Holy Angels had what coach James See called a "shaky 10 minutes" to start the game. But See was impressed with the response: a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute on a diving header by junior attacker Porter Ball.
"It's kind of fun to score a highlight goal in October, because often October's about managing games and mucking out results," See said. "It was an awesome response."
One goal was all the Stars needed on their way to a 2-0 victory over unseeded Worthington in a Class 1A boys' soccer state quarterfinal Wednesday at Farmington High School.
Ball scored just in front of the net after senior Peter Foley made a pass from the corner.
"It was a little behind me, so I just dove and headed it in," Ball said. "Kind of surprised it went in, but I was so happy."
Junior defender Conor O'Rourke also scored on a header for the Stars, making it 2-0 in the 54th minute with a perfectly timed jump off a corner kick from Ball.
The second-seed Stars (19-0-1) are making their first state tournament appearance since finishing as state runners-up in 2001. The Stars, with 10 shutouts, have allowed only nine goals all year.
Worthington (17-3-0) suffered a state quarterfinal loss for the second consecutive year. Its best scoring chance came about three minutes in when senior Victor Alvarez sent a kick from about 20 yards out just wide of the goal.
HEATHER RULE
Austin 2, Holy Family 1: Lee Reh broke through for the Packers and Andres Garcia finished the job.
"They were blocking everything, and we just had to keep fighting [and] not let that distract us, and we did our job," Gracia said.
Junior Bennett Creager gave fifth-seeded Holy Family (17-3) a 1-0 lead in the first half at Prior Lake High School while the Fire defense kept the Packers in check. Austin (17-2), the No. 4 seed, had chances throughout, especially on close shots by forwards Mooday Wah and Julio Hernandez.
Reh, a junior midfielder, scored for the Packers with 2:02 left in the half, slipping the ball past Fire goalkeeper Bryce Richter.
Garcia, a sophomore midfielder, put Austin ahead 2-1 in the second half. He got a clear shot in front of the net on an assist by Mr. Soccer finalist Kevin Ortiz, a senior midfielder.
"He played a perfect ball," Garcia said.
It ended Holy Family's first state tournament trip.
"I'm really proud of my team," Fire senior defender Sawyer Schugel said. "We were not looked at as a high team this year, and we came out and proved everybody wrong and made history with our program this year."
MATTHEW DAVIS
Blake 1, Duluth Denfeld 0: It wasn't easy for top-seeded Blake at Chisago Lakes High School.
"[The Hunters] were organized," Blake coach Tamba Johnson said. "They kept it congested in their half. We were just trying to figure out how to stretch them out. They stayed really compact."
Will Mortenson found a way with 14:38 left in the game. He got behind the defense and got his shot under diving Hunters goalkeeper Eric Gibson.
"I thought if I could get body position on their defender and get a shot off, I would have a good chance of scoring," Mortenson said.
The Bears (17-1-2) had the Hunters on their heels for the majority of the second half, pushing the play from the midfield in.
"We knew we had to keep fighting," Mortenson said. "We knew they were a good team and they were going to defend well and be organized the whole time. We knew that we had to keep working and that it was going to come."
The Hunters (15-4-1) didn't have a shot on goal in the second half and appeared to tire.
JOE GUNTHER
Bemidji 1, Mahtomedi 0: Junior Silas Hess has a knack for being in the right place at the right time.
He scored the lone goal, his 19th of the season, on a header after taking a perfect centering feed from his twin brother, Ben, in the sixth minute as the Lumberjacks (18-2-1) eliminated the third-seeded Zephyrs (16-3-0) at St. Cloud State.
staff reports
