Girls Soccer: A whitewash in Rochester

Keeper Ashley Becker posted first shutout of the season (file photo by Jim Lindquist)

Ashley Becker registered her first shutout of the season and Kelly Kornmann and Alex Frost each scored a goal as the Tigers upped their record to 3-1-1 with a 2-0 victory over Section 1 foe Rochester John Marshall Thursday night in Rochester.

Becker and the stingy Tiger defense combined to give up just one score in their two games this week. Farmington tied Lakeville South 1-1 on Tuesday.

Kornmann scored on an assist from Kelli Elmer for the only score of the opening half and Frost closed the scoring in the second stanza with an assist going to Megan Graham.

"The first half was good but the second was unreal in terms of attitude and intensity," coach Rob Carpentier said. "We put a lot of ball pressure on them. The girls were flying all around the field."

The Tigers held a wide 25-5 lead in shot attempts and Becker had a relatively quiet night in goal although she did have to stop one breakaway by the Rockets.

Carpentier said the return of Elmer to the lineup had a big effect on his team's overall play.

"Getting Kelli back adds a whole new dimension to our play," he said.

Next week is a big one for the Tigers with a Tuesday match-up with section rival Rochester Century followed by tough assignment against Chanhassen in their Missota Conference opener.

"Thursday's game could decide the conference title," Carpentier said.

Tiger Scoreboard: September 1, 2012

Football
Farmington 19 Rochester Mayo 7

Boys Cross Country
Dakota County Classic at Eagan
Apple Valley 60, New Prague 66, Eagan 97, Lakeville North 97, Farmington 108, Hastings 120, Richfield 160

Girls Cross Country
Dakota County Classic at Eagan
Eagan 28, Lakeville South 49, Forest Lake 86, Eastview 133, Farmington 141, Apple Valley 144, New Prague 151, Hastings 186, Richfield 288

Boys Soccer: Tigers tame JM 3-1

Tyler Petter McCauley 3 goals in the last 2 games (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Tyler Petter McCauley scored a pair of goals and Jared Wolt added another as Farmington won its second game in three days with a 3-1 non-conference triumph over Rochester John Marshall Thursday night at Tiger Stadium.

The victory evened the Tigers' season mark at 2-2 and left coach Julian Buss feeling good about his team's outlook for the remainder 2012 campaign.

"2-2 going into the Labor Day weekend," he said. "That's a good place to be."

Farmington tallied the only goal of the first half at the 26:19 mark when Leslie Adjei took the ball down the right side and richocheted a shot off the crossbar. Wolt headed the rebound off the sidebar before Petter McCauley blasted the rebound into the back of the net.

Midway through the second half Wolt's header off a pass from Blake Smith made it 2-1 and then after the Rockets cut the lead in half, Petter McCauley put the contest away with a score with five minutes left. Smith picked up his second assist of the night on the insurance score.

Isaac Toenjes went the distance in the the net for the Tigers, picking up his first varsity win while stopping 16 of 17 shots.

Wolt and Petter McCauley have now scored three goals apiece in the last two outings while Smith has piled up four assists.

Buss also liked what he saw in Toenjes' performance in goal.

"Credit the Rochester team for taking the shots and challenging him," he said.

Buss said with the Missota Conference schedule just around the corner he feels his team has put itself in a good position.

"Four games down against quality competition and we're 2-1 against Section 1AA teams," he said.

Farmington will look to make it three straight when they travel to Rochester Tuesday, Sept. 6, for a match-up with section rival Rochester Century.

Tiger Scoreboard: Augsust 31, 2012

Boys Soccer
Farmington 3 Rochester John Marshall 1

Girls Soccer
Farmington 2 Rochester John Marshall 0

Volleyball
Rochester John Marshall 3 Farmington 2 (28-26, 18-25, 25-23, 23-25, 10-15)

Girls Tennis: Win streak hits three

Callie Olmscheid 8-0 at No. 3 singles (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Unlike the first two dual meets of the 2012 season, the Tigers didn't leave the court with a shutout victory.

