The Owatonna Girl’s Soccer team was 10-8 this season. The Huskies got third place in the Big 9 to Mankato East and Mankato West. One of the outstanding players for the Huskies was Ava Stanchina who was in the running for Ms. Soccer and made the First All- State soccer team. 

Stanchina had 15 goals and eight assists on the season. This was Stanchina’s first year as a Huskie. Stanchina said, “My favorite part of the season was definitely beating my old teammates from Northfield and scoring my first Huskie goal.” Stanchina is also involved in hockey and SHOC and in her free time likes to be with friends and family. Head coach Nate Gendron said, “Ava brought a new energy for us this year. We were a really skilled team before she joined our squad, but when she joined we became an exciting team. People would get excited every time she touched the ball because of the possibilities she could create for herself or for others.” 

Stanchina had many amazing games throughout her only season as a Huskie. Coach Gendron said, “A big game for Ava was the Northfield game. It’s really tough playing against your best friends and players that you have played with for three years. We could tell she was a little nervous but she played a great game. She didn’t officially score because the goal was called offsides, however, we all know she actually was in a great position and the goal should have counted. Another key game would have been the first round of sections against Rochester Century. Ava had the game winning goal to advance us to the semi-finals and it was so fun watching the entire team celebrate with her.” Stanchina scored many key goals for the Huskies throughout the year.

Stanchina will be attending North Dakota State University next fall to play Division I soccer. When Stanchina was younger, she dreamed of playing college hockey, but when she joined the Minnesota Thunder Academy soccer team she decided to play soccer. Trough being on the MTA team, she got lots of exposure to many different coaches from all over the United States. When Stanchina attends NDSU in the fall of 2023, she is considering majoring in athletic training.