Hamza Abdi made the most of a couple fortuitous bounces.
Abdi scored two goals to double his season total and unseeded Como Park hung on to upset No. 3 New Ulm 3-1 in a Class 2A boys soccer quarterfinal Wednesday at Farmington High School.
Winners of five straight and eight of nine, the Cougars (14-5-1) next play at 2:30 Tuesday in U.S. Bank Stadium against the winner of Thursday’s quarterfinal between No. 2 seed Simley and unseeded Delano.
Como Park is in the tournament for the sixth time, but first since five straight from 2012-16, including a 2013 title.
“We’re not only trying to do best for us, but for St. Paul,” Abdi said.
With the Cougars holding a 2-1 lead, Abdi scored his second goal of the game with 5:48 remaining. A free kick by Stephen N’da went off a Cougar near the far post and right to Abdi, who scored from about 7 yards out.
“It was like right time, I was there, I just hit the ball twice,” he said of his goals.
Not quite four minutes into the second half, N’da controlled ball for the Cougars on the right wing just inside the New Ulm box. His centering attempt went off a defender and right to Abdi, whose quick left-footed shot found the back of the net.
“Since he came back from injury (N’da) is the best player we have, the best player in our conference, the best player in my eyes. He was a game-changer today,” Abdi said.
Off a corner kick, Pah Chi scored on a header in the 55th minute to make it 2-0.
The Cougars cushion was short-lived however because Levi Johnson scored for the Eagles (15-3-2) less than three minutes later by splitting a couple defenders at the top of the box, poking the ball past the goalie before pushing the ball across the line.
In a game that, at times, felt more like a track meet with both teams speedily getting down the pitch with the ball, it was Como Park with the better first-half scoring opportunities. Abdi had the best chance for the Cougars but was robbed on a diving save by New Ulm goaltender Austin Krohn.
Related Articles
Boys soccer: Mounds Park Academy falls in Class A quarterfinal
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
Leave a Reply