WPSL Wrap Up: Week 2
Wednesday
St Croix Legacy 2-1 Salvo SC
St Croix Legacy played back from the kick off to the final whistle, absorbing the much higher line of Salvo’s pressure and countering. That strategy netted the go-ahead goal courtesy of a connection between two St Croix locals – a header from Concordia St Paul’s Stella Nielsen connecting with ferocity on a corner in the 20th minute from CJ Fredkove, currently going to St Thomas.
Salvo, on the other hand, also seemed wedded to a strategy – high tempo, close passing despite the relentless defense of Legacy in their personal space. The first half was seen out with Sophia Barjesteh peppering corners in to the St Croix area with no finish.
The visitors equalized in the 65th minute after a cross by another Tommie, Sofia Englund was neatly tapped home by Lauren Eckerle of South Dakota State. Salvo pushed further forward, but with the literal last play of the match, CJ Fredkove got her second assist of the contest, with a searching ball down the left wing in stoppage time. Tatum Trettel tight-roped the left sideline and drove towards goal, before slotting the ball past Ayden Gagner in the Salvo net and into the far side netting. The only action left in the match was the final whistle. I think Trettel might still be running.
Friday 30th May
Mankato United SC 1-3 Salvo SC
Riley Lijewski (An Ohio State Buckeye out of River Falls, WI) scored twice – once each from open play and the penalty spot to key an easy victory for Salvo. Katelyn Beulke (out of Hugo, MN and currently a South Dakota State Jackrabbit) also scored for the metro side and Mankato United claimed a consolation from Jade Jackson (one of the many players on the roster who plays for MN State University Mankato).
Minnesota Bliss FC 3-1 Manitou FC
Mergers and co-ops are all over the youth soccer landscape, so I guess it was inevitable that they would impact the next step in the women’s football pathway. Minnesota Bliss FC’s predecessors and parent clubs reach across the West Metro from Plymouth, Wayzata, Shorewood, Minnetonka, Deephaven to Maple Grove and Brooklyn Park in the Northwest of the Twin Cities. MapleBrook played the Fury in WPSL last season and Tonka Fusion Elite played very successfully in UPSL W. This year, the two clubs joined up to field Bliss FC. The new venture showed a high level of cohesion in their first match, blitzing the visitors from White Bear Lake, MN with incisive passes from midfield through the center of the Manitou FC defense.
30 seconds in, North Dakota State’s Loretta Wacek, out of Saint Paul, MN, broke away down the middle and slotted home the opener. An absolute blast from outside the area in the 20th minute by Bemidji State Beaver Ella Wade, who’s from Rogers, MN, made it a two goal lead. Manitou’s consolation was scored by Madeleine Thompson (who is still a high school student, at White Bear Lake).
Minnesota Dutch Lions FC 1-1 Joy AC
Another club to go through a change this offseason is Rochester United FC, who became the 11th side in the sprawling Dutch Lions FC organization. The home side broke the deadlock in the 45th min, with a blast from Viterbo and Brookfield, WI’s Abby Mumm on the edge of the area. Brooke Nast equalized, barely 5 minutes after half time.
Sunday 1st June
Mankato United 1-1 Minnesota Dutch Lions FC
Good cross in from the left by Kiera Laney in the 24th minute, was headed firmly past the Dutch Lions keeper Anna Lundeen by Allie Hartig to put the home side ahead. Abby Mumm is two-in-two, after a wedge over Ella Lynse to equalize in the 63rd minute.
Minnesota Bliss FC 3-0 Joy AC
Driving in from the right, Ella O’Keefe (from Plymouth, MN) slotted past the Joy keeper in the 34th minute for Bliss. The hosts doubled their lead in the 48th minute, a pinball header from Loretta Wacek off a right wing corner. Wacek set up her own second, bursting down the left wing, then popping up in the box to finish the move and make it 3-0.
Minnesota Thunder 1-6 Salvo SC
Unaccountably a blowout victory for the road team. Minnesota Golden Gopher Avery Petty opened the scoring for Salvo after only 4 minutes with a volley from the top of the box past the Colorado Buffalo Brooke Goerish. South Dakota State’s Katelyn Beulke then doubled the lead in the 20th minute, weaving her way down the center of the box. Another quarter hour passed, with play going from box to box but neither team scoring before Sofia Barjesteh (St Thomas), teed up and then volleyed into the top corner from the top of the Thunder box.
In the 50th minute, a Thunder ball in from the right saw the attacker in the middle miss her kick and Salvo countered clinically, Salvo’s Davy Mokelke (Another Gopher) finishing it off. The fifth goal came only three minutes later, another fast break by Salvo, finished off by Elle Wildman (Iowa) after a defense splitting pass from Molly Fiedler (most recently the Head Coach of St Olaf). Another three minutes went by, and Ashley Thurk (Yet another Minnesota player) made a mazy run and finish, all the way up from right back.
Thunder’s sole goal went in the hole after Vivian Rojas-Collins’s (most recently Pomona), whipped cross was converted by Kendall Stadden (Former MN Golden Gopher, now a North Dakota State Bison).
All in all, an unusually large margin for Thunder to lose by, but not at all unusual a goal difference for Salvo. They don’t have long at all to wait for a rematch.