Anoka girls' soccer: Comfortably confident

Anoka girls' soccer coach Paul Anderla noticed a different air on the team bus as it motored toward Coon Rapids for the Class 2A, Section 7 championship game last Thursday.

Many of the faces were the same but they radiated more confidence than they did on the same bus ride last season. The Tornadoes never stopped believing in themselves, even after missing their first two attempts in a shootout and teetering on the edge of losing to the Cardinals for a second consecutive season.

"The last time Anoka went to state [1997] they beat Coon Rapids in a shootout," Anderla said. "One of my assistants, Amber Dusosky-Woelge, played in that game and actually missed her shot. She reinforced how much the kids needed to believe in each other to get the job done."

Anoka eventually won Thursday's shootout 5-4, resulting in a 2-1 victory. Next up: The Class 2A state tournament quarterfinals against No. 2 seed Edina at 5:30 p.m. today at St. Cloud State. The Hornets defeated the Tornadoes 4-3 on Sept. 1, a game played before Anoka's formation change and current 10-0-1 run.

Led by all-state first-team selection Taylor Bare and honorable mention Jen DeRoo, the Tornadoes boasted talent up front that few teams could match. DeRoo's production was negatively affected by a formation change that put a third forward in the mix.

Anderla said that while the new look was not a major change, the decision to go back to last season's two-forward formation put the team into a comfort zone. And the results were hard to ignore. DeRoo notched 10 of her 15 goals and six of her nine assists in the past 11 games.

"We've been working on getting the ball up, crashing the net and finishing every opportunity we get," Bare said.

Bare scored Anoka's first goal in Thursday's section final, heading in a corner kick from Hailey Kramer. The set piece was made possible by sophomore defender Allison Giddings, who alertly shot a ball off a Coon Rapids players out of bounds to set up the corner kick.

Giddings was not the only unsung hero of Thursday's game. Senior defender Taylor Dirkes shivered with teammates on the bench through 80 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods before Anderla called on her to participate in the shootout. She scored to keep her team in the game. Jessica Bowe scored the eventual game winner.

"I kicked it as hard as I could toward the corner and it worked out," Bowe said.

After her goal, Bowe returned to midfield hoping goalkeeper Sonya Smith would make a final save.

Smith dived to her left and stopped the ball on the ground. She checked to ensure she was not behind the goal line, then joined the celebration.

"There was a lot more intensity coming into this game," Smith said. "We didn't want to come back and lose. We went in knowing it would be a tough game but if we set the tempo, we could beat this team."

Anoka's players huddled around the section championship trophy, each one holding a Tootsie Pop. The player of the game received a sucker during the season. Everyone earned a postgame treat on Thursday.

"The last 10 games we've just been on fire," Bowe said. "We've made the right passes, we've shot the ball when we've needed to and we've made them count."

Added Smith: "I think it's all about the talent we have, how far we want to go and what we want to achieve."

David La Vaque • 612-673-7574