They did, however, leave the Boeckeman Middle School courts Wednesday afternoon with smiles on their faces after a thrilling 4-3 non-conference win over Bloomington Jefferson.

The three-match winning streak  is especially impressive considering the girls managed just two triumphs all of the 2011 season.

"It's been awhile since we've won three meets in a row," coach Jack Olwell said. "It's been very rewarding to see."

The Tigers recorded No. 3 by capturing three of four singles matches and winning at second doubles where Beth Fairchild and Jess Novotny won 6-1, 6-2 in freshman Novotny's varsity debut .

"Jess was out of town the first week," Olwell said. "She and Beth make a good combination. I expect them to get even better as the season progresses."

Jess Novotny/Beth Fairchild receive high-fives (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The other Farmington points came at the top three singles positions where Megan Stivers, Ryan Jara and Callie Olmscheid were all winners.

Stivers won 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1 and drew some praise from her coach.

"Megan's choice of strategies over the last two matches has been excellent," Olwell said. "Tennis rewards good decision makers."

Olwell credited a change of strategy as the difference in Jara's 4-6, 6-4 (10-7) deciding win at No. 2.

"When Ryan elected to try to outlast rather than outhit her opponent the match shifted in her favor," he said, "and more importantly she held her nerve and stayed tough at the critical moments."

Olmscheid ran her season record to a perfect 8-0 with a 6-1 6-4 win at No. 3 in a match that turned from routine into a nail-biter.

"The Jefferson player stiffened and made Callie sweat out the decisive final game," Olwell said.

Molly Rudorfer dropped a 1-6, 3-6 verdict at fourth singles and the No. 1 doubles team of Clare Padrnos and Lindsey Fairchild fell for the first time this season by a 4-6, 3-6 count. The third doubles tandem of Tasha Sinha and Rachel Rees lost 1-6, 1-6.

Farmington will put its thee-match win streak on the line next Tuesday at Burnsville before opening Missota Conference play Thursday at Northfield.

Tiger Scoreboard: August 30, 2012

Girls Tennis
Farmington 4 Bloomington Jefferson 3

Volleyball: Two in a row

Kelsey Lindell goes in for the kill (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The Tigers passed their second test of the season with flying colors with a convincing 25-15, 25-10, 25-8 non-conference win over Irondale Tuesday night at Tiger Gym.

The win was the second straight for Farmington who opened the season with a 3-0 road win at Austin.

The winners built a double digit-lead early in the first game before the Knight battled back to make it close. An 8-1 finish closed the deal for the Tigers.

The final two games held little drama with the home team jumping out to big early leads and allowing coach Mike Woody to get a lot of players into the action.

Student fans dig their team (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Emma Fahning had another solid all-around night for the winners, collecting seven kills and six digs.
 Mia Johnston and Ruthie Schmitt each hit double digits in assists with 13 and 11 respectively.

Rachel Eckert topped the stat sheet in serve receptions (13) and digs (9).

Woody said he used the substitution  revolving door for a couple of reasons.

"The opponent created the opportunity so I wanted to get as many girls in who could possibly contribute in the future," he said.
 "I could see them and they could also get some experience.

"Having that depth might benefit us if we have injuries or someone is having a bad night."

Woody said he continues to be impressed with the continued quality play of Fahning and he was especially pleased with the performance of his middle hitting corps of Kesley Lindell, Kaylene Seurer and Morgan Cecchittini.

The Tigers step up a level in competition Thursday night when they seek their third straight win  in a non-conference match against Rochester John Marshall at Tiger Gym.

Emily Nelson slams one down (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Girls Soccer: No pay for overtime work

Naomi Wood 2nd goal of the season (photo by Jim Lindquist)

For 65 minutes Thursday night Farmington (2-1-1) appeared on its way to a shutout win over a solid Lakeville South (2-0-1) team.

