Mounds Park Academy was peaking at the right time entering the state boys soccer tournament.
Scoring just 21 goals in its 15 regular-season games, the Panthers scored 11 times in winning three straight section games, including Masen Donohoo’s overtime winner in a victory over St. Croix Prep in the final.
However, the good vibes came to an end Wednesday in a 2-1 double-overtime loss to No. 2 Stewartville in a Class 1A quarterfinal at Farmington High School.
A failed clear led to Cole Kropp scoring with 5:03 remaining in the second extra period, sending the Tigers (20-0-0) to a semifinal match at 7 p.m. Tuesday in U.S. Bank Stadium. They’ll play the winner of Thursday’s quarterfinal between No. 3 St. Cloud Cathedral and unseeded Cristo Rey Jesuit.
“I was really hoping to end it right then and there. I’m confident with our team with (penalty kicks), but you just want to get it over with as soon as possible,” Kropp said.
Wiktor Sroka nearly won it for the unseeded Panthers (7-8-4) in the first overtime but was robbed on a diving save by Stewartville goaltender Brecken Rester.
“I thought that was the game,” Mounds Park Academy coach Mike Velin said.
“It was great shot, but a better save. That’s what it comes down to at the end of the day,” Kropp said.
Undoubtedly, the loss will sting for a while, but Velin is proud of what the Panthers showed.
“The public outside of our team looked at our record, our goals-against differential and would think what are they doing in state,” he said. “If that was the only thing people looked at, they’d be missing the story of who we are, how we build up. … At the end of the day, what we talked about was don’t peak on the first game, but peak in sections. We were really starting to show who we were and what we could be.”
Leyton Hudson scored midway through the first half for Mounds Park Academy, who was in the tournament for the first time since 2010.
Sroka sprinted down the right side and sent a pass to the box where Hudson’s redirect from about 10 yards out found the back of the net in the 19th minute.
The Panthers gave up the first goal in their last two section games.
“Previous teams would get very dejected, and this team found resilience, they found a way to understand it’s an 80-minute game, there’s a lot of opportunities and you never give up,” Velin said. “For the seniors, the heart they showed is going to carry through with them for the rest of their lives.”
Ranked No. 6 in the final state soccer poll, Stewartville has allowed just 10 goals this season, no more than one in a game.
Cody Clark scored early in the second half for Stewartville, who scored at least two goals in every match this season.
Rester made a diving save less than a minute later, and Owen Johnston — Mounds Park Academy’s goaltender — snared a Clark shot about two minutes thereafter to keep the game 1-1. Johnston added a big save against Kropp, a 29-goal scorer, about 10 minutes later.
Related Articles
Girls tennis: Rochester Mayo earns third straight state title over Minnetonka
High School Football Roundup: Ward scores twice as Apple Valley beats Burnsville
High school girls soccer: Second-half surge lifts Stillwater over Duluth East
Girls tennis roundup: Mounds View reaches Class 3A semifinals
High school girls soccer: Mahtomedi posts 3-0 win over Grand Rapids
Leave a Reply