Fifth Straight Finals
October 15, 2016
The Owatonna Boys Soccer team finished off their regular season on a high note with three straight wins. The Huskies came a long way from their 0-2-1 start and made a point throughout the season that they were not a team to be taken lightly; taking down two top five teams in the state – Minnetonka and Austin, along the way. When asked about the season, Senior goaltender Aidan Buryska said, “Minnetonka and Austin were huge wins for the team this year. There were some times this season where morale was really low and the Austin game especially helped to lift the team while headed into sections.”
Moving into the postseason, the heated Huskies were awarded the fourth seed and opened up section play with a first round matchup against the fifth seeded Mayo Spartans. The boys put on a show and took them down with a big 4-1 home victory, boosting the team into the section semi-final game against the number one seed, Lakeville North. Knowing that this was going to be their biggest game to date, the Huskies knew that they would have to come out fast and establish a lead early. They did exactly that, with senior captain Daniel Keller and junior forward Nate Smith putting two goals away in the first half. With a scoreless second half, the Huskies shut out the number one seed and clinched a spot in the section final game for the fifth year in a row. Head coach Bob Waypa says, “You always want to be playing your best soccer as a player and as a team, but more importantly it’s when you’re playing your best soccer that matters most. We are playing our best soccer at the right time.” Their next game will be at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at Farmington High School where they take on the number two seed Tigers.
