The Minnewaska Area boys team was shut out twice last week against some very tough opponents.  

The Lakers fell 3-0 to state-ranked St. Cloud Cathedral last Tuesday night at home and also lost at Little Falls, Thursday, 1-0.  The Lakers fell to 5-7 overall and 4-4 in the Granite Ridge Conference with the latest results.  

Minnewaska Area has given up only seven goals and scored 12 over the last seven matches, going 4-3.  Contrast that to the first five games, where the Lakers were 1-4 while giving up 19 goals and scoring seven.

Minnewaska Area is set to host Rocori, Monday (today) before closing out the regular-season with a match at Melrose Area, Tuesday (tomorrow).

The start of the Section 8A Soccer Tournament is Tuesday, Oct. 11, and the Lakers are looking like they’ll earn a third seed in the east half of Section 8A.  

If that stays true, the Lakers would open up the tourney at Prinsburg with the winner playing the winner of the St. Cloud Cathedral vs. St. John’s Prep or Melrose matchup, Thursday, at a site yet to be determined. 

•  Members of this year’s Minnewaska Area varsity soccer team are seniors Alicia Boysen, Genaro Contreras Mondragon, Aaron Feigum, Paige Boysen, Brooke Kolstoe, Rhet Kuehne, Caleb Mahoney, Noah Palmer, Preston Martin and Dalton Peterson; juniors Jose Contreras Mondragon, Ethan Curry, Blake Nelson, Thomas Poegel, Connor Quelle and Kody Ward; sophomores Tenzin Dahl, Ryan Greseth, Jackson Holmes and Riley Thorfinnson; and ninth-grader Connor Erickson.

Back to lead the team is head coach Ted Hill, who has been coaching the Lakers for 26 years and was named the State Class A Coach of the Year in 2021.  

Hill, who has also earned eight Section “Coach of the Year” honors, will be assisted by David Vinje, Tony Feigum, Manford Foster and Jarrid Jergenson.

Overall, the Lakers have scored 19 goals and given up 26 in 12 games after scoring 52 last year and giving up 27 in 15 games.

SC Cathedral 3, Lakers 0

The Lakers lost a home match with St. Cloud Cathedral last Tuesday night at home, 3-0.  The Crusaders outshot the Lakers 13-5, going up 1-0 after one half and adding two more goals in the second half.

Joseph Torborg, who had two goals for SCC, scored in the fourth minute to give the Crusaders the lead for good.  Torborg added another goal in the 50th minute and Elias Drong got the final goal for the Crusaders in the 75th minute.

St. Cloud controlled most of the game and Laker head coach Ted Hill said it was the Crusaders’ physical play that eventually wore down the Lakers in the second half.

“Cathedral, which is ranked No. 3 in the QRF in Class A, is a talented and physical team,” Hill said.  “We couldn’t match their physicality and that’s what cost us.”

Tenzin Dahl saved 10 shots in goal for the Lakers, several of them at point-blank range.

“They play a different style and use their hands a lot more than most teams we play in our conference,” Hill said.  “They are deep enough to wear you down, too.”

SC Cath 3, at Minnewaska 0

SC Cathedral (10-1) 1 2 — 3

Minnewaska (5-6) 0 0 — 0

First half:  (1) SCC-Joseph Torborg (Jack Stang) 4th minute

Second half:  (2) SCC-Torborg (Jacob Plante) 50th minute . . . (3) SCC-Elias Drong (unassisted) 75th minute

Shots on goal:  Minnewaska 5, SC Cathedral 13

Goalie saves:  Tenzin Dahl, Min 10 saves; Thomas Bosman, SCC 5 saves