SPORTS WRAP
Captains reflect
The Owatonna boys’ soccer team finished second in the Big Nine standings. A tie with Winona prevented them from tying Rochester Mayo for the league crown. And then there’s the section final game against Mayo, a 2-1 decision in overtime with a tough finish.
“I think it’s crazy. We were five minutes away,” said senior captain Ty Svenby in an Owatonna Live Coaches Show appearance. “I don’t think I’m over it [yet] because of overtime and what happened. Eventually I’ll probably get over it and I’ll be good.”
He looks back on a great overall season and time spent with fellow seniors. “We were playing since we were nine, ten… That’d be the group I’d want to go out with because I’d been with them forever. It was just a good bond with all of them,” said Svenby, who is working on a decision where to play college soccer.
Senior Benny Bangs added, “I fell like we gave everything we had to give [against Mayo]… This season was a lot of fun. Just a lot of good times with the guys. A lot of great memories that we made.”
Bangs is working on strengthening his shoulder to be ready for the hockey season. Bangs, who became Owatonna’s all-time leader in goals scored this season, told Steele County Times reporter Johnnie Phillips, “I put in a lot of work in the offseason and just out with my friends working on our game.”
Mr./Ms soccer finalists
Bangs and senior Ava Stanchina both earned All-State honors and were finalists for Mr. and Ms. Soccer. Svenby said of Bangs, “He’s big. He’s fast. He can finish. He’s very hard working.”
Long soccer tradition
Longtime head coach Bob Waypa is proud of the culture the soccer team is setting as the program marked its 25th year, led by captains Svenby, Bangs, Kraus, and Nils Gantert.
“We were focusing on FIT… focus, intensity, and tempo,” said Waypa. “What we did this year was going to be the standard. Everything we did from Day One was going to be the new standard for soccer in Owatonna, going forward. So, they set the bar pretty high.”
Year 26 should be great too, says Bangs. “I think [they’ll] have a really strong attack next year with Garrett [Karsten] and Ashton [Kraus] and then Zach Knott. I think those three will be really deadly up top. And then also I think the leadership that the upper-class next year will bring is gonna be really good.”
Seniors were Bangs, Svenby, Gantert, Braden Leonard, Blake Burmeister, Landon Fox, Drew Henson, Rolando Maya, Aaron Bissonette, and Trayton Fisher. The Huskies finished 14-4-1, 9-1-1 in the Big Nine.
Hockey getting started
Coming off a strong performance at Lakeville North in the soccer section semifinal, many of those same girls hit the ice for the beginning of hockey tryouts back on Oct. 31.
Senior Ezra Oien announced her commitment to play Division I hockey at the University of Vermont late this summer. “Went out for a visit end of July and just fell in love with the campus, the coaches. Everything just checked my boxes, and I’m really excited to play at the next competitive level,” she said.
Oien said an important factor is the school fulfills her interest of a Pre-Med major. She dreamed about playing college hockey as a “little kid” and the reality of it started to present itself her sophomore year.
Owatonna scrimmages at St. Michael-Albertville on Friday at 6:30 p.m. and opens the season on Saturday at Buffalo at 3 p.m. Their home opener is Thursday, Nov. 17 against Mankato East. You’ll see it on Owatonna Live with Tom Breuer and myself on the coverage. OHS will play four road games during the month with just the one home contest and only have two home dates in December.
Oien led the Huskies with 40 points last season on 17 goals and 23 assists and is a member of the 100-point club for her career. The Huskies bring back seven of their top eight scorers and supplement them with the addition of Stanchina to the lineup.
Stanchina to play hockey
Stanchina, who will play Division I soccer, says coaches at NDSU encouraged her to play hockey this season with the Huskies. She had 12 goals and nine assists in her sophomore season with Northfield in 2020-21. “I’m pretty excited to be back on the ice,” she said.
Stanchina led the Huskies with 15 goals and added eight assists during the soccer season. “I’ve played club this past year and I think that really helped. And all the girls around me pushing me. I think it’s been really good,” she said.
“I had to make the decision last year to play hockey or soccer year-round. And so I played soccer. I took a shot with it.”
Regarding NDSU, she added, “The culture there and the coaching staff, it was just a pretty good fit for me, and a really easy decision.”
Junior Molly Achterkirch is among the multitude of players switching from the pitch to the rink. “I’m super excited. I think a lot of us are going to come in with good, intense emotions…everyone has many goals for this season,” she said.
Different look
The section will have a different look this season with Dodge County shifting to Class A. The Wildcats have been a perennial power in Section 1AA with several finals’ appearances. But they have never gotten over the South Suburban jinx. In nine of the last ten years, the Wildcats were eliminated by a South Suburban Conference team.
Owatonna knocked out Dodge County a couple of years ago. The Wildcats have beaten the Huskies in the playoffs too. The teams square off on Dec. 8 in Owatonna. Section 1AA for the girls will consist of Owatonna, Northfield, Mayo, Century/John Marshall co-op, Lakeville South, Lakeville North, and Farmington.
Tigers swing with Cougars
The Medford volleyball squad battled well early against top-seed and No. 2 ranked Zumbrota-Mazeppa in the Section 1AA quarterfinals at Mayo Civic Center. The first set was back-and-forth much of the way. The Cougars grabbed the early lead in each of the subsequent sets for a sweep in a match covered by Brad Betterman and Dan Weisbrod for Owatonna Live. Z-M was then upset by Caledonia in the semifinal in a five-set thriller.
Seniors for the Tigers included: Andrea Bock, Morgan Jones, Jenesis McGuire, Adalia List, Payton Ristau, Reagan Sutherland and Isis Walters.
Coach Missy Underdahl made an early-season appearance on the Owatonna Live Coaches Show. Her captains were Bock, Ristau and junior Annette Kniefel. “They just show great leadership all the way around, especially with Andrea being my only starter that’s back from any of our varsity squad… They’ve really stepped up,” Underdahl said.
Danglefest set
Grab a burger and a brew to benefit the Owatonna Huskie Blue Line Club during Danglefest on Friday, Dec. 2 at Torey’s Restaurant and Bar from 6 to 10 p.m. Enjoy live music from Old Country Boys and bid on silent auction items. Tickets are $30 and are only available in advance. Contact Christine Bangs at 507-363-0958.