Academy of Holy Angels midfielder Collin Pannhoff celebrates the win as time expires in the Class 2A boys soccer championship game Friday, Nov. 1, 2024 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. (Anthony Souffle/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The seniors on the Holy Angels boys soccer team were troubled by the trend.

The Stars had won four consecutive section titles between 2018 and ‘21, with a 2019 state championship in that stretch. Then, they missed the state tournament in back-to-back seasons.

So, in August, the team set three goals: Win a conference title. Concede fewer goals. Win a section championship.

But win the program’s second state title?

“We’d talk again the day after [sections],” said senior defender Shailin Patel.

Well, it’s after sections now. And on Friday, No. 1-seeded Holy Angels defeated No. 2 Totino-Grace 3-1 to win the boys Class 2A championship.

The Stars (20-1) wasted no time getting on the board. Four minutes in, junior defender Tommy Hopkins lofted a pass to senior Jackson Hegwood, whose initial header bounced off the goalpost. Hegwood tidied up his own rebound to put the Stars up early.

A tricky free kick outside the 18-yard box doubled the Stars’ lead in the 21st minute. Instead of taking a long-range strike, Hegwood saw senior midfielder Collin Pannhoff mouthing to him and took the clue to play an unexpected pass to his feet.

Panhoff turned and shot low to take a 2-0 lead by halftime.

“One of the principles in our game model is improvisation,” Holy Angels coach James See said. “We’ve shown clips from previous teams just to spark their imagination and give them ideas. We were even using clips from 2020. To watch them do that in a high-stakes game is really fun.”

Junior James Parish’s team-best 18th goal of the season was second-half insurance for the Stars. Hopkins launched a long throw from the right sideline that Parish redirected into the net with a glancing header.

Totino-Grace (14-5-3) looked to claw its way back into the game, but the Stars dominated possession, making chances rare for the Eagles.

With five minutes left in the game, junior midfielder Jabari Kibisu, the Eagles’ leading scorer, ran onto a pass slipped in by junior forward Siman Geleto. Kibisu scored his 24th goal of the year from an improbable angle and through the goalkeeper’s legs.

It was only the seventh goal conceded by Holy Angels all season, tied for fourth-best in Minnesota boys soccer history.

“In the last 10 seconds of this game, in the first five minutes of the first game, it’s been possible,” senior defender Luke Arms said. “Everything’s been possible, and in our reach.”