Posted: 7/25/07
North Branch soccer is a girls world
 Shebret Croes from the Under 14 team team makes a play on the ball during a district semi-final against Maplebrook. North Branch won the game 4-0. |
By Steve Morris
Kristina Grand and Hannah Solomon know how to play soccer when the game and the season are on the line.
The two North Branch girls each scored a goal in an overtime shoot out against the Northwest Kickers Soccer club to win the Under 13 Classic III district championship Monday night at the National Sports Complex in Blaine. The win gave them a berth into the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association State Tournament. The week long tournament starts July 27 and ends Aug. 3.
The U13 team is coached by Dave Alm and they finished with a record of 6-3-3. During the regular season, they scored 17 goals while letting in 13.
During league play they finished in 4th place.
Peter Grand, the North Branch Area Youth Soccer Association Coaching Director and the new girls varsity coach said he was surprised the U13 team has done so well in districts.
Alm had seven new girls on the team who had little soccer experience and for him to mold the team into a state birth, is an accomplishment, Grand said.
"State is always something special," Grand said. "It will be a great experience for them."
The U13 team is not the only soccer team heading to the MYSA state tournament. In fact, two other North Branch girls teams have qualified for the state soccer tournament.
The Under 12 squad
The North Branch U12 team is perhaps the most accomplished of the three teams. The girls earned an automatic bid to the state tournament because they took second place in their district and therefore didn't have to play in the district tournament.
Head coach Paul Pignato said they were the first traveling soccer team from North Branch, for boys or girls, to qualify for an automatic berth to state.
They finished the season 10-1-1. Pignato said they scored "way more" than 50 goals this season.
Pignato who also serves as the NBAYSA traveling coordinator, said all the girls' dedication and hard work has finally begun to pay off.
Because they played so well this season, the U12 team was promoted to classic II division next summer, which is a more competitive league.
Pat Tepoorten, head coach of the Chisago U12 girls team, has played them twice this season -- losing once, tieing the other. That said, the cross-town coach knows North Branch's U12 team well.
"They are a tough team with outstanding ball movement," Tepoorten said. "They have a chance to make it deep in the state tournament."
The Under 14 squad
The U14 girls defeated Fridley in the district championship Monday night by a score of 3-2. The win gave the girls a berth at this weekends state tournament.
Alina Amunrud scored two goals and Laura Backus added another to secure the win.
Grand said strong defensive work combined with good midfield possession and continuous attacking made the difference in the game.
The U14 team is now 7-0-3 heading into the state tournament.
Grand said what makes this team tick is its strong core of girls who have played together for many years and have developed a type of bond that is difficult to snap on a field.
Like the U12 team, the girls were promoted to the classic II division for next year, which will give them better competition.
Many of the girls on the U14 team may have a promising varsity career at North Branch and Grand has been keeping an eye on them.
"A few of them have the potential to make varsity if they step it up a bit," Grand said.
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