But a disputed goal and two overtime sessions later the teams left the artificial surface of Tiger stadium deadlocked at 1-1.

Farmington took the lead in the first half on Naomi Wood's second goal of the season off an assist from Alex Frost.

From the end line, Frost slotted the ball to the streaking Wood who re-directed it by the defenseless Cougar keeper for the lead.

A great run by Naomi and a great pass by Alex," Tiger coach Rob Carpentier said.

From there until the 15-minute mark of the second period the defenses dominated with quality scoring opportunities few and far between for both teams.

South tied the count 15 minutes into the second half after a scrum in front of the Tiger net that Carpentier questioned.

"I thought our keeper was interfered with," he said. "The official did a good job and gave me a reasonable explanation. That's all you can ask for as a coach....It was dis-jointed and shouldn't have happened but that's where we learn and we move on."

Alex Frost assist on Farmington goal (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Farmington finished with a 12 to 10 advantage in the shot department in the defensive-minded affair.

We had four good scoring chances and they had two," Carpentier said. "It was a very even game but we could have put it away in the first half."

The Tigers try to get back into the win column Thursday when they take on Section 1 rival Rochester John Marshall in Rochester.

Girls Tennis: Sizzling start continues

Megan Stivers 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 winner at No. 1 singles (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Good things keep happening for the resurgent Tigers.

Monday night in Bloomington coach Jack Olwell's young team won its second straight dual meet in shutout fashion with a 7-0 non-conference triumph over Bloomington Kennedy.

Not only did the win keep the Tigers unbeaten (2-0) in dual play, it also matched their entire victory total from all last season when they finished 2-13.

"We had a good day at the office on Monday," Olwell said. "I expected a fairly tight match even though we had good luck when we played them in the doubles tournament where they showed they had some good ball strikers."

Three of the four singles matches were straight set sweeps by Ryan Jara, Callie Olmscheid and Molly Rudorfer at the second, third and fourth positions. Megan Stivers had to work a little harder at the No. 1 spot, rallying for a 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 victory.

"This was a confidence builder for Megan for two reasons," Olwell said. "First, she came back after a tough first set and didn't let a close loss or the prospect of another two potentially grueling sets dissuade her from staying focused and on task.

"Second, she raised the level of her play considerably, hitting as well as she has all year for a sustained stretch. It was fun to watch."

At No. 1 doubles, Clare Padrnos and Lindsey Fairchild lost their first set of the year, but still remained unbeaten with a 6-0, 4-6, 6-0 win.

The second and third doubles teams of  Beth Fairchild/Alyson Kelly and Rachel Rees/Tasha Sinha cruised to straight set wins.

Wednesday the Tigers look to make it two in a row over Bloomington schools when they host Jefferson at the Boeckman Middle School courts.

Girls Swimming; O'Reilly sets record at Northfield

Kaitlyn O'Reilly set pool record in 100 backstroke (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Junior Kaitlyn O'Reilly broke the pool record in the 100 backstroke in Farmington's 101-85 dual meet loss Tuesday night at the Northfield Middle School pool.

The Raiders won 10 of 12 events in the Missota Conference opener with O'Reilly providing both Farmington firsts, adding a victory in the 200 individual medley to her record time of 57.89 in the 100 back.

"There were two pool records set in the meet," Tiger coach Jen Marshall said. "Northfield also set a new one in the medley relay. That shows how fast things are right now.

"We were very pleased with the meet. We're leaps and bounds faster out of the gate which should make for very fast times come the championship season."

Seven Tigers earned second place finishes in the meet, including two each by Kristen Kracke and Cora Ruzicka. Kracke finished runner-up in the 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke; Ruzicaka took second in the 100 butterfly and 500 freestyle.

The other second place efforts were turned in by Ellie Sundet in the 200 freestyle; Chelsea Gehrke in the 100 breaststroke and Nikki Cayard in one-meter diving.

