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Centennial soccer leads strong showing

By DAVID La VAQUE, Star Tribune, 10/26/11, 12:24AM CDT

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Six teams from the Northwest Suburban Conference gives the boys' and girls' state soccer tournament fields some serious north metro exposure.

A combined six teams from the Northwest Suburban Conference gives the boys' and girls' Class 2A state soccer tournament fields some serious northern metro exposure.

Tournament play begins this week and includes Anoka, Blaine and Maple Grove on the boys' side and Anoka, Blaine and Centennial among the girls' field.

Count Centennial girls' soccer coach Ginger Flohaug among those pleased rather than perplexed.

"I'm not surprised at all," Flohaug said. "I've always backed our conference in section seeding meetings. I always talk about how wins in our conference are strong wins."

Flohaug was surprised, however, to see her Cougars (16-1-2) not earn a seed in the state tournament. In fact, none of the Northwest Suburban Conference teams received a seed. The top four teams are seeded by coach's vote and the remaining four teams are selected by blind draw.

Flohaug said her team "probably deserved" the No. 4 seed given the Cougars posted the second-most victories and second-fewest losses among tournament teams. Instead, the Cougars open play at 7:30 p.m. Friday against No. 3 seed Eastview (13-2-4) at Park of Cottage Grove High School.

"All eight teams are strong so it probably could've gone a couple different ways," Flohaug said. "But I think we got a good draw."

Stopping Centennial junior Jenna Roering (32 goals) is a tough proposition for any team. But the Cougars have quietly played stifling defense (12 shutouts) led by senior Megan Lenz.

"She's totally overlooked but no one beats her," said Flohaug, who said Lenz's decision-making skills are comparable to former Cougars standout Becca Roberts.

On the boys' side, Jason Scheeler (Blaine) and Sydney Robinson (Maple Grove) hope to continue their strong postseason play.

Scheeler, a sophomore forward, scored two goals and had three assists in a 6-0 semifinals victory against Coon Rapids. He added the eventual game-winning goal against Andover in the finals by scoring 34 seconds into the game.

Robinson, a senior forward, scored his team's only goal in the quarterfinals. He scored again in the semifinals and assisted on the eventual game-winning goal in the championship game.

David La Vaque • 612-673-7574