Prep athletes of the week: Chaska girls' soccer defender delivers with 3-for-3 free kick spree

The senior defender, who hadn't scored a goal all season, scored on three consecutive free kicks — two in the closing minutes of regulation, one with two minutes left in overtime — to rally the Hawks to a 4-3 victory over Chanhassen.

"First off, I mean, holy cow!" said Smalley, a senior defender who is the Hawks' designated free kick expert. "That just doesn't happen."

With her team trailing 3-1 with less than 10 minutes left, Smalley drilled a 30-yard free kick to the far corner to cut the Chanhassen lead to one, then did it again, in almost identical fashion, to tie the score with 6:34 left. In the second overtime and flush with confidence, she nailed a third free kick, this one from 10 yards further out, to give Chaska a 4-3 lead with two minutes left.

"When it went in, I just started crying," Smalley said. "I couldn't breathe."

Still, there was time left on the clock. The Hawks, who hadn't defeated their cross-district rival since 2010, needed to hold on.

"Those last two minutes felt like an hour, at least," Smalley said. "I looked at the clock every 10 seconds."

When it finally ended, Smalley and her teammates had completed a nearly impossible comeback.

BRIAN CURTIS

The senior running back has become the workhorse for the Class 6A, No. 1 Panthers. He set a career high by rushing for 227 yards and three touchdowns as Lakeville North routed visiting Wayzata 42-13. Curtis has at least 100 rushing yards in all five games this season.

Last week the senior midfielder scored twice in a 4-1 victory over Holy Family and added a goal in a 1-1 tie with Watertown-Mayer. She leads the undefeated Wildcats (10-0-3) with seven goals and 13 points.

The Beacons concluded a 6-0 week by winning the Blaine Invitational. The sophomore outside hitter recorded 76 kills with only 13 errors, hitting at a .417 percentage. She was equally adept defensively with 48 digs and added seven ace serves.

The senior middle hitter controlled the net on offense and defense for the Raiders (10-3) in Suburban East Conference victories over White Bear Lake and Mounds View. In six sets, she had 32 kills, a .388 attack percentage and six blocks.

JOSIAH NELSON

Much of undefeated Hutchinson's offense comes through the churning legs of Nelson, a senior running back. He topped 200 yards rushing for the fourth consecutive week, going for 256 yards and four touchdowns in a 40-14 romp over St. Cloud Apollo.

JIM PAULSEN

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