Soccer

Section tournaments got underway the second week of October for both boys and girls high school soccer. Teams from across the state battled for a spot in the state tournament.

The Simley varsity boys soccer team traveled to North St. Paul on Sept. 25 to face the North Polars. North has dominated Simley in past seasons, and that dominance continued as the Polars took down the Spartans 4-0 at Polar Field. 

The North/Tartan CI division adapted soccer team made its first-ever trip to the state tournament this season. The tournament was held Nov. 18 and 19 at Stillwater Area High School.

The weekend didn’t start off all that great for the Mounds View/Irondale/Roseville PI division adapted soccer team but things turned around eventually. The Rams shrugged off an opening-round loss to earn the state consolation championship.

The Columbia Heights/St. Anthony Village CI division adapted soccer team went 0-2 in the state tournament last week but didn’t go out quietly.

The weekend didn’t start off all that great for the Mounds View/Irondale/Roseville PI division adapted soccer team but things turned around eventually. The Rams shrugged off an opening-round loss to earn the state consolation championship.

The Hill-Murray girls soccer team entered the state tournament as the No. 4 seed and finished one place higher than that seed. The Pioneers went 2-1 in their three tournament games and brought home the third-place trophy.

As the Minnesota Twins were on the road to their World Series championship, St. Anthony Village High School and Spring Lake Park High School were combining forces in soccer for the first time.

Before any of them could have headed off for an MEA-week trip, the North High School boys soccer players had some business to attend to on Oct. 18. The Polars had a state-tournament berth to earn.

The four highest-seeded teams in the Section 5AA boys soccer tournament all hosted quarterfinal matches on Saturday. The home-field advantage was not there, however, as all four top seeds lost one-goal contests.