Posted: 8/8/07
State tournament is worthy opponent for local girls teams
 U12 captain Molly Pignato on the prowl during a recent soccer game. The U12 team, along with two other North Branch girls soccer teams, competed in the Minnesota Youth Soccer State Tournament the week of July 27 through Aug. 3. |
By Steve Morris
As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.
Three North Branch teams' chances of becoming state champions fell a few goals short as none of the girls teams who qualified for the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association State Tournament won their age division.
This isn't to say their season was a failure.
"I am happy with the season, but disappointed we didn't make it farther at state," head coach of the U12 team Paul Pignato said.
The U12 team lost to Rochester in the semi-finals by a score of 4-1.
The girls got off to a rocky start against Rochester and let in three goals in the first five minutes of play.
The girls were a little "shell shocked" at being down early, Pignato said.
"We had never been scored on like that before," he said.
"It was frustrating," Molly Pignato said.
Rochester advanced the state championship game where they battled South St. Paul and lost 2-1.
"We're really proud of the girls, we couldn't have asked for a better group," Paul Pignato said.
U13 team
The North Branch U13 team, didn't have the gusto to advance to the championship. The team, which is coached by Dave Alm, tied Mahtomedi at 0, beat St. Michael 3-1 and then lost to Mahtomedi 2-1.
Arrowhead and Prior Lake battled it out in the U13 championship game. Arrowhead inched away victorious with a 2-1 win.
U14 team
The U14, which is coached by Peter Grand, went 2-1-1 at the state tournament. They fell to Plymouth 0-4, and then played them again, this time winning 2-0. They also played Shakopee, tieing once and winning once.
Bangu defeated St. Croix Valley in the championship game by a score of 7-0.
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