Blaine senior Kendall Stadden scores a goal Thursday night tapping the ball in the net off the side of her foot. The Bengals won their season opener by defeating the Mustangs at home 3-0 Photo by Earl J. Ebensteiner, SportsEngine
Blaine head coach Scott Zachmann made a strong statement after his team’s opening season win.
“We have one goal, and that’s to get to state and win state,” he said.
The stronger statement, however, was made by his team on Thursday night, as Blaine defeated Mounds View — a team that made it to the Class 3A state tournament last year — 3-0.
“That’s what we’ve talked about and we feel like we can compete with anybody and this is the start of that,” Zachmann said of his team’s goal this season.
Getting the shutout Thursday night for the Bengals is senior goalkeeper Madison Way. Blaine beat Mounds View at home 3-0. Photo by Earl J. Ebensteiner, SportsEngine
Blaine opened its season with a 3-0 win at home over Mounds View on Thursday night.
After neither team had many chances in the opening 25 minutes, Sydney Sutherland made a long run from the Bengals (1-0, 0-0) backline to confuse the Mustangs (0-1, 0-0) defense. Ellie Nhean saw Sutherland’s run at the right moment and played a ball right into Suntherland’s stride. She rounded the keeper and slotted the goal 27 minutes in to go up 1-0.
Blaine goalkeeper Madison Way was mostly untested in the first half, but she was forced to tip the ball over the bar after an attempted chip from far outside of the box. She ended the game with five saves.
While Mounds View created good chances in the second half, it was Blaine who put the game away. Kendall Stadden doubled the Bengal lead seven minutes into the second half after bouncing on a loose ball. She ran past a defender she was level with, then executed a few step overs before tapping the ball into the net.
Hailey Hughes scored the third goal after more Blaine pressure forced a turnover high up the field. Hughes collected an errant pass and scored from outside the box with a laser of a shot that crept past the keeper’s hands.
Blaine could have notched a few more goals, but Lauren McAlpine made two saves to keep it at three.
Driving to the net late in the second half for Mounds View is senior forward Jess Eischens. Mounds View lost to Blaine in the season opening 3-0. Photo by Earl J. Ebensteiner, SportsEngine
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