St. Cloud -- East Ridge was undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the state coming into Tuesday’s semifinals. And the Raptors outshot Wayzata 17-4.

None of that mattered.

No. 4 seed Wayzata stunned East Ridge 2-0. A goal in the 14th minute from Wayzata senior Lewis O’Connor had a lasting effect on both teams. East Ridge (20-1) had not surrendered a postseason goal.

“Scoring that first goal gave us great momentum for the rest of the game,” Trojans coach Dominic Duenas said.

Facing talented East Ridge offensive players Connor Stevenson, the Class 2A Mr. Soccer recipient, a Samuel Ruiz Plaza, Wayzata players knew one goal might not be enough. Buoyed by their early lead, the Trojans also felt they could score again.

“At half we said, ‘We can do this. Let’s put some more away,’ ” O’Connor said.
Wayzata’s efficiency made the difference. 

Stevenson finished scoreless on a match-high eight shots. Senior Clayton Smith of the Trojans fired just once, from about 14 yards away, but produced a goal in the 48th minute. 

Ahead 2-0, Wayzata locked down on an increasingly desperate East Ridge team.

“They created a good number of chances, but we defended well and they didn’t finish them,” Duenas said. “The boys did a good job not completely playing on their heels the last 15 or 20 minutes.”

Wayzata keeper Troy Louwagie made seven saves.

No. 4 seed Wazyata stunned No. 1 seed and previously undefeated East Ridge 2-0 on goals from Lewis O’Connor and Clayton Smith in Tuesday’s Class 2A state tournament semifinal.

The Trojans will play Anoka in the championship game scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Thursday at Husky Stadium in St. Cloud. The game is a rematch of the 2007 title game won 2-0 by Anoka.

Check back later for more on the game.