Passing was good, shooting was good, good teamwork. Yea, I think things are going good.”

Thunderbolts head coach Jeff Figlmiller

I’m really excited about this after all being a senior. It’s really inspiring to be going to state.”

Logan Yannarelly, senior goalie

Park, the No. 4 team from the south, will play the No.1 team in the North, undefeated Park Center/Maple Grove/Osseo, in the first round of the state tournament Thursday in a game starting at 8 p.m. in Gym C. The adapted soccer tournament will be held Friday, Nov. 15 and Saturday, Nov. 16 at White Bear Lake Area High School. The semifinals and finals are set for Saturday afternoon.

The South Washington Country Thunderbolts are headed back to state for the 25th time, and made it look easy Thursday.
The Thunderbolts dominated visiting Mounds View/Irondale/Roseville in adapted soccer in the Cottage Grove High gym, winning 14-0 to earn the state tournament berth.

South Washington (5-3) led 7-0 at the half and the outcome was never in doubt.

“The kids played really well,” said Thunderbolts head coach Jeff Figlmiller. “This is what it’s all about. We’ve been wanting to do this all season. We lost some really close games. This is a big win for us. Everybody got to play a lot and I thought it went really well. Kids scoring that never score and they scored tonight and that’s going to happen and that’s going to make the score maybe a little higher than what people would like it to be if you’re on the other team.

“But everyone’s playing and working hard,” Figlmiller continued. “And I think we’re going to be sitting real good coming into state and we’ll go from there. Passing was good, shooting was good, good teamwork. Yea, I think things are going good.”

Junior center Logan Curtis scored seven goals and junior right wing Jordan Nde added four to pace the Thunderbolts. Herbert King scored twice. Even standout senior goalie Logan Yannarelly got in the act as he moved to offense for the last few minutes of the game and drilled in a shot.

“I feel really happy,” said Yannarelly, a senior at Park. “I’m really excited about this after all being a senior. It’s really inspiring to be going to state.

Yannarelly also relished his time on offense, however briefly. “It’s rare for a goalie to be in center or any other thing. And it’s good to be back in the center position because I was in middle school five years ago. So, it feels great to be back out on the field.”

Mounds View/Irondale/Roseville ends its season at 5-5.

Park, the No. 4 team from the south, will play the No.1 team in the North, undefeated Park Center/Maple Grove/Osseo, in the first round of the state tournament Thursday in a game starting at 8 p.m. in Gym C. The adapted soccer tournament will be held Friday, Nov. 15 and Saturday, Nov. 16 at White Bear Lake Area High School. The semifinals and finals are set for Saturday afternoon.

The Thunderbolts have competed in 24 state tournaments since 1994, winning state championships in 1997 and 1998, 2014 and 2019.

The Park Center Pirates have won five state titles, including three straight from 2016 to 2018.

The Thunderbolts go into the tournament on a high note.

“I’m feeling good because I played hard out there,” said Herbert King. “I went for the ball and I shot a goal. The team did good.”