With Blaine, Andover, Centennial and Elk River, among other teams, the Northwest Suburban conference is one of the most competitive conferences in the state.
On Thursday, Elk River will look to hand Andover its first conference loss of the season. At 8-0-1 in conference play and 10-2-1 overall, the No. 4-3A ranked Huskies will be tough to stop.
With its only losses coming against No. 1-ranked Wayzata and No. 3-ranked Rosemount, and winners of its last five games by a combined 18-0 margin, Andover is a perennial favorite to reach the state tournament.
By the regular season’s end, Elk River (7-4-2, 5-2-2) will have been battle tested heading into sections. Along with Andover, the Elks played No. 4 Blaine (L 2-1) and No. 1 Wayzata (L 3-0) in three of its final five games. Leah Brown’s six goals leads all scorers for Elk River, while Britta DeMar has dished out five assists. Breanna Bernardson will need to be the most prepared Thursday. The goalkeeper, who’s allowed seven goals in 12 games, will have her hands full with a potent Husky offense.
Averaging 3.6 goals per game, Andover has had no trouble finding the back of the net. The duo of Brenna Hudson and Addie Dobratz has been stellar this season. Hudson has a team-leading 14 goals plus nine assists, while Dobratz has poured in 11 goals. Both players will likely have major roles in determining Thursday’s outcome.
A win for the Huskies will help their case for the top spot in the conference. The team is currently second behind Blaine. Elk River, which sits fourth, will look to play spoiler as it prepares for the section tournament.