Third place Farmington finishers included Sara Kintner in the 500 freestyle and 100 breaststroke; Gehrke, 200 medley; Sundet, 100 freestyle; Robin Ellis, 50 freestyle and Kendall Novak, diving.

"There are a lot of things we need to improve in our races," Marshall said. "It almost scares me how fast we would have been if those things had been fine tuned for this meet. There's always room for improvement though."

The Tigers' next chance to show improvement comes next Thursday, Sept. 6, when they entertain Red Wing in a Missota Conference dual meet at the Dodge Middle School pool.

Boys Soccer: Tigers corner South 3-1

Jared Wolt (No. 14) and friends celebrate the third Tiger goal (photos by Jim Lindquist)

Farmington (1-2) broke its scoring drought and posted its first win of the season, a 3-1 victory over Lakeville South Tuesday night at Tiger Stadium.

The regular offense still didn't produce a goal but three scores off Blake Smith corner kicks in the opening half proved more than enough to get the job done.

All three goals came on headers within a 10-minute span early in the half, two by Jared Wolt and one by Tyler Petter-McCauley who also had an assist on the first score.

Tiger keeper Sam Peterson in a cat fight with two Cougars

"This was a very physical match on both sides," Tiger coach Julian Buss said. "Coming off two games where we were unable to finish, it was great to see the way the boys attacked the net. Blake had outstanding placement on his corner kicks.

"We spent a great deal of time in practice working on getting shots off and following up with headers. You won't see many games where three corners are converted to goals in one half."
South scored 14 minutes into the second half to close out the scoring.

Keeper Sam Peterson went the distance in net, posting his first varsity win with four saves in each half.

Buss said he is still looking for more offense out of his forwards and that will be a focus in the weeks and games ahead.

"Like most teams, we send two boys at forward but so far we have had seven of our 14 field players get minutes at the position," he said. "As a coach I like to keep changing up the spot. It keeps the opposing defense on their toes because each player brings a little different style of play."

The Tigers try to make it two in a row when they take on section rival Rochester John Marshall Thursday night at Tiger Stadium.

All three Farmington goals came off corner kicks by Blake Smith (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Tiger Scoreboard: August 29, 2012

Boys Soccer
Farmington 3 Lakeville South 1

Girls Soccer
Farmington 1 Lakeville South 1 (OT)

Volleyball
Farmington 3 Irondale 0 (25-15, 25-9, 25-8)

Swimming and Diving
Northfield 101  Farmington 85

Tiger Scoreboard: August 28, 2012

Girls Tennis
Farmington 7 Bloomington Kennedy 0

Boys Soccer: Scoring Drought

Sam Peterson makes a first-half save (photo by Jim Lindquist)

For the second straight game the Tigers put forth a solid effort against a quality opponent only to come out on the short end of a 2-0 final score.

Lakeville North scored a goal in each half while the Farmington offense saw its scoreless minutes streak reach 160 Saturday afternoon at Tiger Stadium.

"We played very well," Farmington coach Julian Buss said. "It was a fun game to watch. North is a good team and they did a good job of finishing."

North seemed to get the better of the play early but the Tigers had most of the possession time later in the opening half. North scored the lone goal of the half on a rebound shot from point-blank range with 7:15 to play.

The Tigers had several scoring chances early in the second half but could not close the deal. The winners added an insurance score midway through the half on a shot that just eluded keeper Isaac Toenjes' reach.

Blake Smith makes a heady play (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Buss said despite his team's scoring drought and back-to-back 2-0 losses to South Suburban Conference teams, he is encouraged by its effort.

"We controlled the ball longer in this game and won the ball out of the air more often," he said. "We had good communication and played both fast and aggressively.


"The things we have to work on is playing a full 80 minutes of defense and change our attitude about scoring. I don't think we are attacking the net like we can."

