Eastview girls' soccer coach David Herem is quick to shoulder the blame for his squad's season-opening 2-0 loss at White Bear Lake.
"I didn't have the team ready to play," Herem said. "That's my fault. I let the team down."
Since then the Lightning has rattled off nine consecutive victories, allowing only one goal while registering eight shutouts, heading into a nonconference matchup with St. Paul Academy.
"We don't talk about wins and losses as a team," Herem said. "We just want every game to be our best."
Senior Anhthu Huynh was in goal for all eight shutouts. Only Burnsville, the Class 2A state runner-up a year ago, scored on her during the streak.
"Our back four [three graduated from last year's state tournament team] was a question mark coming into the season," Herem said. "They have been doing an awesome job, and Anhthu has been playing great."
The Lightning will face an equally tough defensive team, Lakeville North, on Thursday with first place on the line in the South Suburban Conference. Lakeville North had a string of 11 consecutive shutouts broken by Blake on Saturday.
Streak stoppedFarmington's girls' tennis team beat Red Wing for the first time since 1997, pulling out a 4-3 victory in Missota Conference play.