Sub-30 degree weather isn’t ideal conditions to play any fall sport, but the Eagan’s girls soccer team collectively decided to stick to wearing shorts in its Class 2A quarterfinal against Rogers on Wednesday night at St. Cloud State's Husky Stadium.
“We all wanted to dress as one team. If one person was going to go with no pants, then the whole team was going to go,” Wildcats senior midfielder Emma Brechlin said. “We all supported each other with that.”
Brechlin scored the game’s lone goal late in the first half, but it was Eagan's defensive effort that allowed the No. 3-seeded Wildcats to hold a lead through the second half of their 1-0 victory over the Royals.
In the 36th minute, Jade King's through ball found Brechlin, who one-timed it off the crossbar and into the net.
“There was a lot of adrenaline and Jade played a perfect ball through,” Brechlin said of her goal. “I took a touch and shot and it went it.”
Scoring bar down, Brechlin’s goal was a sight to see for any Wildcats' fan. But for the final half, Eagan (17-2-1) played through sloppy conditions that limited an offense that had scored 12 goals through the section playoffs.
“We needed that cushion with a second goal so we could relax a bit, but unfortunately it wasn’t coming,” Wildcats coach Bulut Ozturk said. “We got some tired legs, so we decided to buckle down and defend as a team.”
With the wind blowing toward Eagan's net in the second half, goalkeeper Megan Plashcko’s goal kicks would rarely cross the 30-yard line.
Rogers put pressure on Plashcko early but couldn't break through. Plashcko made two of her three saves in the opening minutes of the half, stopping one shot on a breakaway and the other while still scrambling.
The defending Class 2A champions will now have to get past undefeated and No. 2-seeded Mounds View in the semifinals on Monday for a chance to reclaim their title.
Ozturk thinks his team will be motivated more than ever being the lower seed.
“I think it takes a lot of pressure off of us for the first time in a long time and we like the fact we’re viewed as underdogs with the No. 3 seed,” Ozturk said.
