Late in the second half it looked like Minnetonka was sure to move on in the state Class 2A tournament on Tuesday night.
The Skippers had moved the ball well, played stout defense and applied constant offensive pressure against Anoka. Their efforts were rewarded when Adam Reiskytl scored on a rebound, putting the Skippers up by a goal and seemingly into next week’s semifinals.
But with less than four minutes left in regulation, Anoka’s Blake Doyea notched an unassisted goal, tying the score and setting the stage for Joshua Dobler's goal just as the final horn sounded.
Dobler's goal was ruled to have beaten the clock, and the unseeded Tornadoes defeated the No. 3-seeded and previously undefeated Skippers 2-1 and in the most dramatic of fashion at Osseo High School.
With four seconds remaining, Anoka (13-6-1) launched a corner kick into the Minnetonka (16-1-2) box. The ball made contact with multiple players before Dobler, a senior attacker, directed the ball into the net with his head.
“It just felt like, ‘Hey, you scored a goal man,’ ” Dobler said with a laugh after the win.
During the ensuing confusion of whether or not Dobler had beaten the clock, the Tornadoes began celebrating, and soon enough the crowd had its answer.
“I’ve been (coaching) for 27 years, and I can’t remember a comeback like this against such a quality team,” Anoka coach Pete Hayes said.
“It’s incredible,” Dobler, a foreign exchange student from Germany, said.
“It’s the greatest feeling I’ve ever let in my entire life,” Doyea added.
Dobler and Doyea, also a senior, have been leaders on the field for the Tornadoes all season. Dobler led Anoka with seven goals during the regular season.
Even with the dramatic win, the Tornadoes' focus has already shifted to next week’s matchup with another undefeated team, No. 2-seeded Maple Grove (20-0-0). The Crimson beat the Tornadoes 5-1 during the regular season.
“The last time we played Maple Grove, they just thrashed us,” Hayes said. “Hopefully they’ll take us lightly, and we’ll come out and play like we did tonight, and we’ll give them (Maple Grove) everything they can handle.”
Minnetonka forward Max Sharpe keeps his eyes on the ball as his Skippers fall to Anoka 2-1 at Osseo High School. Photo by Rick Orndorf
First Report
Senior midfielder Joshua Dobler scored with no time left on the clock to give Anoka a 2-1 victory over No. 3 seed Minnetonka in the state Class AA quarterfinals Tuesday night at Osseo High School.
Dobler scored on a header in the Skippers’ penalty box, knocking in the loose ball as it bounced off a couple players following a defection on a Tornadoes’ corner kick.
Minnetonka (16-1-2) took a 1-0 lead less than two minutes into the second half when senior forward Adam Reiskytl scored off a rebound shot by slamming the ball past Anoka sophomore goalkeeper Jake Peterson.
Anoka (13-6-1) tied the game on a goal by sophomore forward Blake Doyea with 3:51 left in the game, the first signs of offensive life for the Tornadoes.
With the win, Anoka moves on to the Class AA semifinals, where if faces undefeated Maple Grove (20-0-0) next Tuesday, Oct. 28 at Husky Stadium in St. Cloud.