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1-0 win sends Benilde to finals

By Star Tribune, 10/31/11, 10:00AM CDT

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A goal by forward Jake Horton stood up in the Red Knights' defeat of St. Paul Academy.


St. Paul Academy's Studler Olson (2) battles Benilde-St. Margaret's John Mulvahill for the ball in the first half. Star Tribune photo by Richard Sennott.

Benilde-St. Margaret’s forward Jake Horton took some grief from his goalkeeper Alex Leiter at halftime of Monday’s Class 1A state boys’ soccer tournament semifinal game.

“He was making fun of me,” Horton said. “He said, ‘Whenever you get the ball just look to shoot it on frame.’”

The message found its mark. So did Horton’s shot in the 47th minute. The ball Horton booted toward the St. Paul Academy goal deflected off a Spartans’ defender and into the net. It held up as the only goal in the Red Knights’ 1-0 victory.

A defenseman in hockey, Horton scored twice Sunday to help Team Northwest win the third-place game of the Elite League playoffs. Three goals. Two days. Two sports. One shared philosophy.

“Just throw it to the net and something good usually happens,” Horton said.

St. Paul Academy experienced only agonizing near misses. Gabe Brennaman grazed the crossbar with a shot late in the first half. And Benilde-St. Margaret’s Paul Graupner cleared a ball that got by Leiter in the second half.

“That play should have been a goal,” Spartans coach Franklin Tawah said. “And if we would have tied it up, we would have won this game.”

The Spartans’ top playmaker, sophomore Sam Forsgren, drew his share of attention from Red Knights defenders but remained dangerous even in tight spaces.

“To me, Sam is the best high school player in the state right now,” Tawah said. “He’s only a sophomore but he plays like a 25-year-old man.”

DAVID LA VAQUE