Quantcast
skip navigation

Past lessons pay current dividends for Orono girls' soccer

By NATE GOTLIEB, Special to the Star Tribune, 10/18/15, 1:11AM CDT

Share

Many on Orono’s girls’ soccer team learned dedication early and grew to excel at the game.


Seniors on the Orono girls high school soccer team. The group of seniors have played together since the second grade. ] CARLOS GONZALEZ ï cgonzalez@startribune.com - October 13, 2015, Long Lake, MN, Orono high school / prep girls' soccer s


Front row, L-R: Maisyn Prueter (team manager, broke her leg in rugby), Rachel Rudd, Taylor Eckerline, Sage Petrusa, Lily McKown. Back row: Danielle Jorgenson, Carly Goehring, Claire Bash, Jessica Woessner, Shea Kennedy. Back: Coach Joe Petrusa

Eleven years ago, 11 Orono second-graders began preparing to compete for state high school soccer titles.

They ran hills, lugging other players on their backs. They laid in the grass so they weren’t afraid of being cold. They practiced drills to perfection and learned never to be late, at the insistence of their coach, Joe Petrusa.

“He set a mind-set that everything was our responsibility,” said Taylor Eckerline, now an Orono senior.

“He treated us like adults,” senior Claire Bash said.

“I cried before every practice,” senior Jessica Woessner said.

However unusual Petrusa’s methods were, they helped those second-­graders develop into state champions. The group led Orono to a Class 1A title last year. This year, the Spartans are 14-2 and ranked second in Class 1A going into the Section 6 playoffs.

Their success stems in large part from that disciplined and dedicated group, coach Erin Murray said.

“They can anticipate each other better than any group I’ve seen,” she said. “That discipline really helped them develop into the players that they are.”

It’s an athletic bunch that has embraced a possession-based style of soccer. The Spartans have scored 76 goals this year while allowing only seven. The effort has come despite the departure of Ms. Soccer winner Sophie Babo to graduation.

The season hasn’t gone entirely according to script, however. Orono lost two of its first four games, first to Minneapolis Washburn, then to top-ranked Benilde-St. Margaret’s, a longtime section rival.

In those early games, Murray said, the coaches were putting a lot of pressure on the players. Lately, she’s been telling them to relax and focus more on playing their own game.

Orono has since won 11 consecutive games, allowing only two goals in that stretch. The Spartans had arguably their finest performance Oct. 8, defeating fifth-ranked Blake 4-0. Seniors Rachel Rudd, Lily McKown and Danielle Jorgenson scored in that game.

“That Blake game was so fun for them,” Murray said.

As has been the whole season, for the team bonding if nothing else. Each Monday, each team member goes over her highs and lows from the previous week. They have “secret buddies” for each game, where each girl receives a small gift from a teammate. Practice brings a constant dose of laughter and goofing around.

“Practice is the high of the day for a lot of us,” Bash said.

The team atmosphere transfers off the field, too. The players have spirit days and hang out in the offseason. The seniors, for instance, bond over their love of the TV show “Grey’s Anatomy.”

“We are the ‘soccer girls,’ ” Jorgenson said, explaining how they are known at school.

It’s a label that could continue for most, if not all, of the seniors in college. Carly Goehring committed to Division I Butler for soccer. Woessner committed to Harding, a Division II school in Arkansas. Jorgenson will play basketball for Cornell.

“We’re all looking to do something with soccer in college,” said Eckerline, whether that be intramurals, club or varsity teams.

Of course, there is still work to do in high school. The Spartans could face a rematch with Wright County Conference rival Waconia in the section championship. If they make state, they could again face Benilde-St. Margaret’s or third-ranked Mahtomedi.

“This time we have a target on our back,” Bash said.

But thanks to Petrusa, Murray and the players themselves, count on Orono to be ready.