Will Kidd’s days in St. Paul Como Park jersey are dwindling.

The Cougars’ senior captain, who began playing with the team as a freshman, has three regular-season games remaining in his career and finished off his final contest against St. Paul City Conference rival St. Paul Washington Wednesday without a victory.

Kidd, however, isn’t leaving the matchup with a bad memory. St. Paul Washington (9-1-2), ranked No. 7 in the Minnesota State High School Soccer Coaching Association’s Class 1A poll, and St. Paul Como Park (7-4-2) played to a scoreless overtime tie.

The Cougars’ attacker is also wrapping up his high school soccer career with plenty of good memories.

Kidd led a dominating St. Paul Como Park team (19-0-3) with 22 goals and 11 assists as a junior and was a Star Tribune All-Metro First Team selection. He was selected as the 2013 St. Paul City Conference Player of the Year and earned a spot on the All-Conference Team as the Cougars won their second consecutive St. Paul City Conference championship. Kidd also won a Class 1A state championship last year when the Cougars’ defeated Hill-Murray 2-1 in the tournament final and he was named to the 2013 Class A Boys’ Soccer All-Tournament Team.

Winning the state title, however, ranks as his second-best career achievement.

Kidd counts the Cougars’ 2-1 victory over Minneapolis Washburn in the section semifinals last year as his favorite feat.

“That was a pretty big win for me,” he said. “I played a great game.”

Kidd had a goal and an assist in the victory over the Millers.

St. Paul Como Park head coach Jonah Fields is in his first season leading the Cougars but has worked with Kidd for four seasons.

Fields said Kidd is the poster child for the school’s soccer program.

“Will exemplifies what we want to see on Como soccer,” Fields said. “He’s a super positive kid, who works hard every day and is a great teammate.”

Senior goalkeeper John Wenger and Kidd have been teammates since junior high and are finishing their finals seasons together. Wenger said Kidd is an amazing player.

“It’s incredible,” Wenger said “Just to watch somebody who you know is an incredible player and it’s an honor.”

Kidd leads the Cougars with 10 goals and seven assists this season. The team, however, is not having the type success it experienced last year.

St. Paul Como started the year ranked No. 1 in Class 1A but dropped out of the Top 10 after some early-season losses as the Cougars struggled to overcome the graduation of some key players from the state title team. St. Paul Como rebounded to go 6-2-1 in its last nine games.

The team fared just as well in league play where it has a 5-2-2 record and is second place, two games behind conference leader St. Paul Central in the win column. The Cougars and the Minutemen face off on Sept. 29.

Kidd said the Cougars can still contend for the conference crown and have solid postseason run despite the rough start to their season.

“We’re just going up,” Kidd said. “We’re getting better every day and working hard at practice every day and getting better.”

Kidd may not end his time as a member of the St. Paul Como Park soccer team by winning another state title but he will have the memories of his career as a Cougar.

“They were great,” Kidd said. “It’s been a great experience, great program. I love it.”

St. Paul Como Park and St. Paul Washington Technology Magnet School played to a scoreless tie Wednesday in a St. Paul City Conference game at St. Paul Washington Technology Magnet School.
The Cougars (7-4-2) and the Eagles (9-1-1), ranked No. 7 in the Minnesota High School Soccer Coaching Association’s Class 1A poll, each had several scoring opportunities in regulation time, including two shots by Como Park that rattled off the crossbar, but failed to convert, forcing the game into overtime.

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