Anoka Stands in the Way of St. Michael-Albertville Soccer State Bids

The road to the State AA Soccer Tournament will go through Anoka, as the St. Michael-Albertville girls and boys soccer teams both square off with the Tornadoes in Anoka tonight.

The boys' game will kick off at 5 p.m., followed by the girls at 7 p.m. The winners advance the final eight.

"We think we're a good enough team to go to state this year. We missed by one game last year, and that was hard. This is the year we go," said senior defenseman Andrea Boisner of the girls' squad.

The Knights girls' team has been on a tear as of late, sparked mainly by a stout defense. STMA has pounded its Section 8-2A opponents by a count of 8-2 in two games, including Saturday's 5-1 blowout of the Moorhead Spuds, where five different Knights got into the scoring column.

"I'm impressed with how far we've come as a team this season," said head coach Megan Johnson. "A lot of girls have stepped up."

Anoka and STMA faced off the day after homecoming, with the Tornadoes winning 2-1.

"We know they're beatable," Johnson said. "We can play better."

For the boys, this is all new territory. The Knights won their first ever Section 8-2A game with a dominating performance over Rogers. Saturday, STMA needed a second half equalizer, two scoreless overtimes and two rounds of a shootout to pull out a section semifinal win.

"Goalkeeper Cole Christian made a big save on the first shot [by Elk River], and we were able to hang on," said Darek Dewey, boys' head coach.

The boys' regular season prepared them for this kind of run, as Dewey hinted early in the season.

"I think our quality of opponent will be good throughout the season, so that's going to help us at the end," he told St. Michael Patch.