Apple Valley scores early, holds on for win

Sometimes, things come a little too easy for Apple Valley's boys' soccer team.

The Eagles -- undefeated, ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 2A and No. 7 in the nation -- scored two goals in the first six minutes of their 2A state semifinal game against Northfield.

Considering that the Eagles had not given up a goal since Sept. 24, who could blame them for putting their game on cruise control?

But this is the state tournament, and Northfield was not about to go away quietly. The Raiders gave the Eagles a battle, forcing Apple Valley to hang on in the final minutes for a 3-2 victory.

"We came out strong and maybe we got a little overconfident," defender Bijan Jibari said. "[Northfield] really took it to us after that."

The game began like so many others have this season for Apple Valley. The Eagles (23-0) scored just 22 seconds into the game, when Tom Obarski nudged home a loose ball in front of the Northfield goal.

Jibari made the score 2-0 at 5:54, when he converted a penalty kick. It appeared the Eagles, who had outscored opponents 124-5 entering the game, were off and running.

"I think it was nerves that got to us," Northfield coach Jorge Zuccolatto said. "But I knew we could play with them."

Zuccolatto was right. Northfield cut the lead to 2-1 on a brilliant 30-yard free kick by Caleb Yurek at 26:27, his boot curling over the Apple Valley wall and just inside the far corner of the goal.

Apple Valley dominated the second half, but mustered only one goal: David Rosenthal scoring on a centering pass from Stephen Johnson.

Northfield (14-5-3) cut the margin to one goal in a rocket 20-yard left-footed shot by Aaron Stets at 72:46, forcing Apple Valley to sweat out the ending.

"I'm glad we got pushed," Eagles coach Chuck Scanlon said. "That was good for us. Now we know what we have to do in the finals."

Wayzata 2, Woodbury 1 (OT): The ball, coming off of an indirect free kick by teammate Wade Williams, landed at Ellis Andrews' feet, just outside the goal box.

With more time than he had a right to, the sophomore forward controlled the ball, turned and hit a low shot into the far side of the Woodbury goal, lifting Wayzata (12-6-4) to a overtime victory over the No. 2-ranked Royals (16-1-3) and into Thursday's championship game.

"I was surprised that I had as much time as I had," said Andrews, who also scored Wayzata's first goal at the game's 56th minute. "It was a good ball, It came right to me. I just had to control it and shoot."

The victory extended Wayzata's winning streak to nine games, a streak that began when the Trojans' record was 3-6-4.

"We just started to play with more urgency," coach Dominci Duenas said of Wayzata's turnaround.

"We looked at our past games and knew that we could play with any of those teams."