St. Thomas Academy vs. Academy of Holy Angels
1:15 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 9

Who will get the best of this Class 1A, top-five showdown? Despite both teams' impressive rankings, neither launched perfect seasons. The Stars have won three of their four games. However, besides a 2-2 draw against St. Paul Humboldt on August 26, the Stars have won their games by a combined score of 10-0.

The Cadets' road to defending their state title began with a 1-0 opening match loss to St. Paul Highland Park on Aug. 26. In response, the Cadets won their next two games, each by a one-goal margin against St. Paul Academy (3-2 on Aug. 29) and St. Paul Humboldt (1-0 on Aug. 31).

St. Thomas Academy has won each of its past three meetings with Holy Angels by a single goal. In the past two years, Holy Angels' best result against the Cadets was a scoreless tie in the 2014 regular season.