Heritage 1 1 — 2

Minnewaska (2-0) 2 1 — 3 

First half:  (1) Min-Blake Nelson (Connor Quelle), 14th minute . . . (2) Min-Jose Contreras Mondragon (Quelle), 19th minute . . . (3) Heritage, 20th minute

Second half:  (4) Min-Nelson, 48th min . .  (5) Heritage, 60th min

Shots on goal:  UA

Saves:  Tenzin Dahl, Min, 7

Check out more photos in our photo gallery!