Noah Haupt got the game-winning goal and Joe Cison the game-winning stops, but it was truly a team effort which lifted the Park Wolfpack past Rosemount Tuesday and into the 2023 boys state soccer …
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Noah Haupt got the game-winning goal and Joe Cison the game-winning stops, but it was truly a team effort which lifted the Park Wolfpack past Rosemount Tuesday and into the 2023 boys state soccer championships.
An early 6-0 loss to Rosemount in the second game of the season didn’t matter in the end. It was a narrow 1-0 loss to Woodbury which helped the Park boys gain an improbable berth in the Class AAA boys state soccer tournament.
“Honestly It might have been the Woodbury game,” said Park senior defender Joey Runion when asked if there was a game or moment when the Wolfpack started to get where they were capable of.. “Where it was a very close game, a 1-0 game. We lost, but we played incredibly good against a very good team.”
The Wolfpack knocked off a heavily favored and host Rosemount Irish team Tuesday, Oct. 17 in the Section 3AAA Championship, winning 1-0 to advance to the state tourney.
So it’s on to state for the Wolfpack. Park was scheduled to play third-seeded Minnetonka at Farmington on Tuesday. This will be Park’s fifth appearance in the boys' state soccer tournament and first in 29 years. Park was the state tournament runner-up in 1988 and 1992 and last made the tournament in 1994.
The first round of the state tournament will be held Tuesday, Oct. 24 through Thursday, Oct. 26 with the semifinals and finals set for Nov. 1 and Nov. 3 at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Joining the Wolfpack in the eight-team state tournament will be No. 10 Woodbury (13-2-3), No. 2 and defending state champion Wayzata (17-0-2), No. 3 Maple Grove (17-0-1), No. 4 Minnetonka (14-1-3) and unranked New Prague (13-4-2), Andover (10-7) and St. Michael-Albertville (9-10).
“Now there’s eight teams left and we can really do something,” said Haupt.
Asked what made the difference between a 6-0 loss to Rosemount at the beginning of the year and the 1-0 win in the section finals, Park head coach Andrew Bourgoine had a one-word answer.
“Belief,” said Bourgoine. “But eight, nine games ago this team just something flipped. They believed in each other. They believed in what I was preaching, that we are a good team, we are a good defense, we can stop anybody on any given day when we are prepared and we are locked in. That was kind of our key word. I said the last nine games (Park went 7-2 in the last nine games), is just stay locked in for all 80 minutes. That was the perfect locked-in 80-minute game. I’ve never seen anything better than a team and I’m so proud of every single one of them.”
Park senior Haupt broke a scoreless tie with a goal in the second half and Park’s defense clamped down hard on the Irish the rest of the way in a thrilling win.
“We played so well as a team,” said senior midfielder Haupt. “We fought to the end. We played clean, too. Even in the moments where we had mistakes we all got behind our teammates and ultimately just fought to the end, all together.
“I definitely knew we had a shot,” Haupt continued. “The first game, where they beat us, we were off that game. We didn’t have a game plan. But this game I know we were all ready. They underestimated us. All the pressure was on them and we came out and performed.”
Park advanced with an 11-7 record. Rosemount season is done at 13-3-2.
Not bad for a team which finished seventh in its own conference. Of course, the Suburban East Conference featured four teams in the top 10 ranking this season – Cretin-Derham Hall, East Ridge, Stillwater and Woodbury.
“I’m extravagant, I don’t know the word,” said senior goalkeeper Joe Cison. “I don’t know. I can’t put words to it, I’m just so happy that we won.”
Another Park senior, Ayub Mohamed, got the assist on Haupt’s game-winning goal.
The Irish came into the contest with just two losses on the season, a 3-0 loss to second-ranked Wayzata in game three and a 1-0 loss to fifth-ranked Edina in game five. Since then the Irish had rolled off 10 wubs and two ties. That streak was ended by the Wolfpack.
“I honestly did not think we could do this well,” said Runion. “I knew this team definitely had potential, but I did not think we would be able to get this far.”
Rosemount advanced to the Section 3AAA finals with two strong defensive efforts, a 3-0 win over Burnsville followed by a 4-0 win over Apple Valley. The Irish’s defense was strong again against Park, but so was the Wolfpack’s defense.
“The kids came in today, they didn’t hang their hangs because they knew they could compete because they believed in themselves and their teammates and I’m so proud of them,” added Bourgoine. “I still can’t believe it’s real. It’s been 1994 since we made a state tournament. For Park soccer, it’s huge.”
