Simley 2, Delano 0

Spartans senior Elvis Hernandez Paz scored a goal and assisted on the other as the Spartans downed Delano in a Class 2A boys soccer quarterfinal Thursday at Monticello High School.

The second-seeded Spartans advance to meet unseeded Como Park in a semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Hernandez Paz put the Spartans (17-1-2) up 1-0 in the first half, and found Michael Hernandez Ruiz for Simley’s other goal in the second half for some extra insurance.

Edina 3, Central 2

The Minutemen scored twice in the second half of the Class 3A quarterfinal at Forest Lake High School, but top-seeded Edina held on for victory.

The Hornets will meet fourth-seeded Wayzata at 8 a.m. Tuesday at U.S. Bank Stadium in the state semifinals.

Edina held a 2-0 lead at the break thanks to goals by Andreas Engle and Stellan Twill. But Central responded early in the second stanza, as Firomsa Aman scored to cut the Minutemen’s deficit in half.

Twill scored his second goal of the contest to put Edina up 3-1 before Tommy Voshell scored with fewer than 10 minutes to play to get Central back within one. But the Minutemen were unable to find the equalizer.

Emmaus Olson was the guy Maple Grove wanted to connect with off a corner kick.

The senior midfielder made the decision look good, coming through a goal with 2:12 left in the second overtime that pushed the Crimson past Eagan 2-1 in a Class 3A state quarterfinal Thursday at Shakopee West Middle School.

“He is our best head-winner and it’s my job just to get the ball in there where somebody can get to it,” said Everett Johnston, who took the corner kick. “I see him in there right in the middle. I know I can get it to him, so I just do my best to lay it on a silver platter for him.”

Olson outjumped an Eagan defender, the ball went off the crossbar and straight down into the goal, sending the third-seeded Crimson (14-2-2) to a semifinal date with No. 2 Buffalo Tuesday at 10 a.m. Tuesday at U.S. Bank Stadium.

“Glad to be back there,” Olson said.

Maple Grove has finished second the past two seasons. Last year it lost to Eagan in overtime in the title game.

Unseeded Eagan (11-3-4) got a goal from Eddie Cotorra.

After a scoreless first half, the Crimson struck first.

Off an Eagan turnover, Ousman Touray passed to Colin Merritt on the left wing. Deking a defender, Merritt returned the ball to Touray, who passed it to Parker Carlson, whose low shot from 24 yards out went in with 25 minutes left to play.

Just over six minutes later, Cotorra curled in a 14-yard shot from nearly the football sideline to make it 1-all. The senior is also a kicker on the Wildcat football team.

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INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Not often under head coach Kevin O’Connell have the Vikings looked completely lifeless. The culture he has worked so hard to build in Minnesota is hinged on operating the same regardless of circumstance.

Some of the stinkers that stand out include the 40-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in 2022, the 33-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers in 2023, and the 31-9 loss to the Detroit Lions in 2024. There might be a few others that fit the criteria. Obviously the 27-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs is the worst of them all.

The point is very rarely have the Vikings been embarrassed under this current regime. It’s not in their DNA to lay down. Even when they lose, they usually at least put up a fight.

That doesn’t apply to the effort the Vikings put forth in the 37-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night at SoFi Stadium. It was a total system failure from top to bottom across 60 minutes of dysfunction.

If somebody were forced to play this game on their PS5, they would’ve simulated to the end shortly after halftime, then seriously thought about selling their console on Facebook Marketplace.

The struggles of quarterback Carson Wentz made it so the Vikings couldn’t string together consecutive successful plays on offense. The excellence of quarterback Justin Herbert on the other end made so the Vikings were rendered nonexistent on defense.

Maybe everything would’ve been different for the VIkings if cornerback Isaiah Rodgers actually hauled in the interception that he returned it for a touchdown early in the game.

The call on the field was overturned to an incomplete pass and the Chargers proceeded to go on a methodical drive that ended with Herbert finding rookie tight end Oronde Gadsden for a touchdown to make it 7-0.