Buss lauded the midfield play of Jared Wolt. Robin DeCastro and Blake Smith and offered that Urive Omana had a strong game at the forward position.

The Tigers get another shot at a South Suburban Conference team Tuesday when they host Lakeville South at Tiger Stadium. Thursday the homestand continues with a non-conference contest with Rochester John Marshall.

Girls Soccer: Tigers runner-up at PL Invite

Sydney Eckert 1st goal of the season vs. Byron (file photo by Jim Lindquist)

Farmington (2-1) rolled by Byron 5-1 in Friday's opening round of the four-team Prior Lake Invitational tournament but had no answer for the host Lakers in a 5-0 loss in Saturday's title game.

"We had a great possession game against Byron," Tiger coach Rob Carpentirer said, "although the inexperience of our forwards showed a little.

"Against Prior Lake we took a huge huge step up in competition. They were outstanding with their passing and we had trouble marking their runners."

Destiny Schmitz notched a pair of goals for the Tigers in the win over Byron with Sydney Eckert, Leah Zak and Kenya Macias also finding the net .Zak's score was the first of her varsity career.

Hannah Miller chimed in with a pair of assists and Eckert, Kaylie Sorensen and Izzie Ferm added one apiece.

Hannah Miller 2 assists vs. Byron (file photo by Jim Lindquist)

Farmington piled up a lopsided 29-4 shots advantage in the contest.

Those shot numbers took a U-turn in the championship game with the Lakers finishing with a 17-5 edge.

The Lakers jumped to a 2-0 lead and then after Megan Graham's shot attempt bounced off the crossbar in the second half, the winners responded with three late goals to claim the tournament hardware.

"I honestly don't think we'll face a better team this season,"Carpentier said of the Prior Lake team that outscored the opposition 16-0 in the tournament.

"I know this sounds odd, but our defense played well and Ashley Becker was outstanding in net. They (Prior Lake) were just a handful for us....The good news is that the mistakes we made are all fixable."

The Tigers open their 2012 home season Tuesday night against Lakeville South before getting back on the road Thursday for a non-conference game with Rochester John Marshall.

Tiger Scoreboard: August 26, 2012

Girls Soccer
Prior Lake Invitational
Championship 
Prior Lake 5  Farmington 0

Boys Soccer
Lakeville North 2 Farmington 0

Girls Tennis: Another good showing

Claire Padrnos teamed with Lindsey Fairchild to finish 3-0 at No. 1 doubles

The Tigers came close to adding another trophy to their collection but a failure to win the close ones proved costly as the locals finished third in the Farmington Invitational played Friday at the Boeckman Middle School courts.

Cannon Falls, the ninth-ranked Class A team in the state, won the four-team meet with 19 points. Belle Plaine edged Farmington 15-14 for second place; New Life Academy did not score.

"We had a couple of fish get off the line," Tiger coach Jack Olwell said. "Those things happen but when you are that close it hurts all the more.

"If we win those matches, we are holding a trophy. But great teams come away with the decisive points and that's what Cannon Falls did."

Farmington put together some quality individual performances, including the first doubles pairing of Claire Padrnos and Lindsey Fairchild who finished the meet with a perfect 3-0 record.

Callie Olmscheid went unbeaten at third singles

In singles, Callie Olmschied swept her three matches at the No. 3 position to to take home that flight's championship.

Ryan Jara continued her fine early season play, going 2-1 to place runner-up at second singles.

The duo of Liz Adams and Alyson Kelly also won two of three matches to claim second at No. 4 doubles.

"Overall, I was pleased with our effort and results," Olwell said.

The Tigers return to action on Monday when they travel to Bloomington Kennedy for a non-conference dual meet.

