After colliding heads with Centennial’s Mikayla Iaquinto in a Class 2A state quarterfinal game Wednesday night, Mounds View’s leading scorer and Star Tribune All-Metro team selection Rachel Boyer was concerned she would be held out of the rest of the game due to concussion protocol.
“Getting injured is one of my biggest fears because I was injured all throughout my junior year,” she said. “I was really nervous about that because head-on-head collisions freak me out."
Fortunately for the second-seeded Mustangs, the impact didn't keep Boyer from returning in the second half.
And brutal winds and some October snow didn’t stop Mounds View’s top offensive threat from breaking a scoreless tie as Boyer scored a goal in the 54th minute to propel the undefeated Mustangs to a 2-0 victory over the Cougars at St. Cloud State's Husky Stadium.
Boyer broke free of a defender near midfield and pushed the ball into scoring territory, where she settled herself and created space to shoot.
“My club coach tells me even if you have a small space, just rip it. And once I kicked it, I knew it was heading towards the far corner,” Boyer said of her goal.
The score gave Mounds Views (19-0-1) breathing room in a game that was not only physically enduring but also mentally challenging.
“To overcome the [weather] conditions, [that] was really good for our team facing that adversity,” Boyer said.
Despite a tie game, the Mustangs made little changes at the half after they outshot Centennial 8-0.
“The kids just kept saying, 'It’ll come, it’ll come,' because we felt like we were dominating the first half,” Mounds View coach Terri Patraw said. “We encouraged them to keep winning corner kicks because in a game like this, they’re critical.”
Diligence paid off as senior captain Julia Anderson headed in a goal off a Mariah Northrop corner with five and a half minutes left in the game, wrapping up the win.
The Mustangs move on to the semifinals, where they'll face defending Class 2A champion Eagan on Monday - a game in which Mounds View will be searching for its 20th win of the season.
“My sophomore year we didn’t get past this point [the quarterfinals], so I’m really excited for next game,” Boyer said. “Hopefully we’ll have two more left if we play the game we know how to play.”
Mounds View's Rachel Boyer (5) races away from a Centennial defender and toward the Cougars' goal in the second half of the Mustangs' 2-0 victory Wednesday night. Photo by Trevor Squire
First Report
Mounds View’s leading scorer Rachel Boyer broke open a scoreless game against Centennial in the 54th minute, ultimately boosting the second-seeded Mustangs to a 2-0 win over the Cougars in the Class 2A state quarterfinals Wednesday night at St. Cloud State's Husky Stadium.
Boyer snuck past a defender and carried the ball inside Centennial's box. Pushing the ball laterally towards the middle, she found a small shooting window and fired a shot past Cougars goalkeeper Caitlyn Bangert.
In a slow-paced first half, Bangert made three saves as both teams felt out the snow-covered turf.
Mounds View (19-0-1) continued to apply the pressure in the game's final 20 minutes.
With five and a half minutes remaining, Mustangs senior captain Mariah Northrop sent a corner kick into a mass of players that fellow captain Julia Anderson headed into the net to put the game away.
Mounds View finished with a 14-0 advantage in shots against Centennial (13-4-2) as Mustangs goalie Olivia Elvidge wasn't tested.
Mounds View advances to the state semifinals next Monday, where it faces the winner of No. 3 seed Eagan versus No. 6 seed Rogers.
