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NOVEMBER 2, 2021
Cougars nip Wayzata 1-0 in shootout at state BY BRUCE STRAND SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR
After one hundred scoreless minutes, Centennial’s first-round state tournament duel with Wayzata went to a shootout Tuesday night. Asked if anyone enjoys a shootout, Cougar coach Christa Carlson said: “Nobody. It’s not how you want to end a game.” The No. 2 seeded Cougars (18-1) won that pressure cooker 3-2 and fended off the unseeded Trojans (12-4-2) at Eden Prairie. It goes into the books as a 1-0 win and the Cougars’ 11th shutout. The Cougars face No. 3 Rosemount (19-1) in the Class 3A semifinals Thursday at 10 a.m., at U.S. Bank Stadium. No. 1 Edina (19-0) faces No. 4 Stillwater (14-3-2) at 8 a.m. The championship will be Saturday at 8 a.m. The third-place game will be Friday at West St. Paul Athletics Center, 9 a.m. Edina beat Mounds View 3-0, Stillwater beat Lakeville North 1-0, and Rosemount beat Elk River 4-1. “The girls are very excited to
JON NAMYST PHOTOGRAPHY | CONTRIBUTED
Jordan Metz, Cougar goalkeeper, lunges to make a save against Wayzata.
go to the ‘Bank.’ That’s been their goal, their dream, all season,” Carlson said. In the shootout, the Cougars made their first two shots and Wayzata failed on their first two. With that huge advantage, the
Cougars settled the issue in the fifth round on a shot into the top corner by Allyson Hamski. Lauren Ahles and Brooklyn Bordson also found the net, while Sydney Kubes and Marisa Frost missed. Wayzata had one shot hit the post, one missed the net entirely, and one stopped by Cougar goalie Jordan Metz. Centennial was playing with close to 20% of its regular lineup missing due to illness, injuries and players getting cramps, Carlson said. Wayzata, which allowed just two goals in the last seven games, threw a defensive formation, including a sweeper, at the Cougars “that you usually don’t see in high school,” Carlson said. A cold wind whipped the field from end to end, hampering each team for one half and one 10-minute overtime. In regulation, the Cougars had two strong shots by Tatum Trettel and a breakaway by Sarah Strating, but each were rebuffed by Trojan goalie Becca Carroll. Meanwhile, the Cougars got a trio of “real good saves” by Metz, Carlson said.
COUGAR SPORTS BRIEFS Gi l x-country: Girls t Cougars C place 2nd at section, earn state berth
F tL k h d 49 Forest Lake had points, Centennial 56, Duluth East 89, Andover 98, Anoka 130, Blaine 153, Coon Rapids 187, and Cambridge-Isanti 187.
110 D l th E 117 110, Duluth Eastt 117, Cambridge-Isanti 167 and Coon Rapids 184. Individual champion was Forest Lake’s Daniel Vanacker in 15:38. The Cougars were led by senior Jonathan Pattie, in third place with 16:08, and junior Charles Bolkcom, seventh in 16:32. Centennial had five of the top 21, with junior Eli Berg 13th (16:56), senior PJ Marshall 16th (17:04), and senior Aiden Sherer 21st (17:19). “It was definitely a nail-biter,” said coach Ryan Evans, adding that host Anoka’s surprisingly strong performance made it even tighter than expected. “Definitely a gritty performance by our seven runners.” The champs’ 6-7 runners were sophomore Jacob Podratz in 26th (17:27) and junior Matt Washburn in 34th (17:47) among 55 runners. “We were expecting Andover to be our top competition, and our boys (knew) that any gold jerseys they saw in front of them, they needed to catch,” Evans said. Pattie was able to beat one of two Huskies who beat him at the conference meet. Marshall out-kicked an Andover runner at the finish. “We needed every place our guys were able to pick up,” Evans said. Berg trailed two Anoka runners with 400 meters left and was able to pass one of them. Scherer beat Anoka’s fifth runner by two places. All for crucial points.
