Girls Soccer: Early goal lifts Stars by Tigers

Ashley Becker kept Tigers in the game (photo by J. Lindquist)

Holy Angels scored less than three minutes after the opening kickoff and then held on for a 1-0 win over the Tigers Tuesday night in Richfield.

The win locked up the Missota Conference title for the Stars who have won 13 of 14 games this season. The loss dropped the Tigers to 4-2 in league play and 7-4-4 overall.

"When they scored so fast it sucked the wind out of us," Farmington coach Tracie Randall said. "We played better in the second half but we are not making the connections we need to offensively. We need to get the ball in the back of the net."

The Tigers did manage to manufacture a couple of quality scoring chances in the second half but none produced a goal.

A scrum in front of the Holy Angels net following a corner kick with 11 minutes to play in regulation led to a flurry of bang-bang shots and a minute later another corner kick by Destiny Schmitz grazed the crossbar.

The Stars put constant pressure on the Tiger goal but Tiger keeper Ashley Becker was up to the task, making several acrobatic saves.

"Ashley had a great night out there," Randall said.

Randall said one positive to take away from the loss was the continued strong play of the defense. The Tigers have allowed just 13 goals in 15 games with five of them coming in a shutout loss to Eagan.

The Tigers close their regular season Thursday with a home game against Shakopee and then it's off to the Section 1AA playoffs next week.

"Winning the conference is gone now," Randall said. "We have to get ready for Shakopee and end the season with a win. Then we start looking to the section. We'll be working on getting more scoring opportunities up top."

The Tigers are 3-0-4 against section teams and should get a home game in next week's section quarterfinals.

Boys Soccer: Looking for some O

Jake Agnew 13 saves (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Farmington's offensive challenges continued Tuesday night in a 2-0 Missota Conference loss to Holy Angels in Richfield.

The loss dropped the Tigers' season record to 6-4-4 and 2-2-2 in conference play but as concerning as the loss was, even more so was the continued lack of scoring punch. Farmington has found the net just twice in the past four games in which it has lost two and tied two.

"Everything has been good but scoring goals," Tiger coach Julian Buss said after Tuesday's game. "Part of it comes from Jared (Wolt) not being 100 percent but we have to find a way to put the ball away."

The Stars netted their first goal midway through the opening half and then added an insurance score with five minutes to play in regulation to move to 11-3-1 overall and 5-1 in the conference.

Tiger sophomore Jake Agnew continued his quality play in the nets, finishing the night with 13 saves.

"We played well against Holy Angels even though we had a couple of players out due to injury oand illness," Buss said. "We moved the ball quickly and passed fairly well.

"We put up a few quality shots but not enough. We were unable to take advantage of corner kicks which were our best opportunities to score."

Buss noted that with one conference game left his team is starting to point toward post-season play and he still likes what he sees from his squad.

"Tonight was a good indicator of the character of this team," he said. "We could have hung our heads but even after they scored their last goal, we kept fighting. I like the grit, determination and positive attitude I am seeing."

The Tigers entertain Shakopee in their conference and regular season final on Thursday. Section 1AA play begins next week.

Girls Tennis: Huskies down Tigers in section opener

No. 3 Owatonna won six of seven seven matches in straight sets to defeat No. 6 Farmington 7-0 in the opening round of the Section 1AA tournament played Tuesday afternoon in Owatonna.

The loss officially ended the Tigers' quality team season that saw them post an 11-6 record. The 11 wins were the most by a Farmington girls' team in more than a decade.

The opening round defeat wasn't helped by the loss of No. 1 singles player Megan Stivers who was recently diagnosed with mononucleosis. Her absence caused coach Jack Olwell to shuffle his lineup and move many of his singles players to unfamiliar positions.

Olwell wasn't making any excuses for the loss, however, noting the Huskies have a very talented squad.

"They were as advertised," he said, "very strong at all positions. They had too many offensive weapons. Even though our defense was stout, Owatonna dictated on most points."

The best effort of the day for the Tigers came at No. 1 doubles where Beth and Lindsey Fairchild lost on a third-set super tiebreaker 0-6, 6-3 (2-10).

"Owatonna had superior weapons which the twins eventually neutralized but they made some uncharacteristic errors," Olwell said. "Owatonna picked up their game in the super tie-breaker."

The Fairchild Twins (above) lost in super tie-breaker (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The Section 1AA individual tournament begins next week with two singles players and two doubles teams from each school participating.

Owatonna 7 Farmington 0
No. 1 singles: Ryan Jara  lost 1-6 2-6
No. 2 singles: Jessie Novotny lost 0-6 2-6
No. 3 singles: Callie Olmscheid lost 0-6 0-6
No. 4 singles:  Molly Rudorfer lost 1-6 1-6
No. 1 doubles: Beth and Lindsey Fairchild lost 0-6 6-3 (2-10)
No. 2 doubles: Sam Gallagher and Hannah Toomey lost 1-6 1-6 I thought played some good tennis
No. 3 doubles: Kayla Rees and Becky Genzler lost 1-6 2-6

Volleyball: Back in the W column

Diana Comes team-high 13 digs (photo by J. Lindquist)

The Tigers snapped their five-match losing streak in style Tuesday night with a convincing 3-0 win road win at Rochester John Marshall.

The visitors set the tone for the night with a 25-18 win in game one and then cruised by counts of 25-14 and 25-19 to complete the sweep.

With the win Farmington ran it season record to 12-8 and upped its mark against section opposition to 4-3.

"The difference was our confidence and consistency," Tiger coach Mike Woody said. "We didn't let our bad plays or their good plays get us down. We went back to having fun and competing."

The ninth-grade hitting combo of Kenzie Hesse and Emma Fahning accounted for 24 of the team's 35 kills with Fahning further helping the cause with four service aces. Ruthie Schmitt had  24 set assists.

Libero Diana Comes topped the stat chart in digs with a 13 and also chipped in with 13 serve receptions. Fahning led in serve receptions with 18 while Hesse totaled eight.  Fahning and Schmitt each contributed eight digs to the defensive effort.

Morgan Cecchittini came-up with a team-high five blocks, one more than teammates Vanessa Garske and Summer Skokan.

The Tigers get back to their Missota Conference schedule Thursday night with a home match against Chanhassen. The Storm is 3-1 in league play; the Tigers are 1-3.

Tiger Scoreboard: October 2, 2013

Volleyball
Farmington 3 Rochester John Marshall 0
25-18, 25-19, 25-20

Boys Soccer
Holy Angels 3 Farmington 0

Girls Soccer
Holy Angels 1 Farmington 0


Girls Cross Country
Chaska Invitational
Farmington 8th out of 21 teams
Lauren Peterson 15th, Maricia Pacheco 19th out of 146 runners

Boys Cross Country
Farmington 13th out of 21 teams
Justin Hyytinen 2nd out of 154 runners

Girls Tennis
Section 1AA first round
Owatonna 7 Farmington 0