MANKATO WEST TOOK ON ST. CLOUD APOLLO IN THE STATE BOYS’ SOCCER SEMIFINALS

On Oct. 29 St. Cloud State University was the site for the boys’ and girls’ state soccer tournament. In the first game Mankato West went up against St. Cloud Apollo.

Mankato West did a good job of getting the ball down the field. They talked to each other and knew where they were on the field.

Apollo did a good job of attacking the net. The Mankato West team did a good job of communicating to each other to let them know where they were on the field.

Mankato West’s goalie Tyler Defor came up with some nice saves.

At halftime the score was tied at 0.

St. Cloud Apollo’s Leighton Lommel came up with a goal with 32:06 left in the second half.

With that goal that made the score was St. Cloud Apollo 1, Mankato West 0.

St. Cloud Apollo’s goalie Cooper Gray came up with a nice diving save with just over 23 minutes on a penalty kick.

St. Cloud Apollo came away with the 1-0 victory over Mankato West.

After the game Lommel said that the St. Cloud, “Fans were awesome, playing at state is incredible, the field was great and was wondering where they were playing when they tore down the Metrodome”. Lommel also said, “We have to stay solid on the defensive to come away with a victory in the championship game.”

MANKATO WEST TOOK ON TOTINO-GRACE IN THE CLASS A GIRLS STATE THIRD PLACE SOCCER GAME

Mankato West and Totino-Grace went up against each other in the girls’ state third-place soccer game at the Metrodome.

 

Both teams moved the ball well to start the game. Neither team gave up easy shots.  Both teams looked very balanced.

 

Totino-Grace’s Nicole Newman found the back end of the net, with the assist coming from teammate Chaselyn Miller with 23:15 left in the first half.

 

The score was Totino-Grace 1, Mankato West 0.

 

Both teams continued to look to get the ball down field as quickly as they could as they both wanted to get it into the back of the net.

 

At halftime the score was Totino-Grace 1, Mankato West 0.

 

The second half got underway both teams continued to attack the net. Both teams were aggressive on both ends of the field. Neither team gave up an easy shot on goal.

 

Neither team backed down as they fought hard throughout the second half.

 

With 10:40 left in the second half Totino-Grace found the back of the goal on a kick by Newman with the assist going to Miller.

 

With that goal that made the score Totino-Grace 2, Mankato West 0.

 

Both teams play well throughout the game.

 

In a hard fought game Totino-Grace came away with the 2-0 victory over Mankato West.

 

After the game I talked to Newman and head coach Matt Thibodeau about the third place game.

MANKATO WEST TOOK ON BENILDE-ST. MARGARET’S IN THE GIRLS STATE SEMIFINALS OF SOCCER

In the second state semifinal game of the day Mankato West and Benilde-St. Margaret’s (BSM) went up against each other.

 

BSM got on the scoreboard first with a goal by Aleksa Tataryn with the assist going to Emma Van der Heide with 35:58 left to go in the first half.

 

BSM had a few good shots on goal in the first half.  

 

Both teams played with a lot of passion and energy. They didn’t let either team get any open shots on goal.  

 

BSM defender Emily Schmitz was all over the field. She was able to get the ball to her teammates as she kept everyone involved in the game.

 

BSM’s Van der Heide passed the ball to Tataryn found the goal with 8:52 left in the first half.

 

That made the score BSM 2, Mankato West 0.

 

Both teams continued to attack the goal late in the first half.

 

At halftime the score was BSM 2, Mankato West 0.

 

BSM played with a lot of passion throughout the game. Mankato West had a hard time with their offense.

 

With 38:06 left in the second half BSM found scored another goal Pannek with the assist going to Tataryn.

 

BSM scored again with 35:27 left in the second half on a goal by Katie Oppenheimer.

 

With that goal that made the score BSM 4, Mankato West 0.

 

BSM cranked out another goal with 34:27 left in regulation on a goal by Jordan Maddaus with the assist going to Tataryn.

 

With that goal made the score BSM 5, Mankato West 0.

 

Mankato West’s Madison Burandt scored a goal with 28:31 left in the second half.

 

With Burandt’s goal that made the score BSM 5, Mankato West 1.

 

Mankato West continued to get shots on goal as the BSM defenders did their best to try to block their shots.

 

I thought that both teams played well and neither team gave up. In a hard fought game BSM came away with the 5-1 win over Mankato West.

