St. Louis Park defenseman Daniel Decker hurdles a Minneapolis Washburn defender in a 3-0 loss to the Millers. Photo by Rick Orndorf
A goal and an assist from senior attacker Henry Stevens pushed Minneapolis Washburn past St. Louis Park 3-0 in the Class 2A, Section 6 quarterfinals Thursday night at Washburn High School.
Senior attacker Mohamed Kalmoy gave the No.4 seed Millers (8-4-3) their initial lead in the 30th minute.
Junior attacker Luke Peterson muscled his way into the goalie box and released a solid pass to Kalmoy just as several Orioles defenders swarmed in. Kalmoy then drove the ball past senior goalie Eric Hendricks for the goal.
Washburn coach Aaron Percy said the team stepped up at the correct moment in the season.
"The guys kind of realized that now's the time we really need to be playing at our best, and we've kind of been inconsistent this year. But when we play well, we're going to be a tough team to beat, and I think tonight they started to put it together a little bit," Percy said.
The Millers wasted no time increasing their lead after halftime, scoring 14 seconds into the second half. Stevens took the ball halfway into St. Louis Park's defensive zone before dishing it to senior attacker Taylor Mitchell, who sank it to the left side of the goal.
Stevens chalked up his goal in the 64th minute. He was in the goalie box and he just forced the ball past Hendricks.
This was the seventh time that the No.5 seed Orioles (5-4-1) were shut out this season.
Despite the victory, Stevens said he didn't played too well.
"I wasn't doing a great job keeping the ball, but I was still working my hardest and I think at the end of the day, just trying really hard and playing hard defense is what gave me confidence," he said.
Percy said Stevens didn't give himself enough credit for his play.
"He won a lot of balls defensively, which if he can do that and be able to distribute like he does, he's going to be a heck of a player for us going forward," Percy added.
The Millers take on No.1 seed Wayzata in the semifinals on Saturday at Wayzata High School.
"When were on our game, we can beat just about anyone in the state," Stevens said. "(St. Louis Park) was a really good team and we took it to them, so I think we can beat just about anyone."
