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WILLMAR — The Cardinals took Sauk Rapids by storm in the second half, pulling off a five-goal frenzy en route to a 7-0 boys soccer victory at Willmar High School.
“Despite the final score, I thought we started slow,” Cardinals head coach Jeff Winter said. “The team definitely turned it on in the second half.”
Sauk Rapids scored a goal off a free kick with the match scoreless, but the goal was called back due to a player caught offside.
After the goal was overturned, Willmar’s junior striker Isaac Zelaya Velasquez and junior midfielder Idd Ali took over.
Both of the attacking players for the Cardinals scored their first goals of the match in a 2-0 first half. Zelaya Velasquez got Willmar off to an early lead with a goal from senior defender Kadar Muhumed at the 13-minute mark.
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“Isaac’s one of our lead-by-example captains,” Winter said. “He is determined and he never seems to quit. We asked him to step it up in the second half and he did.”
Zelaya Velasquez assisted on two of Ali’s three goals. Ali assisted on Zelaya Velasquez’s second of the night.
“Idd’s combination of speed and skill,” Winter said of what makes Ali special. “He’s faster than pretty much everyone on the field most nights.”
The Cardinals outshot Sauk Rapid, 12-2. Willmar is now 2-0 Central Lakes Conference and 3-0 overall record. Sauk Rapids is 0-3 and 0-3.
Willmar is host to Princeton at 2 p.m. Saturday at Willmar High School.
Willmar 7, Sauk Rapids 0
Sauk Rapids (0-3)................. 0 0 — 0
Willmar (3-0).......................... 2 5 — 7
FIRST HALF – (1) W: Isaac Zelaya Velasquez (Kadar Muhumed), 13th minute … (2) W: Idd Ali, 35th minute
SECOND HALF – (3) W: Ali (Zelaya Velasquez), 45th minute … (4) W: Zelaya Velasquez (Ali), 56th minute … (5) W: Nathan Marthaler (Zelaya Velasquez), 60th minute … (6) W: Ali (Zelaya Velasquez) 63rd minute … (7) W: Carson Brown, 73rd minute
SHOTS ON GOAL – SR: 2. W: 12.
GOALIE SAVES – SR: Josh Tapio, 5… W: Andrew Ziebarth, 2
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Minnewaska 4, St. John’s Prep 3
Junior forward Blake Nelson scored the winner in overtime to help Minnewaska past St. John’s Prep in a Granite Ridge Conference match at Glenwood.
Nelson scored in the 87th minute. Senior offensive midfielder Aaron Feigum got an assist.
“We still have a lot to improve on,” Minnewaska head coach Ted Hill said. “We played better defense in the second half. In fact, we played some of our best defense of the season.”
Hill said the Lakers implemented a formation that used four backs instead of three.
“That extra back seemed to make a big difference for us,” said Hill, who said his team is still trying to figure out its best formation, having used three different ones so far.Minnewaska plays St. Cloud Cathedral at 5 p.m. Thursday at Whitney Park in St. Cloud.
St. John’s Prep (1-2)................. 3 0 0 — 3
Minnewaska (1-3)...................... 2 1 1 — 4
FIRST HALF – (1) M: Aaron Feigum (Jenaro Contreras Mondragon) 9th minute … (2) SJP: Cole Butenhoff-Phillips 23rd minute … (3) SJP: Evan Danielson (free kick) 26th minute … (4) SJP: Eli Perry (Butenhoff-Phillips) 27th minute … (5) M: Je. Contreras Mondragon (Blake Nelson) 30th minute
SECOND HALF – (6) M: Jose Contreras Mondragon (Connor Quelle) 67th minute
OVERTIME – Nelson (Feigum) 87th minute
SHOTS ON GOAL – SJP: 6. M: 14
GOALIE SAVES – SJP: Daniel Huang, 10 saves … M: Tenzin Dahl, 3 saves
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Girls Soccer
Sauk Rapids 2, Willmar 0
Sauk Rapids earned its first win of the season by beating Willmar at Sauk Rapids.
Willmar is now 1-3 in the Central Lakes Conference and 1-4 overall. Sauk Rapids improved to 1-2 in the CLC and 1-2-1 overall.
“We couldn’t get the ball in the back of the net,” Willmar head coach Rebekah Cleary said. “Opportunities and chances aren’t what add up, goals add up.“When you can’t get the ball in the back of the net, that’s what shows up.”
Gabrielle Fernholz scored two second-half goals for the Storm.
Goalkeeper Keianna Hillenbrand had nine saves for the Cardinals.
Willmar’s next scheduled match is Monday at Rocori.
Willmar (1-4)............................... 0 0 — 0
Sauk Rapids (1-2-1)................... 0 2 — 2
FIRST HALF – No scoring
SECOND HALF – (1) SR: Gabrielle Fernholz (Abby Feddema), 63:37 … (2) SR: Fernholz, 69:20
GOALIE SAVES – W: Keianna Eichhorst, 9 saves … SR: n/a
