Wayzata-Edina, Holy Angels-Mahtomedi rematches set in 3A and 2A girls soccer state championship games; Southwest Christian makes first title appearance in 1A

Alex Vellieux's first Wayzata hat trick couldn't have come at a better time.

The sophomore midfielder scored three times — good for a third of her total goals this season — as the top-seeded Trojans beat No. 4 Eagan, 5-0, in Tuesday's first Class 3A girls soccer state semifinal.

The Trojans will face Edina in the state final on Friday at 10:15 a.m. Wayzata lost to Edina, 2-1, in last year's title game. The Hornets also handed Wayzata its only loss of this season, 2-1, in August.

"Getting the first one is definitely the hardest," Vellieux said. "It gives you the confidence, like, 'Oh, I can get more,' and just keep it coming from there.'"

Wayzta (18-1-1) didn't let any time go to waste. Gophers commit Tenley Senden put the Trojans ahead in the second minute, carrying the ball 60 yards down the field after freshman outside back Carolyn Voss forced an Eagan turnover.

Senden's shot from outside the 18-yard box dipped over the outstretched arms of Wildcats goalkeeper Maddy Weisel, good for the 3A Ms. Soccer finalist's 24th goal of the season. She's helped the Trojans average five goals per game this year.

"Usually we aren't the team who scores right off the bat," Senden said. "Earlier today, scoring right off the bat was such a huge thing, because Alex got a couple more and we kind of sealed it."

Tuesday's semifinal victory wasn't too different from the Trojans' semifinal last year, when Wayzata scored three times in the opening 15 minutes to beat Maple Grovea 5-1.

Vellieux poked in the rebound off a save on one 13th-minute corner, then headed home a second corner, to put the Trojans up 3-0 before halftime. Sophomore Lauren Craig recorded her 22nd assist — the third-most in the state — on Vellieux's header.

"(Our freshman and sophomores) have been key contributors along the way," Wayzata head coach Tony Peszneker said. "For Alex and Lauren, two players that have been key features throughout the season, that just says a lot for them, on this stage, in these parts of the game, when they're just sophomores."

Senior forward Sophie Hawkinson assisted Villueux's last goal and recorded one of her own, finishing a ball slotted in from the right flank by Vellieux in the second half.

The Wayzata backline dealt handily with an Eagan team that scored 51 goals this season and won Class 3A's Section 3 to secure its second consecutive trip to state. Eagan applied a few moments of second-half pressure but didn't record a shot on goal.

"We definitely talked as the back line, knowing that their forwards are super fast and aggressive," Wayzata senior defender Ava Nayar said. "Just keeping them in front of us, not letting them spin us, and making a statement that no team can get past Wayzata."

Seven-time state champion Wayzata last won a title in 2012 but has been to the big dance more than any other team in the state, including the last three years.

Edina defeats East Ridge to move on

Wayzata did its part to schedule a rematch of last year's girls soccer 3A state championship, winning Tuesday's first semifinal.

No. 3-seeded Edina (14-1-5) finished the job with a 3-1 win over No. 2 East Ridge afterward.

It's not the same undefeated Edina squad from a year ago, but the Hornets have booked a spot in the same big game, and "nothing's really changed," junior midfielder Lou Ruffien said. "We still have the same mentality and urgency to win."

Edina sophomore midfielder Mikaela Caverly put Edina up just after halftime with her 13th goal of the year. Freshman Elizabeth Conner's header was her first goal for Edina, finishing a corner from Ruffien with 11 minutes left in the game and seeming to bury the game for the Hornets.

Until the last five minutes.

East Ridge's leading scorer and Iowa commit Elle Wildman scored off a corner kick with four minutes left, breathing life into East Ridge's chances. The Raptors grabbed the ball out of the net and sprinted back to midfield, eyeing an equalizer.

"We all took a breath after that happened," Edina senior defender Eleanor Doscotch said. "(We) chose to stay composed instead of getting frantic and starting to make silly mistakes."

Wildman's goal had not yet been announced over the stadium PA system when 24 seconds later, Ruffien put a glancing header into the back of the net on the end of a long Hornets free kick from senior defender Anna Conner.

"We had that little connection, and she looked at me, I looked at her, and I knew she was going to hit it," Ruffien said. "Anna hit an amazing ball. It was truly Anna who did that."

And that would do it for Edina.

Most of the match was a steely deadlock between an East Ridge (15-2-2) backline that conceded an average of only 0.50 goals per game this year and an Edina backline that almost matched it at 0.63.

No easy shots, no easy passes.

"We had to win the first and second (balls) in our half," Edina head coach Taylor Greathouse said about her halftime message. "We're allowing them to get the ball first, not stepping as hard as we should be."

Edina broke the deadlock just after halftime in the 46th minute when junior forward Lily Smoley slotted a low ball across the 18-yard box from the right wing. Sophomore forward Avery Cooper had the attention of the East Ridge backline in front of goal, so Caverly came crashing into the box, unmarked, to bury a shot.

