Faded red ink remained on Izzy Engle's left wrist some 16 hours after her Edina soccer team's state tournament quarterfinal victory last week.
Throughout their undefeated season, Hornets players and coaches have carried initials or names on their wrists of people for whom they are playing. Engle's ink represented Jesus Christ and her motto this year: audience of one — which for her is God. Then the initials of her mother, Patricia; her father, Ryan, and her brothers Andreas, Philip and Eric.
Faith. Family. Football (as soccer is known outside the United States). Engle's rock-solid values keep her grounded as her considerable talents flourish. She is the Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year in girls soccer.
Engle, with 37 goals, leads top-ranked Edina (20-0) into Tuesday morning's Class 3A state tournament semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium against Andover. A midfielder, she was chosen as an alternate for the U.S. under-19 women's national team, traveling to Chile for the 2023 Pan American Games. And she was named Ms. Soccer.
"I haven't seen anyone close," Edina coach Katie Aafedt said of Engle, who is committed to Notre Dame. "She was voted the No. 1 player in the Lake Conference, and she can dominate from multiple positions on the field."
Engle's focus is on the final two games of her high school career, especially after seeing an undefeated season end in the state tournament semifinals in 2021 and taking second place at state in 2022.
All season long, Engle has played big against the Hornets' toughest opponents. She tallied three goals in a comeback victory against Stillwater and posted another hat trick in the season finale against previously undefeated Wayzata.
But Engle had to put faith in teammates to win the section semifinal and final while she was with the U.S. U-19 team. She never wavered.
"Had they lost, I would have like felt a little guilty about being gone," Engle said. "But I never had a doubt that they would not win."
Edina kept the faith against a stubborn St. Michael-Albertville team in the state tournament quarterfinals. The Knights scored first and later tied the game 2-2. Then Engle, who scored the first two Edina goals, registered a key assist on the Hornets' third goal. Fittingly, she completed the hat trick with a 30-yard missile just under the crossbar.
"I would love to say, 'Yes, that's exactly what I was trying to do,' " Engle said. "But it was more of, 'Just get it out of the middle of the field.' I wasn't even trying to do that."
She celebrated the improbable goal in her usual fashion — with an infectious smile.
"She's phenomenal," teammate Grace Pohlidal said afterward. "Her energy was contagious, and it kept us fighting through the whole game."
All-Metro teams coming Tuesday
Watch for the All-Metro soccer first and second teams on startribune.com at 6 a.m. Tuesday.
