Photo Gallery: Mahtomedi girls vs. Hill-Murray
Before the start of Thursday’s Class 1A, Section 4 championship game, the Mahtomedi girls’ soccer team talked about whom they hoped to honor with their play.
Junior midfielder Sydney Panek came up with a long list of people she kept in mind during the section final: Her teammates, the seniors playing their last seasons, and her coaches were all on the list and at the rivalry game with Hill-Murray. But the last person she mentioned, her grandma, was not able to be there due to her battle with breast cancer.
With a 3-2 victory on Thursday, the Zephyrs will get an opportunity to defend their 2017 state championship. And perhaps a game removed from Panek’s grandma seeing her play in person.
“If we make it to (US Bank Stadium), she gets that chance, because it’s warm and a safe environment for her to be,” Panek said. “I’m just like, ‘Guys, do it for her if nothing else.’”
Panek scored the game-winning goal for Mahtomedi with just 16 seconds remaining in regulation.
Mahtomedi coach Dave Wald admitted he was pretty upset with his team when he saw the Pioneers’ Caralyn Conners tie the game 2-2 with less than four minutes left. However, those feelings turned to relief when the Zephyrs scored their final goal.
“Syd Panek, that’s what she’s done all year,” Wald said. “She wants to compete. She’s an incredible competitor, great athlete.”
Mahtomedi’s victory helped ease the pain from a regular season loss to Hill-Murray earlier this year. Heading into this fall, the Zephyrs had won or shared nine straight Metro East Conference championships. The run included two split titles with the Pioneers. However, this year Hill-Murray won the Metro East by defeating Mahtomedi 2-0 on Oct. 2.
With an already challenging opponent like Mahtomedi, the Pioneers also needed to battle some adversity Thursday. A red card five minutes into the second half forced them to compete one player short the rest of the game.
Hill-Murray coach Simbo N'diaye said his team was confident coming into the championship game. However, the game's challenges did not help.
“Coming in we knew it wasn’t going to be easy," he said. "But at least we had our strategy. Sometimes in soccer, there’s a little bit of luck. And luck wasn’t our way today.”
The Class 1A state tournament is scheduled to start Tuesday, with the seeding being determined over the weekend. This year’s Mahtomedi team has a different lineup than last year's that defeated Orono 2-1 for the state title.
Though for many of the team’s players, the championship is still fresh in their minds.
“We keep comparing this year to last year, which isn’t always the best thing,” Panek said. “But it’s good to remind yourself about how hard you worked to get to that point.”