Champlin's Nathan SeegerChamplin Park's explosive offense and home field advantage sparked the Rebels to a 5-2 win over visiting Maple Grove 5-2 in a Section boys' soccer final Friday, Oct. 23.
The game matched two teams that endured different difficulties this season. The sixth-seeded Crimson got off to a slow start and won only two of its first 12 games. They ten went on a late 5-1 run and beat defending state champion Osseo to reach the section final. The fourth-seeded Rebels opened the season winning nine of their first 10 games. Then injuries hit and they lost six of their final seven regular season contests. But they got healthy in time for sections and they beat Spring Lake Park 2-1, blanked top-seeded Centennial 2-0 before defeating the Crimson in the championship.
Maple Grove came out strong and applied early pressure but the Rebels defense held and goalie Michael McNelly came up with big saves. The Rebels finally settled in and forced a corner kick when a hard shot by senior captain John Levenick required MG goalie Mike Leszko to make a fine save. On the ensuing corner kick, the ball popped loose in front of the goal and senior midfielder Ayub Baker booted it home to give CP a 1-0 halftime lead.
The game matched two teams that endured different difficulties this season. The sixth-seeded Crimson got off to a slow start and won only two of its first 12 games. They ten went on a late 5-1 run and beat defending state champion Osseo to reach the section final. The fourth-seeded Rebels opened the season winning nine of their first 10 games. Then injuries hit and they lost six of their final seven regular season contests. But they got healthy in time for sections and they beat Spring Lake Park 2-1, blanked top-seeded Centennial 2-0 before defeating the Crimson in the championship.
Maple Grove came out strong and applied early pressure but the Rebels defense held and goalie Michael McNelly came up with big saves. The Rebels finally settled in and forced a corner kick when a hard shot by senior captain John Levenick required MG goalie Mike Leszko to make a fine save. On the ensuing corner kick, the ball popped loose in front of the goal and senior midfielder Ayub Baker booted it home to give CP a 1-0 halftime lead.
Champlin Park's boys soccer team gathers around their section championship trophy. The Rebels (11-7) play No. 2 seed Woodbury (15-0-3) Oct. 30 at 7:30 pm at Park High School in Cottage Grove. The semifinals are Nov. 2 at the Dome and the state championship is Nov. 5 at the Dome. Photo by Bob San
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