 

MINNEAPOLIS WASHBURN TOOK ON MANKATO WEST FOR THE CLASS AAA TITLE

Minneapolis Washburn took on Mankato West for the Class AAA title. Minneapolis Washburn started playing tough and they were able to get out a 9-4 lead at the first media time out. Washburn was able to push the ball from the get go. If Washburn can get out and run and put points up quickly they will be just fine.

Cedric Martin has come out and been able to knock down some shots early here in this contest. Washburn played a strong man to man defense.

Washburn knew what they had to do to come away with the victory. Throughout the first half they were able to control the tempo of the game. They were not about to just let Mankato take it from them.

Washburn played in a 1-2-2 zone defense in the first half. They were able control the tempo in the first half.
Washburn was able to make some baskets and not get flustered in the first half. Both teams went cold to end the first half.

At half time the score was Washburn 25 and Mankato West 14.

As the second half got underway both teams came fired up. Mankato West was able to get out to a quick start and they went on a run at the beginning of the second half.

Mankato West has gotten close to the Millers midway through the second half. Dylan Hale came out ready to play in the second half. He was able to step up and make some shots in the second half.

Both teams stepped it up in the second half. Both teams figured out now to defend each other at half time. They have done a good job competing against each other the whole entire game.

The game got close in the second half. Mankato West has able to pull within 1 of the Washburn late in the game but Washburn was able to come away with the win.

The last time Minneapolis Washburn won the state tournament was in 1994 when Louis Boone was the head coach.

Washburn was lead in scoring by Cedric Martin who had 23 points. Ra Shede Hageman had a good game he finished with 18 points.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE MINNEAPOLIS WASHBURN MILLERS FOR WINNING THE CLASS AAA STATE TITLE.

I was joined by the Basket Blogger you can read about his thoughts of the game here.

My post game interviews are -

DeAaron Hearn

Dylan Hale
Head Coach Reggie Perkins
Cedric Martin
RaShede Martin

IN THE FIRST GAME OF THE CLASS AAA SEMIFINAL IT WAS SPRING LAKE PARK TAKING ON MANATO WEST

The first game of the Class AAA Semifinal put Spring Lake Park up against Mankato West. Mankato West started the game out playing a zone defense.

Spring Lake Park looked to push the ball up the court to begin the game. Both teams looked to push the ball up the court. In the beginning of the game it was almost looked like a track meet. Both teams started out trading baskets.

Mankato was able to jump out quickly after the first four minutes. Then Spring Lake Park was able to come back and tied the game up.

With 10:22 left in regulation the score was tied at 12.

For Spring Lake Park Trey Scott played really hard he was able to Trey Scott was one of the leaders on the court. He was able to know where his other players are on the court and he was able to find his teammates and make the correct pass to set him up for the shot.

Both teams went back and forth the whole first game. Mankato West played half court defense. They were picking up there players at mid court.

This was a physical first half. Both teams dove on the floor for loose balls. The first half was like a track meet with both teams sprinting up the court and a lot of fast action.

At half time the score was Mankato West 33 and Spring Lake Park 31. There have been 6 lead changes and the game has been tied 3 times.

Spring Lake Park comes out of the locker room fired up. They continue to play strong zone defense. They seem to have success in the zone defense. They are able to collapse in the center of the lane.

Both teams battled back and forth and they continued to fight hard in the second half. Aaron Richter was played well for Mankato West. He has really stepped up in the second half. He has been a force to be reckoned with from the outside.

Spring Lake Park went cold mid way through the second half. They were not able to make a shot for a while in the second half. Mankato West has able to capitalize on their mistakes and come down and make shots.

Spring Lake Park used a full court press with about 6:00 left in regulation to get Mankato West out of rhythm. It didn’t seem to bother Mankato West at the least most.

Spring Lake Park went on a run with 5:00 left in regulation. Both teams stepped up the intensity and they both pressed each other. Shaun Jensen came up big for Spring Lake Park. He was there big play maker down the stretch.

Despite a late charge by Spring Lake Park Mankato West was able to hold off the Panters and come away with the victory. The final of the game in this fantastic finish was Mankato West 72 and Spring Lake Park 70.

The leading scorers for Spring Lake Park were Trey Scott with 24 points and Shaun Johnson with 23 points.
The leading scorer for Mankato West were Mike Richter with 16 and Derrick Cattrysse with 15 points.

My post game audio interview for this up. Please click here to find it.