Jacob Dinzeo felt the difference on his face when he walked into the news conference room at U.S. Bank Stadium this year after the Class 2A boys soccer championship game. A year ago, he attempted to look happy.
"But didn't get the grimace off my face," Dinzeo said. "And now this year, I have this cheesy little smile on my face that I can't get off."
He had plenty of reason to smile. Dinzeo and his Hill-Murray teammates defeated top seed Orono 3-0 Friday to win the program's first state championship. The second-seeded Pioneers (17-3-2) returned 16 seniors from the squad that lost the title game in a shootout to DeLaSalle last season.
"To get a taste of it last year and have it taken from you, it's one of those things, you just want to get back there and have an opportunity to do it again," Pioneers coach Jeff Zupfer said.
This time around, the Pioneers took a 1-0 lead about nine minutes into the game. They doubled the lead at the 3:09 mark of the second half before adding an insurance goal a few minutes later.
Senior forward Vinny Pearcy scored a pair of goals. Pearcy, who missed a couple of games midseason, scored two goals in the regular season before putting up five goals in the past four games of postseason play.
"I just knew that when I came back, I just had to do something to get the team over the top," Pearcy said. "That's what I did."
On his first goal, Pearcy scored about nine minutes into the game after he outraced a defender to the ball and tucked a shot just inside the post. Orono had a chance a few minutes later on a corner kick with a scramble in front for the ball but didn't score.
The Spartans were still confident at halftime, senior Nate Halloff said.
"We just needed one play at the start of the second half to really get us going," Halloff said. "It didn't come."
Orono's second goal came when the goaltender left the net and the box to challenge for the ball early in the second half. Hill-Murray senior Wilfredo Vargas beat him to it, shooting over the goalkeeper and into the net. Pearcy's second goal came with 25:32 remaining in regulation.
Senior Taylor Petrich assisted on the first two goals, and senior goalkeeper Tayler Pinx played all but the final couple of minutes in goal. It was the team's ninth shutout of the season.
Orono (17-2-2) ended a nine-game winning streak. The Spartans were playing for their second state title in three years and third since 2015.
"We had about a 15-, 20-minute stretch where we just didn't play our game, I'd say," Orono coach Grant Steine said. "I think everyone would agree with that."
The Pioneers won their first state title in boys soccer after three runner-up finishes in program history, including a shootout loss to DeLaSalle last year. This was their sixth state tournament.
The Pioneers even heard a little extra motivation.
"Kenny the bus driver … gave a speech on the bus before the boys got off," Zupfer said. "And it was like, it feels like today's going to be our day."
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