Boys x-country: Centennial wins close sectional, heads for state The Centennial Cougars edged two conference rivals to capture the Section 7AAA cross country championship on Wednesday at Anoka High School. The Cougars, after notching their fi rst conference title since 2013, added their fi rst section title since 2015 — improving dramatically from 10th in conference and seventh in the section last year. They will run at state Nov. 6 at St. Olaf College. Centennial scored 60, Anoka 62, Andover 66, Forest Lake 101, Blaine
CENTENNIAL CROSS COUNTRY Jonathan Pattie, in his fourth season as an allconference runner for Centennial, led the Cougars to conference and section cross country championships. Pattie placed fourth in the 14-team Northwest Suburban meet with 16:49 and third in the eightteam Section 7AA meet with 16:08. Pattie previously placed 7th twice and 15th in the section, qualifying for state all four seasons. “He is the spirit animal for our boys team, for sure,” coach Ryan Evans said. “He takes his craft very seriously, and wants the absolute best for his team and his teammates. He’s definitely in a groove right now in his racing, feeling strong and confident in himself.”
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The Centennial girls cross country team qualified for the state meet with a second-place finish in the Section 7AAA meet on Wednesday at Anoka High School. “I’m gushing with pride in this team, in each of these runners,” said Ryan Evans, coach of both the boys and girls teams. “They've all worked hard and have pursued their goals with hunger, and they are not finished in that pursuit.” The Cougars, who last qualified as a team in 2016, will run in the state meet Nov. 6 at St. Olaf College. Forest Lake edged the Cougars for the championship and had the individual winner, freshman Norah Hushagen, in 18:07. Centennial freshman
K li Nelson N l l d ffourth th Kylie placed in 19:48 and seventh-grader Abby Smith placed 10th in 20:20, leading the Cougars. The next three ran in a pack with senior Lauren Swanson 13th (20:27.47), junior Emma Magnuson 14th (20:28.43) and sophomore Julia Zalewski 15th (20:28.75). Such is the team’s depth that one of their top runners, Abby Wood, was sixth at the section. “Our varsity group is very close in ability,” Evans said. “They have been swapping around in their order all season, and this was the outcome this week.” Smith, the seventh-grader, “doesn't really know her limits” yet, said Evans, and had her best race. “It’s fun watching a kid like that race, because all of those things could suddenly click on any day. With each race she's learning more.”
Bruce Strand
COUGAR FOOTBALL: ‘Much improved’ on offense FROM PAGE 1
JON NAMYST PHOTOGRAPHY | CONTRIBUTED
Lance Liu, who rushed for 290 yards, had a long gainer here before Eastview’s Sam Weinhaus caught him.
The Cougars led 7-0 at halftime on Daylen Cummings’ eight-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Liu busted 53 yards in the third quarter. In the fourth, the Cougars were up 21-0 after Liu’s fiveyard score. Eastview (3-6) got on the board with Tyler Jerstad’s three-yard run. Centennial responded with touchdowns by Liu (three yards) and Collin Lee (five yards). Eastview closed it out with Ibrahim Awada’s twoyard touchdown. Cummings passed 4-for-7 for 20 yards and ran eight times for 31 yards. Lance Nielsen gained 27 yards in two carries. Nicky Eichelberger had one for 22. The Cougars had 382 yards rushing. Eli Nowacki was 5-for-5 on extra points. “Our defense played well. We held them to about 140 yards and they have a pretty good offense,” said coach Mike Diggins. One key play was an interception by Will Quick, who out-leapt a receiver and wrestled the ball away at the six-yard line, stopping a drive. “Our offensive and defensive lines both played really well,” Diggins said. The Cougars overcame seven 15-yard penalties to win handily. “We can’t do that against St. Michael and have a chance to win,” said Diggins. About the Knights, he said, “They are always so well-coached and have a lot of talented kids. They had some injuries early (to running backs) but all those kids are back now.” The Cougars lost to the Knights 19-16 in the second week of the season, scoring two defensive touchdowns while the offense was shut down. “We are much improved on offense,” said Liu.
Cougars advance in section, face No. 1 Blaine The Centennial Cougars rolled past Cambridge-Isanti 25-13, 25-18, 25-23 in their Section 7AAAA opener Thursday evening. Notching eight kills each were Elana Hoecke, Cassie Sosinski, and Andi Koslowski, with Linaya Swenson adding seven. Ashlyn McClellan made 26 saves. The Cougars aced 11 serves, led by McClellan and Koslowski with three each. Mattie Petersen led with 12 digs and 13 serve receptions. The No. 4 seeded Cougars (16-11) face No. 1 Blaine (26-4) there on Wednesday, 7 p.m. The winner advances to the finals Saturday, 7 p.m., against Andover or Forest Lake. Bruce Strand
BRUCE STRAND | CONTRIBUTED
Shown in a previous meet, from top, Cassie Sosinski, Mattie Petersen and Annie Richtsmeier prepare to field a serve.
