Wayzata took a 5-1 victory Saturday over Minneapolis Washburn in a boys soccer game pitting the top two teams in the Class 3A rankings and featuring the intensity to be expected.
No. 2 Wayzata pulls away from No. 1 Minneapolis Washburn in high school boys soccer
Emotion and physical play marked the matchup of the top two teams in Class 3A.
By Joe Gunther, Star Tribune
September 9, 2023 at 11:04PM
The two-referee crew dealt often with questioned calls and extracurricular physicality.
"We knew it was going to happen," Trojans goalkeeper Caleb Wagner said. "They say we're No. 2 and No. 1 in the state. We don't really care about numbers. We know when we come and play like this, nobody can compete with us. We knew it would be intense. We knew it would be tough, but we are a family. We knew we would get through it."
The most contested call came with 19:40 left in the first half when Millers defender Ronan Selbo was given a yellow card for a push in the box. Wayzata's Eddy Ignatius converted the penalty kick on his own rebound. Goalkeeper Grayson Pickar made a diving save on the initial shot, but the ball rolled out of his grasp to the middle of the net. Ignatius beat him to it and scored into the open net.
"Effort and the willingness to compete," Trojans head coach Dominic Duenas said. "He had the effort to get in and get the second [shot]. That got us off to a good start."
The Trojans, 6-0 and ranked second, extended the lead to 2-0 with 30:33 left. Ben Eisinger took advantage of an opening between two defenders and fired a shot off Pickar's arm.
The Millers, 6-1 and ranked first, got on the board with a penalty kick with 29:07 left when Emmett Brown scored his team-leading 13th goal of the season. Emotions showed again as Brown and Wagner dived and fought for the ball after it came out of the net. A referee talked to both players before play resumed.
Aiden Judickas scored two goals and Jackson Widman one in the second half for the Trojans.
The Trojans defense limited the Millers, holding Brown without a good scoring chance outside of the penalty kick.
"[Senior defender] Evan Mahan's a lead back there," Wagner said. "My back four, man those guys are dogs."
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Joe Gunther, Star Tribune
Six players plus head coach Garrett Raboin and assistant coach Ben Gordon are from Minnesota. The tournament’s games will be televised starting Monday.
