(photo by Jim Lindquist)
Trevor Howard 1 goal 3 assists
It took a year and five games but the Tigers are officially a winner after an impressive 12-4 non-conference victory Friday night, Apr. 29, at Owatonna.
The significance of the the first varsity win for the young program was not lost on coach Paul Sorenson.
"One victory changes everything," he said. "It builds momentum and confidence and proves that if you work hard enough, anything is possible...If we played like we did against Owatonna against Lakeville South and John Marshall, we would most likely be 3-2 (instead of 1-4) and on our way.
"The difference between three win teams and one win teams at this point is purely consistent work ethic over 48 minutes."
Mitch Collier had a huge offensive day for the Tigers, scoring five goals. Jake Bauman added two scores and Trevor Howard, Ian Eich, Marquis Words and Matt Ackerman tallied one apiece. Howard also had a trio of assists for the winners.
Farmington came out of the gate on fire, scoring seven unanswered goals in the first period on the way to a 7-2 halftime lead.
The Tigers put together another strong start after intermission with three straight scores to put the game away.
"We showed resilience," Sorenson said. "We jumped out early in the second half and never looked back."
Sorenson called the historic win his team's "best and most complete game" in the short life span of the program.
"We dominated play in all three phases of the game," he said, "offense, defense and in transition."
Blair Berg and Jake Mendala led the defensive effort that allowed the fewest-ever goals by a Farmington opponent. Goalkeeper Charlie Weierke stopped 13 of 17 shots to post the victory.
