The balance of metro girls’ soccer power tilts northward, and here are two more Northwest Suburban Conference teams that rank among the state’s elite.
Andover (0-1-1, 0-1-1) lost its season opener 4-1 to No. 2-2A Centennial on Aug. 31 and forged a 2-2 tie on Sept. 2 with Blaine. Senior Olivia Knoepfle, a senior who ranked second on the team with 17 goals last season, has scored all three goals for the No. 7-2A Huskies to start the season.
Totino-Grace (2-0-0, 2-0-0) inexplicably dropped out of the top-10 rankings in Class 1A (it was ranked No. 9 in the preseason poll) despite opening its season with impressive wins over Elk River (4-0 on Aug. 31) and Robbinsdale Armstrong (3-1 on Sept. 2). Junior Kaitlyn Brandt has three goals to pace the Eagles.