The Minnewaska Area boys soccer team closed out the regular season with a 4-0 loss at St. Cloud Cathedral, Thursday.  The Crusaders are ranked second in Class A this fall.  The Lakers finished the regular-season 2-11-1 overall and 0-9-1 in the Granite Ridge Conference.

Key to the lack of losses has been a lack of goals as the Lakers ended the regular season with 14 goals scored in 14 games while giving up 38.

Six of those goals came in the first three games as the Lakers opened up the season 2-1, but Minnewaska Area has gone 0-10-1 over its last 11 games while scoring just eight goals.

“It’s been a strange year and I’m not really sure why we’ve had a tough time scoring goals,” coach David Vinje said.  “It’s been amazing how many coaches have said some version of ‘you guys are way better than your record’, or ‘if you could finish off more goals, your season would be entirely different’.

“The guys continue to work hard in practice and games, but unfortunately, scoring is what matters most in soccer.”

The Lakers were set to open up the playoffs Tuesday (tomorrow) at St. John’s Prep.  With a win, the Lakers would play at top-seeded SCC, Thursday.

Prinsburg 2, Waska 1

The Lakers fell 2-1 to Prinsburg CMCS, Thursday, Sept. 26 in a result that was received too late for last week’s deadline. Minnewaska started the scoring early when Connor Erickson tossed a long throw to the head of Tenzin Dahl, who rose above the defenders to head it in for a 1-0 lead.

Later in the half, CMCS was awarded a penalty kick, converting to tie the game 1-1.

Entering the second half, the game stalled out and was played primarily in the middle third of the field.  CMCS scored its second, and the final goal of the game, in the last 15 minutes to pull out the win.

“We did a good job battling for the 50/50 balls, but struggled to convert possession into scoring chances,” coach Vinje said.  “We have done a great job of competing in our recent games. We’ve been controlling the run of play and starting to play some good soccer; we just can’t currently find the back of the net.”

The Lakers had six shots on the night and Marshall Kopp registered eight saves for Minnewaska.

SJ Prep 2, Waska 1

The Lakers lost another close game last Tuesday night against St. John’s Prep, 2-1.  SJP went up early with a goal about 15 minutes into the game, but Minnewaska Area tied it up in the second half before SJP got the gamewinner with under 10 minutes left in the game.

“It was the most perfect night for soccer we’ve had all season and it was a great night to host Senior Night,” coach Vinje said.  “I want to thank seniors Tenzin Dahl, Jackson Holmes, Riley Thorfinnson and Morgan Meyer for their years of dedication to the Minnewaska Lakers Soccer program.”

The Lakers had an early chance on a penalty kick by Jackson Holmes, but his shot was stuffed by the SJP goalie.  Minnewaska continued to dominate the first 12-15 minutes of the game, keeping the ball in SJP’s half and creating multiple opportunities. 

“Senior Tenzin Dahl continued his dominance in midfield, winning a high percentage of his tackles and aerial duels,” coach Vinje said.  “Unfortunately, even with the creating of these chances, the ball would not find the back of the net.”

SJP finally scored from a seemingly impossible angle near the goalpost to go up 1-0, but the Lakers entered the second half with the desire to compete, according to Vinje, and instantly created multiple high-percentage scoring chances.

Ultimately, the Lakers’ efforts were rewarded when Lane Curry, from a corner kick, played a beautiful ball into the 6-yard box and Carter LeClair, timing his short run perfectly, was able to connect with the ball in the air, tying the game 1-1.

The Lakers kept the pressure on, but were unable to score another goal despite registering 12 shots on goal.  Marshall Kopp had five saves on the night for Minnewaska.

Later, a SJP player pushed past two Laker defenders and was able to score from close range, giving SJP the 2-1 win.

“Defensively, we did a good job keeping the ball in SJP’s half,” coach Vinje said.  “Senior Riley Thorfinnson, junior Connor Erickson, freshman Carter Myrom and sophomore Tyden  Stewart did a great job of defending by winning tackles and pushing the ball up the field.  However, scoring is the key to soccer and we just weren’t able to get another shot past the SJP goalie.”

St. Cloud Cath 4, Waska 0

The Lakers played at St. Cloud Cathedral in the regular-season finale, losing 4-0.  The Crusaders scored three first-half goals on the way to improving to 15-0 overall, while the Lakers got off just two shots-on-goal while falling to 2-11-1 overall.

The Crusaders also won the Granite Ridge Conference title with a perfect record and will be seeded No, 1 in the upcoming Section 8A Tourney.  Jacob Oliver had three of his team’s goals and also assisted on the fourth.  Marshall Kopp had 11 saves for the Lakers.

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