St. Paul Central at Stillwater
7 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 25

Stillwater kicks off the season with it's annual tournament, and this year's field includes two of the top teams in Class 2A. No. 7 Eastview faces Spring Lake Park in the first game while St. Paul Central takes on No. 5 Stillwater in the second.

Central graduated 15 seniors from a team that reached the Class 2A, Section 3 championship as the sixth seed. The Minutemen's postseason run ended with a loss to top-seeded Eagan in a shootout. Central, however, could remain a threat with a large group of juniors and seniors helping refill a talented lineup that helped the Minutemen win all but two games a season ago.

Stillwater graduated five players but brings back seven seniors and a bulk of underclassmen. Colman Farrington is the Ponies' top returning scorer with six goals last season, a performance that made him an all-state second team selection.

Stillwater’s two regular-season losses last year were to out-of-state teams last year, and the Ponies rode their impressive play to the Class 2A, Section 4 semifinals, where they ended the run with a 2-0 loss to East Ridge.