Now that the Lake Conference girls soccer race is over the Wayzata Trojans can concentrate on the Section 6AAA Tournament.
Wayzata finished Lake play 4-1-1 and trailed only the champion, Edina, which posted a 5-0-1 mark. The marks against the Trojans were a loss to Edina and a tie with Minnetonka.
A 5-0 win over Hopkins in the Lake finale Oct. 2 at Hopkins High Stadium was a good warmup game for the playoffs. Hopkins is one of the rivals set to compete for the Section 6AAA title.
Senior forward Sophie Hawkinson led Wayzata with a pair of goals while teammate Tenley Senden added one goal and one assist. Senior captain Nicole Mahabadi and senior midfielder Sarah Hyde also scored goals.
A win in the final Lake match of the season was the 550th of coach Peszneker’s career. Assistant coach Stewart Jump has coached at coach Peszneker since they arrived in Wayzata in 1990. Other members of the varsity staff are Peszneker’s son CJ and former Trojan girls captain Katie Schulz.
Peszneker’s 11 seniors represent one of the best classes in program history. Most of those players contributed significantly last season when the Trojans won 20 games and made it to the state title game before losing to Edina.
“Now we start over and everyone has a chance in the playoffs,” Peszneker said. “We are playing well right now and have not allowed a goal in our last five games.”
Minneapolis Southwest and Minneapolis Washburn are two of the teams Wayzata has to watch out for in section play along with Rogers.
Peszneker warned that the Hopkins girls deserve respect, as well.
“Hopkins is a young team that works hard and is very organized,” the Wayzata coach commented. “They are moving in the right direction and were able to hang on against us for quite a while.”
Wayzata goalkeeper Sophia Alvarez has allowed very few goals this year with the back line keeping her number of difficult saves to a minimum. Leaders in the back include seniors Abby Beal, Elaina Grabowski and Ava Nayar and a very talented ninth-grader, Carolyn Voss.
Coach Peszneker said he plans to suit up the maximum number of players, 22, for every playoff game.
Hopkins hopes in the playoffs rest with a gritty defense. Head coach Sara Rosenblum has stacked the defensive side of the field with seniors. Standouts in the back are senior captains Nora Carlin and Sophie Hoschka and junior captain Lucy Johnson. Senior midfielder Megan Mitchell excels offensively and defensively.
Coach Rosenblum has used two goalies this season - senior Claire Pullen and junior Liv Anderson.
The Royals have seven ninth-grade field players on varsity - Harper DeVries, Sadie Eckert, Kennedy Fowler, Tessa Mercer, Mary O’Dell, Freya Rauk and June Thomas.
“We are concentrating on this year, but it is exciting to think how good we could be two and three years from now,” coach Rosenblum said earlier this season.
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