BLOG: Eagan High School Wildcats Boys' Soccer Results and Upcoming Games

Aberration? Not the End of the World!

My mom, like most moms, has told me more than once, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Tuesday, Sept. 25 the Eagan High School Wildcats boys soccer team traveled to Blaine to take on the Blaine Bengals. All indicators pointed to a fairly even match-up. The most recent coaches poll had Eagan at #10 and Blaine at #12. The most recent computer rankings had the Bengals at #8 and the Wildcats at #12. On paper it looked to be another battle between two strong teams. 

The shots on goal for the game ended with Blaine putting nine on the net to Eagan’s eight. Problem for Eagan was, just about every ball the Bengals touched turned to gold. Four of the six they sent at senior keeper Keith Krawza went in, with the last shot, that Krawza was barely able to get to, stretching, twisting, and contorting his body so severely that he was sent to the bench with an injury that will keep him out for a week or more. When junior keeper Brady Martin was pressed into action he stopped a very difficult first shot, but had no chance on the next two. The good news for Eagan was all 20 players on the roster saw action and the sun rose on Wednesday for a new day.

Their last game of the regular season will be at Wildcat Stadium against Burnsville with a 5 p.m. start on October 4. Seniors and their parents will be honored for their contributions to the Wildcat soccer program at halftime of the October 4 game and ETV will be in the house to record all of the game action. Come out and cheer on your Eagan Wildcat Boys’ Soccer Team.  

Beautiful Night for Soccer Agrees with Wildcat Boys

Thursday, September 26 the Eagan High School Wildcats boys soccer team traveled to the site of the old Lincoln High School grounds to play Bloomington Kennedy at the Bloomington Field Stadium. The winds were calm, the skies were sunny, and the temperature was mild to start, and slowly descended with the setting sun as the game played out. The field was in good shape and no one could have asked for better conditions. The team had two surprises for their journey.  First, when a coach bus arrived the boys joked “that ride must be for us.” Turned out it was, at least for the ride to the game. The second surprise was their look of concern when the bus drove past Kennedy High School. That meant they would be playing on grass rather than turf, which was agreeable news to the team.  Coach Merrick’s simple directions when they arrived were to “Play simple and to have fun.” And, off they went.

And, they got off in the first half. In the 16th minute, Wyatt Wagner sent a ball past the Kennedy backline to a streaking Juan Sjoberg who found himself in the clear against the Eagle keeper who he was able to beat to put the Cats ahead 1-0. Eight minutes later Toby Heller lined up for an in-swinging right-footed corner kick from the left side. He placed the ball just over the players at the near post where Sjoberg was able to direct the ball in with an easy touch to move Eagan in front 2-0. At that point, Coach Merrick opted for fresh bodies and it made little difference.  In the 35th minute Kyle Stefani attacked the penalty area on the left side. With the Kennedy defender retreating, and their keeper staying back on his line, he played a simple pass over to Abdi Ali who easily played the ball into the net for a 3-0 Wildcat lead that they carried into the half.

As the second half started it was clear Kennedy was determined to get themselves back into the game.  Just one minute in, Eagan keeper Brady Martin made the initial save punching the ball high to the top of the penalty area where an Eagle player collected the ball and sent a shot through the Eagan defenders and past Martin to narrow the game to 3-1.  For much of the next 15 minutes, the crowd watched anxiously as Kennedy kept Eagan on their heels forcing Martin to make a number of saves, but he was up to the task. After only being tested twice in the first half, Martin made seven saves in the second half. With the Cats struggling to gain possession, Coach Merrick brought much of the starting unit back into the game. That move settled things into a much more back and forth in the midfield type of game for the remainder of play as Eagan seemed content to go home with a 3-1 win.

Sunday, Oct. 7, the coaches from section 3 will meet to determine seedings for what will surely be a very difficult sectional playoff run. Eagan will play in the quarterfinals Tuesday, Oct. 9. The second round will be Thursday, Oct. 11 with the finals on Tuesday, October 16. Come out and cheer on your Eagan Wildcats!