In a Lake Conference boys soccer showdown Sept. 9 on Minnetonka’s Field of Dreams, the Skippers scored three goals in the first half to defeat the Wayzata Trojans 3-0.
Senior midfielder Colin Mascolo got Minnetonka on the board by winning a scramble on a corner kick and beating Trojans goal. Eric Detjen was credited with the assist.
“It was a mess in front,” Mascolo said after the game. “I just had to find a way to get a tap on the ball.”
The other two Minnetonka goals came on penalty kicks after fouls were called in the box. Senior captains Elijah Ryan and Santiago Sahmkow each took one of the kicks.
“The penalty kicks came on mistakes we made in the box,” Wayzata head coach Dominic Duenas said.
“The key for us is that we got control of the midfield early, Minnetonka head coach Mike Rogers said. “We knew we had to come into the game determined. Wayzata is such a storied program, and they have been state champions the last two years.”
“We were prepared,” Mascolo said. “We haven’t lost a game on the Field of Dreams in five years.”
Defensively, the Minnetonka boys had one objective - control Wayzata’s leading scorer, senior forward Aiden Judickas. “You always have to be careful around a player like Judickas,” coach Rogers pointed out. “If you let him and Jeremy Cordeiro turn and run, they are very dangerous.”
Wayzata has only a handful of players back from last season’s state championship team, and Judickas and Cordeiro are keys to the Trojan offense.
“Each and every person on our team did his job,” Minnetonka’s winning goalie, senior Alex Keekley said. “Our defensive game plan was to get three guys on the ball. It was a team effort - 100 percent.”
While it was a tough loss for Wayzata, coach Duenas saw positives. “I liked our resiliency,” he said. “We never gave up. I am impressed with the character of our players.”
Minnetonka and Wayzata both received some good news after the match - Edina was tied by St. Michael-Albertville in another Lake game. That result left Minnetonka half a game behind Edina in the Lake standings and Wayzata a game behind Edina. Buffalo and Hopkins, two teams that have improved this year, could factor into the Lake race.
With the Lake Conference playing a single round-robin schedule this season, every game is doubly important. Six matches for each team will determine who wins the championship.
Looking past the conference schedule, it appears Minnetonka and Edina will renew their annual battle for the Section 2AAA championship. Wayzata has No. 1-ranked Minneapolis Washburn to contend with in Section 6AAA along with Lake rival Hopkins.
“Washburn seems to be the team to beat overall,” Minnetonka coach Rogers said. “There could be quite a battle in that section.”
Minnetonka has had injury problems early in the season, but is thriving nevertheless with a 5-1-1 record. “We have not had our full team yet,” Rogers said. “And it’s halfway through the regular season. There is no question about our depth, and we have good players on the field every game.”
The Skippers are especially strong in the midfield with Ryan, Sahmkow, Mascolo, Detjen, Connor Johnson and Hudson Benites.
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