Depth in any sport is a precious commodity, but coach Dave Wald took it to the extreme during Mahtomedi's second game of the girls' soccer season.
After Rochester Mayo took a 1-0 lead, Wald pulled all 11 starters from the game. It was the first goal given up by the Zephyrs this season.
"The first 11 wasn't doing it; we'll take them all out and put the second 11 in," Wald said.
The starters eventually re-entered, quickly scored two goals and won the game 4-1.
That's what the expectations are for defending Classic Suburban champion Mahtomedi, which has won eight of the past 11 conference titles and finished second in the Class 1A state tournament last fall.
Similar to the 2008 state championship team, Wald's squad boasts a boatload of experienced seniors. After 2008, many of the current varsity players came in as sophomores. Now, they believe it's their time to shine again.
But there's one major obstacle for this year's Zephyrs: they've been bumped up to Class 2A because of a new enrollment classification. There are mixed feelings about the change.
"It's a great challenge, but we're still pretty small compared to White Bear Lake or Woodbury. Stillwater's three times as big as us," Wald said. "You see some differences in terms of athleticism of players. At the top end our kids can compete, but when you start playing those teams three days in a row for a section championship, it's a lot different."
