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Maple Grove shuts out North St. Paul

By Aaron Paitich, Special to the Star Tribune, 10/27/11, 8:00PM CDT

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The Crimson scored twice early in the first half to beat the previously unbeaten Polars.

A lot of uncertainty surrounded Maple Grove soccer this fall.

Many believed last year’s squad should have made it to the state tournament. They didn’t. Graduation meant the loss of an abundance of seniors, experience and skill. No one knew what to make of this year’s group. It was a process.

“We’ve spent a lot of this year teaching our kids to believe at every step of the way,” co-head coach Chad Morse said. “There was some doubt amongst coaches, doubt amongst players, doubt amongst parents – but they’ve proven us all wrong.”

Shutting out undefeated North St. Paul 2-0 in the Class 2A state quarterfinals on Thursday night should erase any remaining suspicion.

The Crimson poured on the pressure in the first 15 minutes of play, scoring two goals in the first 11 minutes.

“We were hoping to capitalize a little bit on their youth and a little bit on their success, hoping they’d come in and be confident,” Morse said. “It was the same way we started our section final.”

Senior Alex Niederloh set the stage for Maple Grove in a dominant early first half. His deep throw to the front of the net found midfielder John Fox, who headed it in the lower-left corner for a 1-0 Crimson lead in the eighth minute.

Shortly after, Connor Gifft’s shot from outside the box rang the left post. The rebound calmly came to freshman Kevin Hoof, who buried it through defenders to put the Section 4 champions in a two-goal hole. It was Hoof’s first varsity goal in only his sixth game played. He was called up from the B-squad midway through the year.

In the middle of the first half, North turned it on. The Polars scored 74 goals in 19 games previous to the state quarterfinal, but P.J. Enright blanked them. The senior goalkeeper stoned two direct kicks at the top of the box amongst a bevy of scoring opportunities in the second half to preserve the lead and eventual shutout.

“Stepped up and played like a senior,” Morse said. “He was the player of the match. Unbelievable performance out of him.”