Edina's All-State senior goalkeeper Eleni McGuire snuffed out East Ridge's best chance to equalize an hour into the match, sliding in to save a Raptors free kick and preventing an unmarked near-post shot for Wildman.

Coming off an undefeated run to a state title, the Hornets had admitted they had high expectations for themselves after they won this year's section final over Minnetonka. With a younger roster and new coach, they had drawn games they wished were wins, but they're clicking at the right time, and heading back to defend their state title against Wayzata.

"Both teams have grown so much from that game," McGuire said. "It was so early in the season, and I think that score kind of doesn't really matter right now. We've got to take what we have and what we've built on this whole time, and just win."

Holy Names, Mahtomedi advance to 2A final

A double-shot of Holy Angels junior forward Ellen Neuharth secured a 4-1 victory in Tuesday's Class 2A state tournament semifinals, marking 20 victories overall this season for the No. 1 seed and an appearance in Friday's title game.

Holy Angels will face Mahtomedi Friday at 2:45 p.m., a rematch of the 2022 title game won 2-1 by Holy Angels.

Junior defender Addy Judson, who is verbally committed to Ole Miss, got Holy Angels on the board late in the first half. Her fifth goal of the season held up until teammate Emma Danberry, a sophomore forward, doubled the Stars' lead early in the second half with her seventh goal of the season. The all-important third goal was scored by Neuharth.

Mya Moore of No. 5 seed Orono (12-5-2) cut the deficit to 3-1 with her third goal this season.

The public address announcer at U.S. Bank Stadium barely finished providing scoring information when he was interrupted by Neuharth's second goal of the afternoon.

"It was hard to get some momentum only to see them score right away," Moore said.

Neuharth, who made a verbal commitment to the Gophers, scored her team-leading 24th goal of the season and put Holy Angels in control on the scoreboard and in the minds of their opponent.

The Stars led 4-1 at that point.

"It's always good to score, especially that third goal right before halftime," Neuharth said. "And scoring that fourth goal kind of took the belief and hope right out of them."

In the other semifinal, junior forward Allie Rippentrop and senior forward Sophia Peer put No. 2 seed Mahtomedi (18-2-1) on the front foot with first half goals en route to a 7-0 victory.

Ahead 2-0 at halftime, senior forward Olivia Thiele ensured the Zephyrs train kept-a-rollin' with two goals early in the second half to build a 4-0 lead.

"We wanted to score a quick goal off the start," Thiele said. "I haven't scored more than one goal in a game all season, so that was exciting."

No. 3 seed Mankato East (16-3-2) never quit, but the Cougars never put the Zephyrs' advantage in doubt, either. Thiele made sure her team kept its distance by completing the hat trick. Peer added a second goal for a 6-0 lead.

"We've got 11 seniors and we've been growing with each other for a long time," Thiele said. "Especially since we lost in the state finals two years ago."

Southwest Christian advances to its first state championship

Esko's defense held No. 1 seed Southwest Christian scoreless for as long as it could Tuesday, but in the end, Maya Johnson, the Stars' leading scorer, did what Maya Johnson does.

In this case, it was to make sure Southwest Christian advanced to its first state championship game with a 2-1 victory.

With 16 minutes left in the Class 1A girls soccer semifinal, the senior forward forced a turnover by the Esko (14-4-1) backline and beat the keeper to slot a ball into the empty net. She did almost the same with six minutes remaining, taking on the backline by herself to put the Stars up by two.

Johnson's brace marked her 25th and 26th goals of the year for the Stars, and perhaps the most important. The Stars will face the winner of Providence Academy and St. Charles, the second 1A semifinal of the night.

"It took quite a few tries to get through their back line," Johnson said. "They made it difficult for us to score."

Pressing high with a minute left, Esko senior defender Reese Kuklinski scored her team's lone goal, crashing the net to finish a deflected shot by freshman attacker Paiton Plante.

"Sometimes I'm like, 'Just go,'" said Kuklinski, a Class 1A Ms. Soccer finalist and Minot State commit. "I'll do everything I can. Being in the back and seeing everything going up there, I kind of know what to do. I know what's coming because I've been watching continuously."

"It's the hockey player in her," said Esko goalkeeper Hannah Roemer.

Southwest Christian's defense held Esko at bay in the final minute.

Southwest Christian has averaged 4.84 goals per game, with four goal scorers — Johnson, Isabella Travis, Aubrey Burkhart and Gisella Harder — in the double digits, but Esko's defense quickly stepped to loose balls and effectively disrupted the Southwest Christian buildup for most of the game.

"Our defensive line has worked so hard outside of practice," Esko head coach Sharon Lahti said. "Strength and speed training allows them to be so much more physical than they have been over the years."

Southwest Christian head coach Mark Anderson said the Stars made adjustments to connect more passes and not force every ball forward in the second half.

Both teams are recent state tournament debutants, with Esko making trips in 2022 and 2023 and Southwest Christian finishing fourth in its first state appearance last year.

"This time last year, we had our heads down," Johnson said of last year's state semifinal loss. "This year, we're going to take it to them, Whoever wins this game, we're ready."