Holy Angels, ranked No. 1 in Class 2A girls soccer, rolls against St. Anthony

Holy Angels, ranked No. 1 in Class 2A, continued its strong start to the 2024 girls soccer season Thursday with a rout against a perennially strong program.

Ellen Neuharth scored four goals and Matigann Vixayvong had three as Holy Angels defeated visiting St. Anthony 9-0.

Neuharth scored three of her goals in a 21-minute, 21-second span of the first half, and the Stars (3-0-0) led 4-0 at halftime. She added her fourth goal with 6:24 left.

Vixayvong scored all of her goals in the second half. She said scoring in bunches happens naturally.

“I play with more confidence,” Vixayvong said. “I believe in myself to take those shots.

“When goals are coming it just helps everyone’s confidence.”

Aleisha Cortez scored first for the Stars, 4:02 into the game. Cora Kmiec scored for the Stars in the second half.

Seniors Tea Opitz and Lydia Schwartzbauer and freshman Stella Granquist combined in goal to shut out the Huskies (1-2-2). Holy Angels, runner-up to Benilde-St. Margaret’s in the state tournament last season, has not given up a goal this season.

The Huskies (1-2-2) won a state championship in 2022 and lost only three times last season, but they are young in 2024: no seniors, three juniors and a group of underclassmen that includes a seventh-grader and two eighth-graders.

The Stars face a more experienced test in their next game, against Wayzata, Class 3A’s second-ranked team. The convincing win over the Huskies set the right mood, Neuharth said.

“It’s good for our confidence when we are going to face Wayzata. That’s a big 3A team we’d like to beat,” she said. “It feels good to get a good win going into that.”