Minnetonka boys and Edina girls soccer teams qualify for state out of a section final doubleheader

On Thursday, the Minnetonka boys soccer team booked its second trip in a row to the Class 3A tournament, beating Edina 1-0 in the Section 2 final. But coach Mike Rogers remembers 2010, when their 1-13-3 season ended differently.

That year, Edina shut down Minnetonka to start the section playoffs, and Hornets coach Dave Jensen walked over to the dejected Skippers and talked to them like he would his own squad.

”They were some young players, and we had a really experienced team,” said Jensen, who earned his 500th career win with Edina this year. “It was just trying to help them understand that it’s just a game … that they played well.”

Over the past decade, the two Lake Conference teams have turned their matchups from a regular Hornets win into a back-and-forth rivalry, each team winning five section tournaments in the past 11 years.

So in September, when Minnetonka (16-1-1) lost for the only time in an otherwise undefeated season to No. 6 Edina (12-3-3), the 3-2 result wasn’t expected. It became fuel for the No. 2-ranked Skippers.

”We were staring at the sectional final,” said midfielder Eli Ryan, one of 16 seniors on the roster. “Redemption, in our eyes.”

A windy game at Prior Lake stayed deadlocked until Ryan converted a game-winning penalty shot with 20 minutes remaining.

Edina senior goalkeeper Tyler Baker — who otherwise played an errorless, confident game and came up with an improbable second-half kick save for the Hornets — came out to challenge Minnetonka midfielder Noah Izquierdo on a breakaway created by a pass from Hudson Benites.

Receiving a yellow card for tripping up Izquierdo, Baker had to be momentarily substituted out, per rules, and Ryan converted the penalty.

After a heated and foul-frequented last 10 minutes, after the final whistle and after celebrations, several Minnetonka players comforted the Hornets, not unlike Jensen did 14 years ago. Many play club soccer together, teammates and opponents at the same time.

”That’s what sportsmanship should be,” Rogers said. “You appreciate it, when you’re on the losing end of things and you’re treated with grace.”

The Edina girls soccer team would be hard-pressed to top last season: undefeated Class 3A champs.

The Hornets graduated nine seniors, including the NCAA’s top freshman goal-scorer, Izzy Engle, at Notre Dame. They welcomed a new coach, Taylor Greathouse. They lost their first game, 4-2 to Rosemount.

And yet the Hornets, ranked No. 5 in the state and 12-1-5 overall, find themselves in familiar territory. Edina beat Minnetonka 3-1 in the Section 2 final to secure its fourth consecutive trip to the Class 3A tournament.

”People were asking us how we think we’re going to play this season,” Greathouse said. “We said from Day 1 that the biggest challenge is going to be ourselves and how much we want it.”

Minnetonka went up in the first five minutes off a shot by Avalyn Irwin, ripped from outside the 18-yard box. Edina’s Mikaela Caverly, Lou Ruffien and Evie Kachmarzinski scored three unanswered.

”We’re going to take [the state tournament] step by step,” Ruffien said. “This is a really young team. We’ve got to win the next one. We’re not going to look at the final. We’re going to take our time.”

Section 6: Wayzata 4, Minneapolis Washburn 1

Section 5: Orono 1, Blake 0

Section 2: Pine Island/Zumbrota-Mazeppa 4, Fairmont 0

Section 3 (Wednesday): St. Paul Academy 1, Visitation 0

Section 6: Minneapolis Washburn 6, Hopkins 0

Section 8: Bemidji 1, Buffalo 0

Section 5: Blake 1, Benilde St. Margaret’s 0

Section 8: St. Cloud Tech 3, Willmar 0

Section 2: Pine Island/Zumbrota-Mazeppa 5, Tri-City United 0

Section 3 (Wednesday): St. Paul Academy 1, Minnehaha Academy 0