Quantcast
skip navigation

Rosemount tops Duluth East for spot in Class 3A boys' championship

By David La Vaque, Star Tribune, 11/03/21, 2:45PM CDT

Share

The Irish will face Mounds View in the championship on Saturday.


Rosemount's Isaac Lewis (center), celebrated with teammates Evan Sickman (left) and Dante Shannon (right) after his game winning goal in the second half against Duluth East. (Brian Peterson, Star Tribune)

Files on all 10 ranked teams in Class 3A boys’ soccer are closed.

Rosemount claimed the final victim Wednesday with a 2-1 upset of Duluth East, No. 8 in the final coaches’ poll. The Irish advance to face Mounds View at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Mastering what became two styles of the game within Wednesday morning’s semifinal, Rosemount started by getting the better of a scoring barrage in the game’s first 18 minutes.

Dante Shannon scored for the Irish in the 11th minute, matched by a great shot from Duluth East’s Kai Hoffman just three minutes later.

“We were playing a very panicked style,” Rosemount coach Todd Farrington said. “It took us about 15 minutes to get the jitters out.”

Case in point, junior forward Isaac Lewis. Nerves caused the first pass his way to roll under his foot. He regrouped a few minutes later and ripped the ball into the upper corner of the goal in the 18th minute to put his team ahead to stay.

Said Greyhounds coach Corey Bachand, “No goalie is stopping that shot.”

“That moment sparked everything,” Lewis said. “I gained so much more confidence and was able to relax.”

Which doesn’t mean the Irish (9-6-3) relented. They battled defensively, keeping Duluth East (18-2-1) from mounting a comeback.

“We were getting worked at the end,” Rosemount goalkeeper Leyton Simmering said. “But our defense was able to keep our composure and boot it out if we needed to.”