Owatonna suffers tough loss

St. Louis Park - Heading into the state quarterfinal matchup, Owatonna High School boys soccer head coach Bob Waypa said they knew what Wayzata was capable of doing with the ball in their possession. The Huskies have had some magic moments playing state ranked teams this season. Unfortunately, there was no magic against arguably the best team in the state.
Powered by two first half goals, the No. 2 Wayzata Trojans defeated the Owatonna Huskies 5-0 at Benilde-St. Margaret high school on a rainy Tuesday night.  Waypa said that despite the outcome, it was a great finish.
"I told them, You had a helluva season.' At the halfway point, I don't think anyone would have predicted that we would be at the state tournament based on the way we were going. But we turned things around," he added.
From the start, it appeared that the rain was going to play a huge factor as long counters that seeminlgy looked like it would be fielded would skip past each team's players.  Just two minutes into the contest, Wayzata was looking like it would take an early 1-0 lead until a 25-yard shot clanked off the edge of the post. 
After generating a turnover in the middle third just minutes later, Owatonna captain Daniel Keller-who was named first team All-State Monday- gave the Huskies their only true shot on goal in the half.
After two misses on their offensive possessions, the Trojans’ third attempt was the charm, as Alex Bracken connected on a long strike from roughly 30 yards out to just miss the glove of Huskies’ keeper Aiden Buryska. 
"We knew he (Bracken) had a heckua shot," commented Waypa. "And it was just a rocket." 
From there the Trojans defense dug in and Owatonna struggled to put any shots on goal. Every ball that was in the air seemingly was won by a Trojans defender. After being asked if Wayzata may be the best team in the state, he agreed it may be tough to find a better squad.
“These guys (Wayzata) for the longest part were ranked No.1. Them and Stillwater went back and forth No.1 and No.2,” commented Waypa.
Just minutes after securing the game-winning goal, the Trojans were back on the attack. In the 23rd minute, Trojans striker Maclane King scored on a header after forward Sandra Golzarian chipped a long centering pass to the front of the net. King would add another goal late in the second half. Wayzata had two attempts later in the first half that could have gave them a commanding lead, but one was deflected by Buryska on a great diving save and the bounce out of bounds after striking the outside corner of the post.
In the second half, the Trojans speed continued to give the Huskies problem, adding goals in the 46th, 47th and 77th minutes to extend their lead to 5-0.
While Waypa said that this will be a loss that stings, he told his players that their heads should be held high.
“Two weeks from now, you’re going to be sitting back saying, it’s cool we made it to the state tournament, the final eight. In 19 years, only three teams have done that in Owatonna. If you want to combine boys and girls, only three times out of 38 years have made it. Take pride in that,” he said.
The Huskies finished the season with a 14-8-1 record.