Rosemount's boys' soccer team was counting on its five returning starters from the Class 3A state tournament runner-up group of a year ago. Irish coach Todd Farrington didn't take injuries into account.

"We were hit with a lot of significant injuries at the beginning of the season," Farrington said. "We were short five to seven starters the first seven games of the season. Our top player, Reid Wolf, is still out. We're hoping to get him back next week. Two other returning starters were out the first three weeks."

The Irish got off to a 0-3-2 start, the losses all by one goal.

Now they are 10-5-2 and have a spot in the Class 3A state tournament clinched. Seeding meetings are scheduled for Saturday, and games may begin as soon as Tuesday.

"During those early games, our younger players were able to gain valuable experience, and they set the tone for the team moving forward," Farrington said. "As our top players began to return, they injected more confidence in our younger players and really pushed them to new heights."

Rosemount's only two setbacks the rest of the way were to 3-0 to Eastview and 2-0 to Eagan. Those two teams were seeded ahead of them in the Class 3A, Section 3 tournament.

"We were playing with some real confidence when we ran into Eastview during the regular season," Farrington said. "They came to our stadium and took it to us from the opening whistle. They are an overwhelming team offensively, and we didn't have a response in the first half. We switched up our formation in the second half and were more competitive, but they were just too much that night.

"We struggled the remainder of the regular season to gain confidence and dropped another very important game to Eagan. Had we won that game, we would have been [South Suburban] conference champions for the first time."

They avenged both of those setbacks in the section tournament, edging Eagan 3-2 in the semifinals and scoring two second-half goals to knock off Eastview 2-1 for the championship and a berth in the state tournament. Senior captain Nick Wenthe scored both goals in the final, the game-winner coming with just over nine minutes remaining.

"The past two years, Nick has been the guy who wanted to carry this team," Farrington said. "He always believes he can win. A lot of people talk like that, but he lives that mentality … and it has certainly rubbed off on our other players."

The Irish will make their fourth state tournament appearance, the others coming in 2006 and 2014.

"The biggest reason we had the success we did last year was because we were so united as a team. That group had been playing together for many years and were close going into the season," Farrington said. "This team wasn't like that. These guys weren't nearly as familiar with each other going into the season, but they have become a very tight group. They remind me a lot of last year's group. We are very fortunate."

Inside boys' soccer numbers

1: Goal allowed by Hill-Murray's boys' soccer team this season, in a 2-1 victory over Columbia Heights in the Class 2A, Section 4 championship. The No. 1-ranked Pioneers (19-0) shut out their first 18 opponents.

81:00: Time when Rochester Mayo senior Bryan Islas-Aguirre scored in the first minute of overtime, giving the Spartans a 2-1 victory over Owatonna in the Class 3A, Section 1 boys' soccer championship game.

94:45: Elapsed time when junior Carson Dederichs netted the game-winning goal with just over five minutes remaining in overtime as Edina outlasted Eden Prairie 2-1 in the Class 3A, Section 2 boys' soccer championship game.