Soccer State Tournament, 2022: Day 2 Recap: Quarterfinals

With top-seeded Wayzata eliminated following an upset loss to Mounds View on the opening night of the Minnesota State High School League’s 2022 Girls Soccer State Tournament, all eyes in the Class AAA field shifted quickly to Rosemount, the No. 2 seed. While the Irish were riding a 14-game winning streak entering the state tournament, Rosemount had to sidestep a similar fate.

The Irish turned aside an upset bid with a 2-1 victory over unseeded St. Michael-Albertville in the big-school quarterfinals on Wednesday, Oct. 26 at Irondale High School in New Brighton.

Junior forward Sydney Gilbertson scored with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation to find some breathing room in a tense battle with the Knights and earn a spot against No. 3 Stillwater in the second Class AAA semifinal game on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at U.S. Bank Stadium. Stillwater, the defending Class AAA champion, is the only team to defeat Rosemount this season. That 2-0 setback was on Sept. 6. Since that loss, the Irish (19-1-0) have rattled off 15 consecutive victories.

Senior midfielder Taylor Heimerl engineered the decisive goal with a long throw-in from the far side of the field. Eighth-grade midfielder Skylar Heimerl, Taylor’s sister, headed the ball a short distance to Gilbertson in traffic, but she was able to tap the ball into the right corner.

Early in the first half, St. Michael-Albertville (8-8-4) tied the score on a left-footed blast by senior midfielder Hannah Kvant. About 75 seconds earlier, Rosemount had opened the scoring on a goal by senior defender Olivia Bohl off a corner kick.

The top half of the Class AAA semifinal bracket is now set as well following Edina’s 4-0 victory over No. 4 Centennial at White Bear Lake. Junior midfielder Isabela Engle scored all four goals for the No. 5-seeded Hornets (15-4-1). Edina faces Mounds View on Wednesday at 8 a.m.

Class AA

Top-seeded Mahtomedi cruised to a 5-1 victory over Winona in the Class AA quarterfinals at Farmington High School. Junior midfielder Lauren Coy had two goals to pace the Zephyrs (17-2-0), the four-time defending Class AA champion. Mahtomedi’s only two losses this season are to Class AAA schools.

Class A

Providence Academy, the top-seed in the Class A field, looked the part in a 6-1 victory over St. Cloud Cathedral at Monticello High School. Junior midfielder Avery Lampe and freshman forward Maddyn Greenway had three goals each to power the Lions (17-3-0) who scored all their goals in the first half. Providence Academy awaits the winner between No. 4 St. Anthony Village and No. 5 Esko in next Wednesday’s semifinals.

Boys

Class AAA

Woodbury kept its winning ways alive with a 1-0 victory over Rosemount in the Class AAA quarterfinals at Irondale High School in New Brighton. The Royals, the No. 3 seed, won their 11^th consecutive game on a goal from sophomore defender Gianluca Jones early in the second half. Senior forward Xander Anderson engineered the play when he was low in the box and then spotted Jones, who one-timed it for the game’s only goal.

It was Woodbury’s second victory over Rosemount during the 2022 season. The other was a 2-1 win on Sept. 1.

The Royals will face No. 2 Maple Grove on Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 10 a.m. at U.S. Bank Stadium.

In the other Class AAA quarterfinal, No. 5 Andover needed just one goal to upend No. 4 Edina at White Bear Lake High School. Senior forward Paul Aminga scored in the 57^th minute after a corner kick into the box to send the Huskies (15-2-2) into the semifinals on Tuesday, Nov. 1 against top-seeded Wayzata.

Class AA

DeLaSalle, the No. 2 seed in the Class AA field, had two late goals from senior defender  Riley Blaylark and junior midfielder Peter Scholtz to turn back Princeton in the quarterfinals at Monticello High School.

Richfield, the No. 5 seed, earned a berth opposite top-seeded Hill-Murray in the semifinals next week following a 2-1 victory over Worthington at Farmington High School. Junior forward Antwane Ruiz scored in the 67^th minute to give the Spartans (11-4-4) the edge it was seeking. About a minute earlier, Worthington junior defender Maqui Sandoval had tied the score on a header goal.