Suad Suljic, Minnetonka: Boys' Soccer Metro Player of the Year

Suad Suljic's outstanding junior season ended on and off the field in ways that left him wanting more.

A last-second state tournament quarterfinal loss to Anoka knocked the previously undefeated Skippers out of championship contention.

Two months after the abrupt stop, Suljic flew to Philadelphia and was honored as one of 40 high school All-America selections. Suljic barely started pondering his considerable résumé — as a junior he earned Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year and Gatorade state player of the year — when Skippers coach Mike Rogers urged him to think bigger.

"I said, 'Your challenge now is to live up to yourself and the expectations being placed on you,' " Rogers said. " 'And you've got a long way to fall if you don't stay true to the character traits and the dedication that got you this far.' "

Challenge accepted. Suljic, a senior midfielder, paced the Minnetonka attack with 25 goals and 18 assists in 17 games. In three section games he scored six goals and added five assists. Most important, his Skippers shook off last year's upset loss and became a poised, championship-caliber team.

"He's at another level," Rogers said. "He works so hard on every aspect of his game."

Suljic, the third soccer player to repeat as Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year, said a deep playoff run consumed his focus.

Accolades and goals have piled up around Suljic for several seasons. But being a senior brought a new energy. Amid celebrating a section final victory against Bloomington Jefferson, Suljic realized he had played his final home game.

"Last year there was another game or another year," he said. "As a senior you play with that much more heart and that much more intensity every single game."

Knowing full well a long and fruitful playoff life is no guarantee, Suljic and his teammates feel no additional weight as the tournament's No. 1 seed.