East Ridge, St. Cloud Tech advance to soccer semifinals

East Ridge couldn't convert on its first two scoring chances Wednesday. Leading scorer Jarrod Ronquillo didn't miss on the third.

The senior forward buried a shot into the left corner of the net in the 30th minute, after a crossing pass by Ashwin Kolla. It gave third-seeded East Ridge all it needed in a 2-0 victory over unseeded Rochester Mayo in the Class 2A soccer quarterfinals at Farmington High School.

Collin Sieffert added a goal in the 69th minute, tracking down an errant corner kick and firing a shot into the upper right corner of the net.

The Raptors (14-2-3) nearly scored in the fourth minute, but Keelan Spencer's header sailed high. They had a chance in the 19th minute, but a cross by Mitchell Watanabe went out of bounds.

Coach Anthony Bidwell said he thought his team looked a little "on edge" in the opening minutes.

"When they settled down after the first 15, 18 minutes and we started controlling the ball, I knew we were in good shape," he said.

Rochester Mayo (15-2-3) didn't generate any scoring chances in the first half. The Spartans had their best chance in the 59th minute, but Rehan Iftikhar's header hit the crossbar.

Bidwell said the team making it back to the semifinals "speaks volumes to the commitment of these young gentleman. … I'm really proud of these guys. They earned it."

The Raptors defeated two other Rochester schools, John Marshall and Century, to start the season. It has outscored Rochester teams 15-0 this year.

Rochester Mayo, which had a nine-game winning streak snapped, was making its first state appearance since 2011.

St. Cloud Tech 2, Park Center 0: Mohamed Abdi lofted a shot over Park Center goalie Salvador Salado's fingertips in the 69th minute, as unseeded St. Cloud Tech knocked off third-seeded Park Center.

Abdi, a freshman and St. Cloud Tech's leading scorer, corralled a pass about 10 yards out and changed directions. His shot gave the Tigers (16-1-2) a 1-0 lead.

"I guess we proved it today."

Mohamud Aden added a goal with 2:18 left. The victory puts the Tigers in the semifinals for the first time.

Both teams generated scoring chances in the second half. Abdi had a breakaway for St. Cloud Tech in the 43rd minute, but Salado made a sliding save.

In the 62nd minute, Park's Gabriel Vasquez had a free kick from about 30 yards out that went just high.

A minute later, Clement Karmara had a point-blank shot that St. Cloud Tech goalie Bryan Helminick saved.