A bit of the shine was scrubbed off this Northwest Suburban Conference matchup last Thursday when both teams suffered their first losses of the season — No. 1-2A Champlin Park fell 1-0 to Robbinsale Armstrong and No. 5-2A Blaine was blanked 5-0 by Centennial.
No worries, though, as these two teams remain the class of the Northwest Suburban Conference (along with No. 8-2A Maple Grove) and this game will serve as a dramatic regular-season finale — not to mention section playoffs tuneup — for both programs.
Senior Will Heinen (11 goals, 6 assists) and sophomore Leo Conneh (10 goals) are among the top offensive threats for Champlin Park (9-1-0, 9-1-0), while junior Darius Givance has been outstanding in goal.
Blaine (7-1-2, 7-1-2) counters with senior Tega Kowhegba (4 goals, 3 assists) and junior Brian Obwogi (3 goals, 2 assists), who's also a track and field standout, among others.