All-Missota Conference
(photos by Jim Lindquist)
The 2011 Tiger boys soccer season was one of firsts. First season with a record above .500 (8-7-2). First finish in the upper division of the Missota Conference (4-2-1; 3rd place). First team to win four consecutive games. First section Coach of the Year honor.
"Everything is pointing in the right direction," Section 1AA Coach of the Year Julian Buss said. "We were competitive in 14 of our 16 games with four of our seven losses being by one goal.
"We looked better as a soccer team. We still have plenty of work to do. We want to be conference and section contenders every year."
Eighteen players received varsity letters at the post-season banquet, including seven seniors: Tri-captains Chad Stivers, Sam Leske and Brandon Scott and Cole Landwehr, Michael Ricker, Tyler Vue and Alec Hogstad.
Juniors Tyler Petter-McCauley, Urive Omana, Reid Wolfe and Kaid Nokos, sophomores Blake Smith, Jeffrey Hanson, Hunter Meyers, Eric Stoeckman and Jared Wolt and freshmen Robin DeCastro and Kenneth Riley also earned varsity monograms this season.
Sam Leske (bottom) All-Missota Conference; Second-team All-State
Cole Landwehr All-Missota Conference
(photos by Jim Lindquist)
Keeper Stivers (1.7 goals against average), forwards Landwehr and Scott (16 points apiece) and sweeper Leske (2 goals)all made the prestigious all-Missota Conference team. Ricker and Vue each received all-league honorable mention.
Leske was named to the all-state second team, the first time a Farmington boys' player has received a state-level honor.
Buss said he eliminated other individual awards this season and will continue that policy in upcoming years.
"My philosophy is to emphasize the 'team' in team sports," he said, "and I wish to recognize the efforts of the team's seniors. This year each of them received a miniature soccer ball with our logo and the signatures of their teammates on it."
Buss said the season just completed was chock full of highlights: the winning record, the record participation numbers (60), four players on the all-conference team, a surprising 0-0 tie with defending Section 1AA champion Lakeville North and his Section 1AA Coach of the Year selection.
His biggest thrill, however, came in a 1-0 victory over league runner-up Northfield.
"That was a turning point for our program," he said. "Northfield has a strong program and has dominated us in the past. I told the boys at the beginning of the season that if there was one team I wanted to beat it was Northfield."
About the only debits on the Tigers' ledger were the one-goal losses to three section teams that resulted in a lower-than-desired seed in the post-season and one-sided losses to Holy Angels and Bloomington Kennedy.
With 11 returning letter winners and a large crop of younger hopefuls (including a record 20 juniors) returning next fall, Buss is optimistic about the future of his program.
"Our junior varsity and B-squad had great success in developing our players' soccer skills," he said. "Additionally, I anticipate highly-skilled players continuing to come up from our middle schools to challenge for roster spots."
Although the future is promising Buss was quick to point out the contributions of this year's senior class will be missed when practice begins next August.
"This group was small but the most tightly knit group I have seen here," he said. "They have been playing soccer together for a long time and it showed in their leadership and ability.
"Three years ago we won three games and last year we won six. This season we beat eight teams and tied two. This class has shown continued improvement and has played a major role in the development of our program."
