No Section

St. Anthony springs an upset in the Class 1A girls' soccer semifinals

The Huskies knocked off top seed Providence Academy, piling up goals on penalty kicks.

November 3, 2022 at 3:39AM

St. Anthony’s Meghan Przybilla watched the ball get past Providence Academy goalkeeper Grace Counts on a penalty kick, one of two she scored on during Wednesday’s game. (Jeff Wheeler, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Goals on penalty kicks made the difference Wednesday in St. Anthony's upset victory over Providence Academy in the semifinals of the Class 1A girls' soccer tournament at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Three goals on penalty kicks lifted the fourth-seeded Huskies to a 4-3 victory over top-seeded Providence Academy.

Two of the penalty kick goals came from junior Meghan Przybilla, who found the setting familiar.

"I've been taking them for my team since U10, so it's kind of routine for me," she said. "I just breathe, go up and kick the ball."

Eileen Cardona put the Huskies (13-3-1) ahead for good with a penalty kick goal with just more than a minute left in the first half.

Maddyn Greenway, a freshman and Providence Academy's leading goal scorer, erased an early deficit with a pair of goals for the Lions (17-4-0). She scored on a free kick from just outside the box and on a penalty kick 42 seconds later to tie the score 2-2. She had two opportunities to tie it in the second half but missed the net on a free kick from just outside the box and hit the post on a penalty kick.

Greenway left the game because of a leg injury with 22:11 left and did not return. Coach Paul Cronin said she had a calf strain and would need at least two weeks to recover. Greenway is a prominent basketball player, having averaged 23.7 points per game for Providence Academy's girls' team as an eighth-grader.

St. Paul Academy 3, Breck 2 (SO): The third-seeded Spartans defeated the second-seeded Mustangs in a penalty shootout in the second semifinal match.

SPA (11-5-3) outscored Breck 3-1 in penalty kicks.

"It was very exciting," Spartans goalkeeper Lindsay Browne said of the penalty shootout. "It was kind of nerve-racking, but we practice PKs a lot. So I felt confident in myself and my teammates. I just had to think about it like a regular field. I don't have to block every shot. It is up to the shooters to make."

Spartans sophomore Sawyer Bollinger Danielson sent the game to overtime with a long shot from near the sideline into the net with 25:45 left in regulation. The shot went off Mustangs goalkeeper Eva Breiland's hand and into the net.

Lauren Strothman got the Mustangs (11-7-1) on the board late in the first half by knocking a rebound into the net.

Spartans senior Andrea Gist and Mustangs sophomore JoJo Weissman traded penalty-kick goals 34 seconds apart to give the Mustangs a 2-1 lead.