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Wayzata girls edge Minneapolis Washburn to earn state tournament berth

By Drew Herron, SportsEngine, 10/17/17, 10:00AM CDT

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The Trojans scored two second half goals, en route to claiming the Class 2A, Section 6 championship.



Wayzata's Emily Dillon slides the ball past Minneapolis Washburn goalie Elinor Arneson to score midway through the second half. The Trojans earned a state tournament berth with a 2-1 win over the Millers. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine

It's becoming a fall ritual.

Towards the end of the past three seasons, Wayzata has played host to Minneapolis Washburn for a Class 2A, Section 6 final that would pare one highly-regarded team from the tournament field and send the other onward to the state tournament.

Having split the previous two meetings, something would have to prove decisive as Minneapolis Washburn, which is ranked No. 1-2A by the coaches’ association, locked horns again with No. 2-2A Wayzata on Tuesday night.

Two fortunate bounces later, Wayzata is headed back to the state tournament for the ninth time in the past 11 years, upending the Millers with a 2-1 victory.

“We took advantage of a couple breaks, and we were able to finish with them,” Wayzata coach Tony Peszneker said. 

Peszneker added, “It’s unfortunate that one of these teams can’t advance. But we feel that if we want to become state champs, then we’d better be able to beat everybody, whether it’s in the section final, or the quarterfinal or the state semifinal. We know that the road there is tough."

Wayzata (15-0-3) weathered a series of storms, and was able to pounce on a couple of miscues that proved crippling for Minneapolis Washburn (14-2-1).

Midway through the second half, Trojans senior Sophie Triplett won a one-on-one battle near midfield and carried the ball upfield before delivering a well-placed touch pass across the field to waiting teammate Emily Dillon. Dillon had enough to slip the shot past the charging Millers goalkeeper and push Wayzata out front.  

“It was a touch from Sophie and I saw the opportunity,” Dillon said. “I don’t really remember doing it, but I remember I was thrilled when I saw it cross the line.”

Less than five minutes later, Wayzata junior Eva Bruer took advantage of a failed clearing attempt by the Millers defense and seized control of the ball before launching a well-placed shot into the far top corner, and a 2-0 Trojans lead that seemed insurmountable with 18 minutes to play.

There would be no second-half surge this time for Minneapolis Washburn, which turned the tables in the second half of last year’s section final match to win 3-1. It stunned then top-ranked Wayzata, and also lit a fire as well. 

That memory was not lost on this group of Trojans in Tuesday's rematch.

“Last year was a big motivator for us,” Dillon said. “We felt like we had it, and it was stolen from us in the second half. We knew all season that we would have to go through Washburn, and we were ready for this.”

The Millers turned up the pressure over the final 20 minutes, plugging in forwards on attack and hammering away with heavy pressure. The Millers outshot Wayzata 8-7 for the match, but the Trojans’ keeper, Madison Lo, made a trio of huge saves down the stretch.

The junior finished with seven saves and helped keep the momentum from slipping away.

“That’s as many saves as she has had to make in any game this year, and tonight, we asked her to make some very big saves,” Peszneker said. “She might have been the difference for us.”

Lo said last year’s result was as a driving factor, and the team was completely focused on finishing strong.

“Everyone knew how big of a heartbreaker that was,” Lo said. “I think it was a huge motivator for us throughout the entire season.”

The only shot that made it past the Wayzata keeper came off the foot of Lydia Ruppert, who scored for the Millers with less than two minutes remaining in the game.


Wayzata goalkeeper Madison Lo makes a sliding save late in the first half. Lo had several big saves for the Trojans in the 2-1 victory. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine

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Lydia Ruppert scored Minneapolis Washburn's only goal in the contest with just 1:43 remaining in the contest. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine

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