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West metro teams gear up

By BRIAN STENSAAS, Star Tribune, 10/11/11, 5:29PM CDT

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The road to the state high school soccer tournament begins in earnest on Thursday.


Bloomington Jefferson goalie William Elfstrum will help lead his top-seeded team into the section tourney.

It took seven weeks and 16 games, but Bloomington Jefferson boys' soccer coach Danny Storlien finally is satisfied. He's confident the team he will put out on the pitch Thursday against Chanhassen in the first round of the Class 2A, Section 2 tournament is without holes.

"We've kind of pieced the puzzle together this season," Storlien said. "Everybody is finally back healthy now. We're clicking a little bit after it had been a case of get a guy back, lose a guy, get a guy, lose a guy. We should be 100 percent [this] week, and that will be nice."

Even with a revolving-door lineup, the Jaguars (10-2-4) earned the top seed in the section. Jefferson is no stranger to postseason success, having advanced to the past three state tournaments.

"To do it four in a row will be difficult, that's for sure," Storlien said.

The Jaguars are playing well at the right time of the season. Jefferson enters section play on a six-match winning streak and hasn't been defeated since a 2-1 loss to Class 2A, No. 1-ranked Eastview on Sept. 13 in Apple Valley.

The Jaguars have outscored opponents 23-6 since.

"We possess the ball with a purpose," Storlien said. The team's regular-season finale against Lakeville North, won 4-1, was "about as good as we've played in a while,'' he said.

"If we can defend as well as we [did] early in the year and keep up the intensity, I think we have a shot to do pretty well."

It won't be easy. Edina (12-3-1) and Eden Prairie (10-3-3) are also in Section 2.

In other boys' soccer sections:

• Minneapolis South (12-2-1) grabbed the top seed in Class 2A, Section 6. But advancing won't be easy. Looming in the bottom half of the bracket is Minneapolis Southwest (11-3-1), which handed South its first loss of the season Sept. 24, and Wayzata (11-4-1). The Trojans have won eight matches in a row, and battled South in a 1-0 loss early in the year.

• Top-seed Benilde-St. Margaret's (13-2-1) received a bye in Class 1A, Section 6.

Girls' soccer

• Wayzata, a 22-time state participant, goes for No. 23 starting Thursday against Cooper in the first round of the Class 2A, Section 6 tournament. The Trojans (12-2-2) are looking to rebound from a 1-1-1 end to the regular season, which included a 2-0 loss to Minnetonka on Sept. 27. The Skippers (9-3-3) are the No. 2 seed in Section 6. They lost their regular-season finale 1-0 to Edina, but had won four in a row prior to that, including the victory over Wayzata and a 1-0 victory over defending state champion Eden Prairie.

• Speaking of the Eagles, they are the No. 2 seed in Section 2. Eden Prairie (8-3-4) has not won since Sept. 24. It opens section play Thursday against Chanhassen.

In Class 1A, undefeated Benilde-St. Margaret's puts its streak on the line beginning Thursday. The Red Knights (13-0-3) received a first-round bye and will play host to the winner of Tuesday's match between Mound-Westonka and Delano.

• Defending Class 1A champion Rogers jumped to Class 2A this year. The Royals (8-6-2) open Section 8 tournament play on Thursday against Elk River.