Unranked Edina benefits from patience in girls' soccer, and it's worth the wait

Edina coach Katie Aafedt preached patience to her inexperienced girls' soccer team all season long. It paid off.

The Hornets played their best soccer of the season in the Class 3A, Section 2 tournament, shutting out fourth-ranked Minnetonka 3-0 for the championship. They beat No. 9 Chanhassen 6-0 in the semifinals.

Seeding for the state tournaments is scheduled for Saturday, and quarterfinals can start as soon as Tuesday.

The Hornets (14-4-1) qualified against the odds. They were unranked in the Minnesota State High School Soccer Coaches Association's final poll.

"Minnetonka is a very good team, and we knew we were going to have to play close to a perfect game to beat them," Aafedt said.

In their two regular-season meetings, the Skippers won 3-1 and the teams played to a 1-1 draw.

A quick start helped against the Skippers in the section final. Junior midfielder Grace Pohlidal scored on a pass from classmate Izzy Engle 4 minutes, 14 seconds into the game. Engle scored her 26^th goal of the season 12 minutes later.

"The quick goal was just the start we were looking for and needed," Aafedt said.

"Grace's goal gave us the momentum right out of the gate and put us in the driver's seat, instead of chasing a goal or two, like we had in the previous two games against them."

The Hornets weren't done in the first half. Engle set up senior forward Taylor Howard's goal at 30:27. Engle had six goals and four assists in the three section victories.

"We had new players in a ton of different positions, and without the scoring power of our graduated class of 2021 we knew it would be a monster transition," Aafedt said. "On the flip side, we knew we had the talent and chemistry to get there, it was just going to take time."

The Hornets went 9-0-1 in their final 10 games, outscoring their opposition 35-2 and bringing back memories of the dynamic team of a year ago. Edina went 20-1 last season but was upset by Stillwater 3-2 in the state semifinals and wound up third.

"We love being in the underdog role," Aafedt said. "It is a stark contrast from last year, but both times ended with the privilege of earning a trip to the state tournament."

0.2: Average goals allowed per game by Rosemount's girls' soccer team, best in the state. The Irish, 18-1 and ranked second in Class 3A, have yielded only two goals this season.

77:16: Time elapsed, leaving less than three minutes remaining, when senior Morgan Jones scored in Alexandria's 1-0 victory over East Grand Forks in the Class 2A, Section 8 girls' soccer championship game.