Jake Ogle (9) gets a centering pass off that bounced off an Orioles defender and into the net. Class 2A, Section 6's No. 5 seed Wayzata advances to the state tournament with a 1-0 overtime win over St. Louis Park. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine
Defender Blake Eyer (4) blocks a St. Louis Park scoring attack for goalkeeper Perrin King. The Trojans took down the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in overtime wins for a third-straight trip to the Class 2A state tournament. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine
There’s not much in sports that can match the intensity of sudden-death overtime. One moment of brilliance can win a game, while one mistake can lose it. When sudden death comes in a section final game, a mistake can end a team’s season in mere seconds.
That was the case for St. Louis Park (14-2-1) Tuesday night as the Orioles surrendered an own goal 88 minutes into the Class 2A, Section 6 final to lose 1-0 to Wayzata at St. Louis Park High School.
Wayzata’s (9-4-5) Jake Ogle got behind the Orioles defense and attempted to play a centering pass to Ethan Wagner, who would’ve had a tap-in to send the Trojans to their third-consecutive state tournament. But the pass never reached Wagner. Instead, it was cut off by an Orioles’ defender. It was not what Ogle had planned, but he got the result he wanted, as the ball took an awkward deflection and slowly rolled past the goal line.
“At this point of the year, goals are goals and you take whatever you can get,” Ogle said.
Photo Gallery: Wayzata vs. St. Louis Park
Ogle said the word “lucky” twice when describing the goal, and sometimes that’s what’s needed to win an elimination game. He stated he was lucky that the initial ball played in (a dangerous lofted through ball from Johnny Garcia) bounced over a defender and fell to him while he was “in the right place at the right time.” He got lucky again when the pass attempt took two deflections and ended up in the back of the net. It was far from an amazing moment, but Ogle didn’t care. His team is going back to the state tournament.
This was the first time the Orioles, ranked No. 4 in the Class 2A coaches’ poll, have won 12 regular-season games since 2011. They lost in the first round of the section playoffs that year, not having the success that this year’s team had in the postseason. Though their chance of making the tourney for the first time this decade came to tough end in one moment, they battled.
“We lost playing the game, that’s all I ask of them,” St. Louis Park coach Chato Alvarado said. “If we play well, hopefully we get a good result. Today, it just didn’t work out.”
Alvarado said he’ll remember most is how much his team fought this season.
“The resilience of the players (will stick out). There were quite a few games where we were down, and the kids fought until the end and we ended up winning those games,” he said.
Their resilience was on display against the Trojans, as the Orioles kept the defending state champions off the scoreboard for 88 minutes.
The Trojans had a down year in the regular season when compared to their high standards, but that all got wiped away entering the section tournament. The five seed next to their school name didn’t fool any one.
“They always have a good team, that’s no doubt. We knew it would be difficult game,” Alvarado said.
“Coming into (the section tournament), we had a ton of confidence. We knew that we could win it, we believed in ourselves. Coming into it, we were disappointed that we were the five seed…I think we proved that we should be where we are today,” Ogle said.
Ogle said the Trojans came together and started playing more for each other as the section playoffs began, saying the team had a “family aspect” to it. The confidence this team had coming into the postseason will only grow now that they are returning to state.
“I’m looking forward to it, I think we can beat anyone,” Ogle said.
The Trojans will have at least one supporter outside of the Wayzata-faithful. As Ogle walked past the Orioles’ bench to head to the team bus, Alvarado congratulated him on the goal and gave him a simple message: “Go and win it now.”
First Report
Wayzata is heading to the Class 2A state tournament for the third-straight year after defeating St. Louis Park, ranked No. 4 in the Class 2A coaches’ poll, in a 1-0 overtime victory.
The Trojans (9-4-5) scored the game-winning goal to win the Section 6 final at St. Louis Park High School with 1:36 left in overtime, as Jake Ogle got past the Orioles’ (14-2-1) defense, then played a centering pass that deflected off a defender for an own goal.
It took both teams a while to get much offense going. In the first half, neither team was able to create any significant chances with 18 mile-per-hour winds making it tough for players to connect on aerial passes.
The most dangerous threat at goal came in the final 90 seconds of the first half, when St. Louis Park’s Nikolas Pantazides took a shot from 25 yards out. It was hit directly at goalkeeper Perrin King, but the save was made difficult due to the sun being directly in his eyes. King was able to corral the ball safely, making one of his four saves in the game.
The second half had more action, with each team getting clear chances at goal. The Orioles’ Randy Mayele had two looks at goal within the first 10 minutes of the half, with both of his close shot attempts going wide.
The Trojans created a dangerous chance near the end of regulation, as Stuart Sain played a threaded through ball that traveled past two defenders and found Ethan Wagner in-stride. Wagner tried a first-time shot, but Orioles goalie Leo Finley was able to close down on him and make the critical save, the most important of his four throughout the game.
Randy Mayele (6) had two good scoring chances early in the second half, including this shot that the wind took wide left. St. Louis Park fell to Wayzata 1-0 in overtime of the Class 2A, Section 6 championship game. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine
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