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Class 2A girls soccer championship: Holy Angels 2, Mahtomedi 1 (PK)

jace frederick, pioneer press
·3 min read

Academy of Holy Angels caught itself celebrating a moment too soon Friday.

The Stars took off in jubilation toward their student section after Mahtomedi’s shot went off the crossbar in the seventh round of penalty kicks of the Class 2A girls state final at U.S. Bank Stadium.

The issue was that stop didn’t end the game. The Stars still needed to score on their attempt. So, Holy Angels went back to midfield and the stage was set for Briarleigh Dahl to be the hero. Dahl was the one player who already knew she still had to make her kick. She never left her spot as her teammates swarmed one another.

“I tried yelling for them, but they were celebrating,” Dahl said.

Dahl stepped up and drilled her shot into the back of the net — but the attempt was waived off, because the ref hadn’t whistled the attempt as ready for play. So the sophomore, attempting her first penalty kick ever in competitive play, went back to her spot to boot it again, with the same result.

With the goal, Holy Angels knocked off the four-time defending state champions, 2-1, on the strength of a 6-5 advantage in penalty kicks. The Stars’ goal all season was to “slay the dragon.” Mission accomplished.

“That’s the drag,” Stars coach Dave Marshak said of Mahtomedi. “That is such an incredible program.”

The second-seeded Stars (20-2) were led by senior goalkeeper Chloe Sandness, who recorded six saves — including a couple of top-tier stops — during play before shining again in penalty kicks. It was also Sandness who scored the game’s goal in the first half on a free kick from roughly midfield.

“I just knew I needed to get the ball on frame, and trust my girls that they’d head it in,” Sandness said. “I just put a little power on it, and I was like ‘Just get there.’

“I turned around and everyone was screaming, and I was like, ‘What happened?’ Everyone started running at me and I was like, ‘Oh, I scored!’ I almost started crying there and then, because that’s a dream for me to score in the state championship game.”

Top-seeded Mahtomedi (18-3) showed its championship mettle in the second half, battling back to equalize the contest on a strike from Kaitlyn Moltzan with 20 minutes to play in regulation.

“We all want this so, so bad, especially us seniors; this is what we’ve been working towards all four years and this whole entire season,” Mahtomedi senior midfielder Anabel Hillstrom said. “So, after halftime, talking with the team, it’s a reminder that this is all we’ve got left. And that’s what motivated me personally, that we’ve just got to give it all we’ve got, because this is the last time we’re going to play together.”

The Zephyrs continued to apply pressure, even generating the better chances in the extra sessions, but couldn’t find the back of the net.

“I’m proud of my kids. I think they played a great game,” Mahtomedi coach Dave Wald said. “(After our goal) I thought we lost our poise a little bit, lost the excellence. If we’d kept with that, I think we would’ve gotten a different result. That being said, I thought we played hard, the kids left it on the field, and that’s all you can ask. They’re disappointed, but I think in the long run, they have a lot to be proud of this season.”

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