PHOTO GALLERY: Eagan vs. Wayzata
If Eagan coach Bulut Ozturk had scripted how he wanted his team’s semifinal game against Wayzata to play out, it likely would have been very similar to what actually happened.
The Wildcats took a lead, added to it early in the second half and held on for a 2-1 victory over the top-seeded Trojans on Tuesday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Eagan (16-2-2) took a 1-0 lead on a penalty kick by Megan Plaschko in the game’s second minute. It marked the first time all season that Wayzata trailed in a game.
Plaschko, a junior, came forward from her goalkeeping position to convert the kick.
“It’s what we needed,” said Plaschko, who has verbally committed to the University of Minnesota. “We talked about starting the game quickly. I haven’t missed one all year, so I was confident going up.”
That was part one of Ozturk’s game plan.
“We were looking for a counterattack or a set piece goal and when we got one, it built the confidence for the second one,” Eagan coach Bulut Ozturk said.
It came in the game’s 52nd minute, when Molly Busch turned and scored with a 10-yard shot from in front of the Wayzata goal.
“That was the difference right there,” Wayzata coach Tony Peznecker said.
Wayzata, the No. 1 seed in the tournament, cut the deficit in half in the 59th minute on a brilliant 35-yard laser of a shot by Megan Prazic. But the Trojans could not score again.
It was Eagan’s eighth consecutive victory in state tournament play. The Wildcats won Class 2A state titles in 2014 and 2015 but did not qualify last season.
It was the first loss of the season for injury-riddled Wayzata (16-1-3), which was without two of its top players, including Ms. Soccer finalist Marissa Kalkar.