Roseville, Minneapolis Washburn kick to a tie

The Roseville Raiders and Minneapolis Washburn Millers shot on target early, but strong defense and missed opportunities led to a 1-1 double-overtime tie on Tuesday night.

“We had a lot of opportunities to score,” Raiders soccer coach Agapatos Papagapitos said. “We didn’t finish. Minneapolis Washburn was well-organized and prepared.”

Ross Stecklein scored a goal immediately for the Raiders at three minutes, 15 seconds into the game. The opportunity came off a corner kick by Max Brasch, but Millers goal keeper Andy MacDonald saved the ball. Stecklein picked up the rebound and put the ball in the net.

Joey Froehlich of the Millers scored his first goal of the season at 28 minutes, 46 seconds left in the first half to tie the game, 1-1. Froehlich and company could not muster another goal against the Raiders despite multiple opportunities.

The Raiders also had multiple opportunities to go ahead with corner kicks and free kicks. They also piled on three shots in the first overtime frame.  

“We could have won the game,” Raiders freshman midfielder Jose Galicia said. “We hit a lot of posts.”

Raiders’ forward Elvis Barclay had a two-on-one situation late in regulation, which MacDonald stopped. Millers coach Aaron Percy said he knew about Barclay’s recent three-goal performance against Tartan, and he had his team prepared.

“But, we had to be ready to defend everyone else too,” Percy added.

The Raiders (1-1-1) will open Suburban East Conference play on Thursday at White Bear Lake. Papagapitos sees it as a key game for his young team, a team that graduated 15 seniors.

“White Bear Lake has done really well,” Papagapitos said. “Thursday is going to be a big test for us.”