After another punt from the Vikings, the Chargers took complete control, asserting their dominance on the ground before running back Kimani Vidal waltzed into the end zone to make it 14-0.

There was finally some push back from the Vikings after that only to settle for a 54-yard field goal from kicker Will Reichard to cut the deficit to 14-3. A missed field goal the the Chargers on the other end appeared to leave the door open.

Instead, the Vikings were forced to punt it away once again, and the Chargers put together another impressive drive, capping it with a dime from Herbert to receiver Ladd McConkey for a touchdown to stretch the lead to 21-3 at halftime.

After a field goal from the Chargers made it 24-3, the Vikings finally found the end zone thanks in large part to a pair of penalties. They benefitted from a too many men on the field call as well as an illegal contact call before Wentz found receiver Jordan Addison for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 24-10.

That was as close as the Vikings got to anything resembling a comeback.

The response for the Chargers was immediate as Herbert found receiver Tre Harris for a touchdown that stretched the lead to 31-10 before kicker Cameron Dicker tacked on a pair of field goals to finalize the score at 37-10.

The lasting image of the debacle was Wentz writhing on the ground in pain after taking another big hit down the stretch, then tossing his helmet in frustration once he reached the sideline. The isolation camera shots of quarterback J.J. McCarthy wearing a baseball cap provided a glimmer of hope to those watching at home.

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Sophia Forchas, the 12-year-old Annunciation Catholic Church and School shooting victim who doctors feared wouldn’t survive her brain injuries, was released from Gillette Children’s hospital in St. Paul on Thursday.

Sophia is the last of the 30 victims who were injured in the Aug. 27 shooting in Minneapolis to be released from the hospital.

Two children — 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski — were killed. On Sept. 5, Sophia’s neurosurgeon, Dr. Walt Galicich, said there was a chance that Sophia would be the third fatality in the shooting, which was committed by a 23-year-old former Annunciation student who died by suicide. Authorities haven’t publicly identified a motive.

Forty-eight days after the shooting, Sophia was seen walking to a limousine while wearing a blue sweatsuit and a backward baseball cap, hugging and greeting supporters, including Galicich. She was escorted from the hospital by Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara.

This undated photo provided by Tom Forchas in September 2025 shows his daughter, Sophia Forchas, who was wounded in the Church of Annunciation shooting in Minneapolis, on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025. (Tom Forchas via AP)

Sophia’s parents, Tom and Amy Forchas, said in a statement that Sophia’s road to recovery is still a long one but that Thursday marked “one of the most extraordinary” days of their lives.

“Our beloved daughter, Sophia, is coming home!!” they wrote. “We are overwhelmed with gratitude for the remarkable medical professionals whose skill, compassion, and unwavering dedication brought us to this moment.”

Sophia was shot in her brain’s left temporal lobe, and important blood vessels were damaged in the bullet’s path, Galicich said in September. He explained that part of Sophia’s skull was removed to help with swelling and pressure in the brain.

“I noticed her blue nail polish and her curly hair, and I opened her eyes, and she was bilaterally fixed and dilated, which means that her pressure in her brain was very high,” he said at the time. “And if you had told me at this juncture, 10 days later, that we’d be standing here with any ray of hope, I would have said it would take a miracle.”

Sophia was in critical condition for some two weeks before her condition improved on Sept. 11. Then on Sept. 23, her family said she was preparing to move from Hennepin County Medical Center to inpatient rehabilitation at Gillette Children’s, where she was released Thursday.

“Sophia’s healing journey continues with outpatient therapy and the road to full recovery remains long,” Sophia’s parents wrote Thursday after her release. “Yet, our hearts are filled with indescribable joy as we witness her speech improving daily, her personality shining through once more, and her ability to walk, swim, and even dribble a basketball. Each step she takes is a living testament to the boundless grace of God and the miraculous power of prayer.”

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