Tiger Scoreboard: August 25, 2012

Girls Soccer
Prior Lake Tournament
Farmington 5 Byron 1
Prior Lake 11 Waconia 0

Championship: Farmington vs. Prior Lake  2:00 p.m. today

Girls Tennis
Farmington Tournament
Cannon Falls, 19 Belle Plaine 15, Farmington 14, New Life Academy 0

Volleyball: Tigers sack Packers in opener

Ruthanne Schmitt 7 assists, 6 service aces in opener (file photo by Jim Lindquist)

The long bus ride to Austin Thursday night for their season opener didn't seem to have any ill effects on the Tigers.

Coach Mike Woody's young and largely inexperienced team dominated from the start, winning in three sets 25-12, 25-12 and 25-20.

Austin led by a single point early in games one and three but the rest of the night belonged to the visitors who substituted liberally throughout the three-game set.

"We played a lot of girls," Woody said. "It was a good night with most everyone playing very well."

The stat sheet gave concrete evidence of Farmington's ability to win with different combinations of players on the floor.

Offensively, 11 different players registered kills with Summer Skokan and Courtney Johnston leading the way with six and four respectively.

Mia Johnston led in sets with nine, followed by Ruthanne Schmitt with seven and Lexi Wenskaug with five. Schmitt also collected half of her team's service aces with six.

Defensively, four players recorded five digs apiece: Skokan, Wenskaug, Rachel Eckert and Emily Nelson.

Megan Cecchettini chipped in with a pair of blocks. Daniele Flanscha had eight serve receptions and Eckert totaled seven.

The Tigers open their 2012 home season Tuesday night with a non-conference match with Irondale.

Girls Tennis: Tigers blank Falcons in opener

Callie Olmscheid 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 winner at No. 3 singles (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The Tigers built on the momentum from their championship performance at the Mounds Doubles Invitational with a dominating 7-0 win over Faribault  in their dual meet opener Thursday afternoon at the Boeckman Middle School courts.

Six of the seven Farmington victories came in straight sets. Callie Olmscheid defeated the Falcons' Mikaela Issacson 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 in the only match that went the distance.

Megan Stivers, Ryan Jara, and Molly Rudorfer provided the other singles points for the winners.

The Tiger tandems of Claire Padrnos/Lindsey Fairchild; ShyAnne Spurzem/Beth Fairchild and Tasha Sinha/Rachel Rees swept the doubles matches by a lopsided total score of 36-4.

The Tigers don't have much time to reflect on their first dual meet as they roar back into play Friday morning when they host their annual invitational tournament. Cannon Falls, Belle Plaine and New Life Academy are slated to appear in the four-team meet.

Ryan Jara won 6-0, 7-5 at second singles (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Boys Soccer: Irish tip Tigers 2-0 in opener

Robin DeCastro solid defensive effort (file photo by Jim Lindquist)

Rosemount broke open a scoreless game with a pair of second half goals to defeat visiting Farmington 2-0 in the season opener for both teams Thursday night.

A defensive error produced the game's first score 13:01 into the second half and the Irish put the game away on a penalty kick following an inadvertent hand ball call with under five minutes to play.

"The outcome of the game is not representative of the level of the play of our team." Tiger coach Julian Buss said. "We retaliated after they scored and probably should have gotten a call when our player looked like he was fouled in front of the net.

"Then the hand ball call set up their second goal. It was a tough call, one of those unfortunate situations where the ball happened to pop up to the arm. You could see it was unintentional but it had to be called."

Buss said the outcome did not mean there were no positives to take from the season opener.

"The starting 11 showed they can play a fast game with good passing and movement," he said. "We are still getting used to each other and some new players got a chance to see the pace of the varsity game. All in all, I would call the opener a success."

Buss said he liked the midfield play of Jared Wolt and Blake Smith and thought Robin DeCastro had a solid night defensively. The Tiger coach was also pleased with the  play of Sam Peterson in his first varsity start in goal.


The Tigers jump back into action Saturday morning with a non-conference home game with Lakeville North. Game  time is 11:00 a.m. at Tiger Stadium.