Olivia Olson is one of the best-known high school
athletes in Minnesota, but not so much for soccer. But there she was, playing
in goal for Benilde-St. Margaret’s on Friday in the Class 2A state championship
game at U.S. Bank Stadium. She pitched a shutout as the Red Knights defeated
defending champ Holy Family 1-0.
Her main sport is basketball. The 6-foot-1 Olson led
Benilde-St. Margaret’s to a state championship on the court last winter and is
hoping to repeat in her upcoming senior basketball season before playing
collegiately at the University of Michigan.
She was on the Red Knights varsity soccer team as an
eighth-grader, missed her ninth-grade season with an injury and helped the team
finish second at state when she was a sophomore. She focused on basketball and
recruiting as a junior but returned to soccer this fall. It was an easy decision,
she said.
“These are
like all my best friends on the team and I just wanted to do something else, as
well,” she said. “I won a state championship in basketball last year, I knew a
lot of the (soccer) returners who were coming back and just wanted to have fun
with all my best friends. You can kind of see how big of a family it is. And
that helped us, everyone stuck together and that's kind of why I wanted to do
this.”
Olson made
seven saves in the championship game. The biggest came midway through the first
half when Holy Angels was awarded a penalty kick. The Stars’ Ellen Neuharth booted the ball to Olson’s
right side, and Olivia made the stop.
She said the
Michigan basketball coaches were in favor of her playing soccer, and she
received a text from them after Friday’s game.
“They're
like my biggest supporters,” she said. “They were watching the game (online) and
they're really happy for me.”
201st State Title Is A Big One
When the Edina boys golf team won the Class 3A state
championship last spring, it was the 200th state title in school history
(including MSHSL and non-MSHSL sports and activities).
No. 201 followed pretty quickly, with the Hornets edging
Wayzata 2-1 on Friday to win the 3A girls soccer crown and complete a perfect
22-0 season. It was Edina’s first championship in girls soccer in 37 years, and
the celebration included new headgear.
After the on-field awards ceremony, the Hornets
players and coaches wore white ballcaps with “State Champions” in green on one
side and “#201” in gold on the other side.
The Hornets have finished second at state three times,
including last year. The school’s only previous state title in girls soccer
came in 1986, and members of that team were on hand for Friday’s game.
Senior Izzy Engle, who scored both goals Friday, said making
history was special.
“We’re playing
with our best friends. We all play in clubs and you play with girls from
different cities and it's really fun. But the idea of playing for not only your
school, but also your community; and there's all these little girls, we were
just like them. Now, to be a graduating senior in this position, holding up
that state trophy, it's just like an unmatched feeling. And it is something
that you hope for since you're little.”
Engle, who finished the season with 43 goals in 22
games, will play college soccer at Notre Dame.
Edina had defeated Wayzata 7-2 in the final game of
the regular season, with Engle scoring three times in that game.
“You cannot
stop the top player in the state who has those skills and that kind of speed,”
said Wayzata coach Tony Peszneker. “We knew it had to be a team effort. We
talked about doubling her and getting help and tucking in the inside and making
sure we stayed as compact as we could be. But you know when you have a player
of those abilities, she's going to get her chances. …that just speaks volumes
to the ability level that she has. At any given point, if you're not on her
she'll turn the game by herself.”
Kenny
The Bus Driver’s Pregame Speech
In most
movies and TV shows about big games, an inspirational pregame speech is often
part of the story. That was in the script for the Hill-Murray boys soccer team,
which won the Class 2A state title with a 3-0 win over Orono on Friday.
In this case,
the speech didn’t come from a coach or a player. It came from the Pioneers’ bus
driver.
Kenny Sundberg is well-known at the Maplewood school.
He drives lots of teams to games and sometimes offers words of wisdom. That’s
what he did Friday.
“He talked quite
a bit,” said Pioneers senior Jacob Dinzeo. “This morning we came to school a
little late and we were eating breakfast. And of course he sneaks in and everyone
calms down. He was telling us, ‘You only get this opportunity once, maybe twice,
in your life. You’ll enjoy every single moment.’ Kenny’s the best.”
Coach Jeff Zupfer,
who recorded his 100th career win Friday, said, “He’s a legend. He
literally is a guy who drives the bus for most Hill-Murray sports. When kids go
to graduation, Kenny is sitting on the Cathedral steps in his Hill-Murray hat.
He gives every kid a hug. He’s just one of those guys that's legendary.”
The
Pioneers finished second at state last year, losing to DeLaSalle in a shootout
in the title game. With 16 seniors on the 2023 team, last year’s experience
provided solid motivation.
“It's
pretty obvious,” Dinzeo said. “I was in the same position (talking to the
media) last year, and I walked in here and I was trying to look a little happy
but couldn't get my grimace off my face. And now this year, I have this cheesy
little smile on my face that I can't get off.”
Zupfer said,
“To get a taste of it last year and have it taken from you, it's one of those
things that you're like, you just want to get back there and have an
opportunity to do it again.”
--MSHSL senior content creator John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org
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