Southwest Soccer Advances To State

Did audience members at last night's Southwest High School vs. South High School boy's soccer game get a glimpse of future state AA champions?

In a tense 2-1 game, Southwest edged ahead of rival South to advance to the state tournament again for the second year running. It's only the second time since 1987 that the team has reached the tournament in back-to-back years, and their seventh appearance at state.

Eight minutes into the game, Southwest senior and team captain Shane Marshall scored a goal off a penalty kick. Both teams were scoreless until South's All-State junior forward Elliot Cassutt scored off a throw-in with two minutes left in the first half. It looked like the game was headed into overtime for much of the second half until, with four minutes left on the clock, Southwest's freshman forward Chico Molina scored with an assist from senior midfielder Mohamud Abdi.

Sophomore goalkeeper Ben Eccles shone with eight saves for Southwest, capping a strong showing in his team's three section tournament games against Hopkins (3-0), Wayzata (3-0) and last night's against South. In the entire series, Eccles allowed only one goal.

Last night was the last regular-season game for Southwest, ending a record-setting season. The team scored 103 goals, a school best, and head coach Jamie Plaisance recorded his 150th career win. Only one other coach has reached that mark in school history.

Plaisance said his team had come far this season.

"We've struggled with injuries, we've tried multiple lineups and formations, some guys have left the team," he said. "But we're a stronger team now because of it. We're healthy now. We have a system in place that we really like. We have a goalkeeper that's playing with a ton of confidence, and we have a group of guys that know they can come out on top, even when the chips are down."