歪歪漫画

SARTELL -- In a suspenseful quarterfinal clash, the Bemidji High 歪歪漫画 boys soccer team put on a show to remember on Thursday night.

The fifth-seeded Lumberjacks stormed into Sartell and upset fourth-seeded Sartell-St. Stephen 2-0, winning an edge-of-your-seat Section 8-3A Tournament playoff game that wasn鈥檛 decided until the final minute.

鈥淭his is a team that鈥檚 matured quite a bit since the beginning of the season,鈥� said BHS head coach Rick Toward, whose team lost 3-1 to the Sabres in the season opener. 鈥淭o throw a shutout in the quarterfinals of the playoffs, you鈥檙e not going to lose many games when that happens. I鈥檓 very proud of how well we did defensively tonight.鈥�

After a scoreless first half, Jacob Stanoch put Bemidji (9-7-1) on top early in the second half. In the 56th minute, Stanoch capitalized when Sabres goalkeeper Riley Hengel mishandled a clearance kick. Stanoch deflected the ball as Hengel tried to clear it away, and Stanoch got back to the ball to tuck away a 1-0 lead into the open net in front of him.

鈥淵ou could sense that the first goal was going to be huge,鈥� Toward said. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e 40, 50 minutes into a game and there鈥檚 no score, you know the next mistake could be the difference. And they made the mistake with their keeper coming out. Jacob got in front of the ball, got a deflection and ran it in.鈥�

Courtesy / Lainie Hiller Photographer

That score held until the 80th minute, when Isaac Stone put the final nail in the coffin on a counter attack and allowed the Lumberjacks to exhale.

Prior to Stone鈥檚 insurance goal, the BHS backline withstood a desperate attack from Sartell-St. Stephen (7-7-2), including a dangerous free kick in the 69th minute from just outside the 18-yard box and a potentially devastating cross in the 72nd minute that never connected with a striker.

Both could have produced the equalizing goal, yet Bemidji is marching on nonetheless.

鈥淲e really denied them most of the opportunities that they were trying to create,鈥� Toward said. 鈥淚 thought Levi (Renn), Will (Greendahl) and Charlie (Zellmann) did a really great job, with Lincoln (Schmitt) right in front of them, to give Connor (Helm) basically not a lot of work tonight.鈥�

Courtesy / Lainie Hiller Photographer

Courtesy / Lainie Hiller Photographer

Helm finished with a pair of saves in net for the Jacks. Hengel saved four shots for Sartell-St. Stephen in the second half, while Kyan Rider had one save in the first half.

BHS will next face top-seeded Moorhead in the Section 8-3A Tournament semifinals at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 18, in Moorhead.

Bemidji lost 2-1 at home and 3-1 on the road to the Spuds during the regular season.

鈥淲e know what they bring,鈥� Toward said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e played them twice, and both games have been fairly tight. It鈥檒l be, I suspect, another game just like that. 鈥� We鈥檙e going to be at the top of our game, and we鈥檙e going to have to capitalize on the chances we get.鈥�

Bemidji 2, Sartell-St. Stephen 0

BHS 0 2 -- 2

SSS 0 0 -- 0

First half -- No scoring.

Second half -- 1, BHS GOAL, Stanoch (unassisted), 56鈥�; 2, BHS GOAL, Stone (Price), 80鈥�.

Saves -- Helm (BHS) 2; Rider (SSS) 1; Hengel (SSS) 2.

Courtesy / Lainie Hiller Photographer

Courtesy / Lainie Hiller Photographer