With the Minnesota high school soccer playoffs underway this week, every team in the state dreams of making a trip to U.S. Bank Stadium for the state tournament.
Wayzata’s girls are among the favorites to play in the State Class AAA Tournament after finishing the regular season 14-1-1. Although the Trojans didn’t win the Lake Conference title, they have more victories this season than the Lake Conference champion Edina Hornets.
Those two teams played in the state title game last year with Edina winning 2-0. Senior standouts Sophie Hawkinson and Nicole Mahabadi are looking for a different outcome this year.
Following a 5-0 win in the Lake finale Oct. 2 at Hopkins, Hawkinson and Mahabadi talked about the season and the excitement that accompanies the arrival of playoff soccer.
“We want to get back to The Bank,” Mahabadi said. “I think we have a good chance at winning state this year. Our team has a lot of potential.”
Hawkinson puts her trust in head coach Tony Peszneker and the rest of the Trojan coaching staff. “Tony has a lot of experience,” she said. “He has a different style than the coaches I have had in club soccer.”
For one thing, Peszneker breaks down every aspect of the game before each match and shares the game plan with his players.
Mahabadi, one of the Wayzata captains, notices how well her team is prepared for each match. “The drills we do in practice carry over into the game,” she said.
Hawkinson is one of Wayzata High’s two-sport standouts. An All-Lake Conference basketball player the past two years, she is back with the soccer team after a year’s hiatus.
“It has been a lot of fun to play on the same team with my sister [ninth-grader Lila Hawkinson] this year,” Hawkinson said. The advice the older sister gave the younger sister is: “Don’t be timid.”
Sophie Hawkinson said soccer and basketball are sports that “correlate” well together. “Basketball helps me to be more physical for soccer,” she said. “And soccer conditions me for basketball.”
Hawkinson and Mahabadi often team up to make plays for the soccer team.
“I love playing with Nicole,” Hawkinson said. “She finds me a lot on through balls.”
Mahabadi credited Hawkinson for her leadership. “Sophie is really good with pregame speeches,” she noted.
Hawkinson is also good at scoring goals. She is one of five Wayzata girls with more than 10 points this season. She was the scoring leader in the match with Hopkins by netting two goals.
“Our scoring is more spread out than it was last season,” Mahabadi said. An influx of young talent has helped in that regard. Sophomore midfielder Alex Vellieux joined the 10-point club in the Hopkins game. Senior captain Tenley Senden leads the team in goals with 17 and is closing fast on 30 points for the season.
In the Section 6AAA Tournament, which was scheduled to begin Wednesday, Oct. 9, the Trojans have to fight their way through a tough group of teams led by Minneapolis City Conference powers Southwest and Washburn.
The State Class AAA Tournament will bring other contending teams into the mix and, most likely, either Edina or Minntonka. It’s never easy to get to state, let alone win the championship, but the Trojans are among the teams that could be wearing the gold medals at the end.
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