MINNESOTA STATE HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE GIRLS
The Team to Beat: Eden Prairie
After having their long run of state championships ended in 2008, the Eagles returned to the top with a dominant 2009 season in which they went unbeaten in 16 games against in-state competition. And Eden Prairie is once again the clear-cut favorite this year.
The Eagles graduated seven seniors, including a couple top standouts. But Eden Prairie brings back eight starters, including three first-team and two second-team All-State players. Ohio State-bound senior middie Makenna Borg, senior defender Morgan Kist and junior middie Taylor Uhl all received top honors in Minnesota last season.
Senior attack Blake Kist, Morgan’s twin, was a second-team pick, as was freshman goalie McKenzie Johnson. That’s right, Johnson received second-team All-State honors as an eighth grader playing on the varsity. Two other players who will make a major contribution are junior defender Riley Allen and sophomore attack Christine Easton.
Contenders: Blake School, Robbinsdale Armstrong, Wayzata, Edina
Blake School has been a mainstay in the state championship game lately, having knocked off powerful Eden Prairie for the 2008 title. The Bears lost by three goals in last year’s final, and they will have a younger team in 2010. Six seniors graduated, but they were all impact players, leaving six returning starters. Junior attack Hilary Crowe and sophomore middie Meghan Bauer will lead the team, along with eighth-grade attack Lydia Sutton, who also made her school’s varsity soccer team despite being in middle school. Sutton played on the varsity lacrosse team last year as a seventh grader as well.
Robbinsdale Armstrong graduated just three seniors and brings back nine starters who will face one of the state’s toughest schedules. The Falcons never duck anyone, and this year will be no different. Seven of Armstrong’s nine returning starters will be seniors. Returning first-team All-State pick Kara Ryan, a senior defender, will lead the team along with Fort Lewis-bound twins Abby Kvidera and Ally Kvidera, who each play attack and middie.
A lot is expected this year of Wayzata, which went 12-3 and lost by a goal to Robbinsdale Armstrong in last year’s playoffs. The Trojans are one of just three teams who have a returning first-team All-State player on their roster. Senior attack Hilary Duda garnered those honors last year as a junior. In all, Wayzata graduated eight seniors and has half its starting lineup back. Joining Duda will be senior attack Ashlee Miller, junior middie Dana Pralle, junior middie Mackenzie Shannon and senior defender Zoe Leschack.
A lot more was expected out of Edina last season, which had a disappointing 10-6 season and lost by nine goals to Blake in the sectional playoffs. But this year’s team looks much stronger, with five players who participated over the summer on the state’s regional team that played in the national tournament. Those five players: Senior attack Anna Schultz, senior attack Lisa Hirsch, senior goalie Brooke Jones, senior middie Maggie Dobesh and senior defender Olga Zoraqi, should have the Hornets in the mix.
Sleeper: Lakeville
The Panthers went 6-8 last year, but four of those losses were by one-goal margins, and Lakeville picked it up toward the end of the season, winning three of its last five. This year’s team should carry that momentum over into 2010 after it graduated just four seniors and two starters. Lakeville anticipates having 10 returning starters, a group led by senior middie Danica Cutshall, senior attack Olivia Perry and senior defender Emmie Flavin.
