WILLMAR - The No. 4-seed Willmar Cardinals scored twice in the first 5 minutes and advanced to the Section 2A quarterfinals with a dominating first-round 4-0 win over No. 13-seed Fairmont on Tuesday.
Forty seconds into the game, junior midfielder Diego Millan got the Cardinals on the board, beating Fairmont goalie Kyle Tromanhauser on an assist from Jesus Nevarez on the left wing.
Senior defenseman Nick McLouth scored the first of his two goals 4 minutes later, assisted by Millan.
“For once we had a fast start,” Willmar head coach Jeff Winter said. “We’ve been having slow starts most of the season. We kind of backed off a little bit and played possession.”
The early lead was protected by a strong Cardinal defense that didn’t allow a single shot on goal.
McLouth scored again at 44 minutes, and senior defenseman Christian Vallecillo put one in at 76 minutes.
“If your defenders are taking shots, that’s a pretty good sign,” Winter said. “He had a nice cut in from the right side of the box and put it in the bottom left corner. We were really able to move up as a team.”
It was the third time in five years the Cardinals have faced off against Fairmont. In 2010, Fairmont upset Willmar here 3-2 in the second round. The next year, Willmar whitewashed the visitors 5-0.
The Cardinals will host No. 5-seed St. Peter 1 p.m. Saturday.
Willmar 4, Fairmont 0
Fairmont (2-14) 0 0 - 0
Willmar (11-4-2) 2 2 - 4
FIRST HALF – Wil: Diego Millan (Jesus Nevarez) 00:40…. Wil: Nick McLouth (Millan) 4:32
SECOND HALF – Wil: McLouth (Nevarez) 44:00 … Wil: Christian Vallecillo (Gerson Maldonado-Garcia) 76:00
SHOTS ON GOAL – F: 0 … Wil: 16
GOALIE SAVES – Fairmont: Kyle Tromanhauser 12 … Willmar: Manny Obregon 0
DEFENSIVE SAVES – none
