St. Cloud Tech soccer star Molly Burkstrand hopes to lead team to state for first time in decades

ST. CLOUD – Coach Katie Boardman calls it the "Molly Burkstrand effect" — that intangible magic that's propelled St. Cloud Tech's girls soccer team from winning zero games when Burkstrand was an eighth-grade starter in 2020 to having the team's best record in decades.

Tech, with a record of 12-3-1, wrapped up its regular season Saturday with a win over Albany — and Burkstrand scoring six of the team's 12 goals. The Tigers will play Detroit Lakes at home on Wednesday in the opening section tournament game.

Of course, much of this team's magic is explained by Burkstrand's stellar season. The 17-year-old is leading the state in goals scored — with 46 so far — and in September, she tied the state record for eight goals in a game, a 9-5 victory over Willmar. That long-standing record was set by Eagan's Susie Lee in 2004 and tied by Cambridge-Isanti's Molly Rouse in 2006.

Also this year, Burkstrand has more than doubled the number of goals she's scored over the past two years, when she scored 20 goals each season. She's now only four goals away from 100 in her career. And even if she doesn't score another goal this season, her total puts her at No. 4 for top scorers in a season. So what's fueling this recent streak of success?

"I guess you could say I'm competitive," she said matter-of-factly after team practice on Monday. "I don't like losing."

But more than that, it's the simple love of the game and closeness with her teammates, especially her best friend Maggie O'Hara, who is impressive in her own right as the state's leader in assists (22). That connection creates a unique bond on the field where they can anticipate each other's moves.

"They make up 80 percent of our offense," Boardman said of the girls, who have been playing hockey together since second grade.

That chemistry almost didn't happen. O'Hara played soccer at St. Cloud Apollo before coming to Tech as a sophomore. She credits the team culture at Tech for her success.

"If I didn't come over and play with them, I probably wouldn't be playing soccer still‚" O'Hara said. "I wouldn't have the same drive for it as I do now."

Burkstrand agreed. "I would not have done any of this if I didn't have the team that we have," she said.

The girls soccer roster at Tech isn't as deep as other schools, or even the boys team, because there's a shortage of girls participating in sports. Many members of the girls team play both varsity and junior varsity, just so there's enough players to fill the bench.

"I think we still have that underdog mentality," Boardman said. "People still don't take us seriously."

Last year, the team made it to section final for the first time in more than two decades, losing to Alexandria 3-0. This year, the goal is to win the three section games needed to make it to state, something the Tech girls team has only done twice, in 1997 and 2001.

The Tigers are hoping it's within their grasp, given the dynamism of their season so far. In August, the team set a goal to score 25 times this year. So far, they've far outpaced that, scoring 85 goals.

"I think that's what makes it special," Boardman said, noting Burkstrand has scored on every opponent she's played this year. "We just don't realize what we're doing — we only lost three games. That's crazy. And we're scoring multiple goals per game."

"Molly has just taken her game to an elite level," Boardman continued. "They throw whatever they can at her and she's still finding ways to score."

Burkstrand plans to play soccer at Bemidji State University next year. But first — she's hoping to hit 100 career goals and shepherd her team to the state tournament.

"Now we just got to go out and do it," Boardman said, "one game at a time."