Home Sweet Home

After collapsing in the final minutes of a game against St. Anthony Village and falling to a record of 0-2 the Spartans were looking to turn things around in their third game Saturday. This time the game would be played at home in Historic Briggs Gymnasium. Spartan fans came in numbers to watch the boys play for the first time this season. The most feared student section in the Tri-Metro, McKenzie's Frenzys, were present in their corner as well. The guys took on Minneapolis Edison. The players were very hungry for a win after having lost two close ones to start the season.

From the first whistle it was obvious the Spartans were more prepared for this game. the Edison team was very athletic but not half as organized as the home team who quickly began to dominate the game. A last minute change was made to the starting lineup and senior Andrew "Superman" Bradley was called to start because of his Junkyard-Dog mentality on the defensive side of the ball which had earned much praise from Coach Kevin McKenzie. Josh "Slim Shady" Gray led the way with continuous bombardment from outside the arc which contributed to his final tally of 26 on the day. However Spartan drives continued to come short and bounce the wrong way off the rim. Soon enough Edison worked their way back into the game and with about four seconds left in the half had a 21-20 lead. The Spartans kept their cool and worked their way down the wing to set Slim Shady up with a an open three point jumper that he drained right before the buzzer. 23-21 Spartans at the half.

The Spartans came out strong in the second half looking to put the game away. More importantly however the Spartans maintained their composure and were patient in looking to close the game out. The defense was remarkable in the second half. The second half was also Egly-Time in this game. The brothers from Edina sent all the momentum the Spartans way with exceptional individual efforts. Harrisen "the Truth" Egly hit multiple three pointers in transition which sent the Spartans flying. His older brother Spegly contributed on the defensive side, sacrificing his body as he hit the floor hard on three charges.

The Spartans rode their great defensive play until the final whistle which saw them finish on top 57-40. The boys were able to secure their first win of the season on home court.With exceptional defense and fantastic foresight the Spartans overcame their early two game slump. They could not have responded in a better way. Now at 1-2 the future looks bright for this team. Next up is Duluth Marshall next Saturday once again at Historic Briggs Gymnasium. As much as it hurts me to say, I will not be in attendance but if you are reading this you should try to make your way to Briggs and cheer the boys on. Once again it is your loss if you don't. Go Spartans!

Season Opener

Last night the boys basketball season began with an away affair against the Maranatha Mustangs. The Mustangs who had gone to the state tournament the previous year would surely prove to be a great test to see where our Spartans matched up with elite competition. The Spartans went into the game as heavy underdogs but would quickly prove that they were for real.

The game started with constant back and forth action, seeing the two teams go neck and neck. The kid from Edina, Captain Spencer "Spegly" Egly led the Spartans in the first half with 13 points that kept them in the game. The Spartans battled throughout the first half and when they were patient and organized they scored . However when the boys tried to rush things and lost the ball, the Mustangs capitalized with their versatile attack and punished them. This led to the Spartans being down at the half 41-32.

The second half saw the Spartans come out with a lot of fire in their belly. It was obvious that they wanted it and this was seen through the look in the eyes of senior Joe "Big Easy" Klein as he piled up important rebounds with great tenacity to set up Spartan attacks. It was also seen in the raw emotion displayed by sophomore Connor "Ricky Bobby" Allen after he blocked a Mustangs layup effort and then rushed down the other end of the court to lay the ball in the cup. The Spartans began to cut into the lead and were able to narrow it down to 3 with about ten minutes left. The boys did not allow a few questionable blocking calls to affect them and continued to try to snag a lead. However in the span of a couple of minutes the Mustangs turned it on and went on a run that gave them a thirteen point lead with nine minutes left. Even after this major setback, the boys were able to show great character, grit and determination as they slowly but surely worked on a remarkable comeback.

The mustangs began to miss shots and the Spartans took advantage of the opportunity to cut into the lead. Captain Josh "Slim Shady" Gray and 13-year-old Delante "the Chosen One" Peyton drained crucial three pointers that put the Spartans back into contention. The boys fought for every ball and it was obvious they were the side that wanted it more. With just a couple of minutes remaining the Chosen One found the ball in his hands and put up a shot from behind the arc. The kid literally has ice in his veins. 64-64 Spartans. The Spartans had come back against what was one of the best teams in the state a year ago. In the end however the Spartans would make a couple costly mistakes that cost them the game, 67-70. A close one, a hell of a game. The guys overcame a lot in very little time and showed great maturity. It is a loss that ironically brings encouragement to this Spartan Basketball program who has now showed they mean business. The season looks like it is going to be a successful one for the Spartans.

On Tuesday the boys will be playing at St. Anthony in an important conference game. Our team is solid, I highly encourage to come watch, if you don't then its your loss. Go Spartans!

Spartan Cup

Welcome back to the Classic Spartan Blog. After nearly a month with no activity, the blog is back but this time with winter sports. And there was no better way to kick off this new segment of the blog than with coverage of the Spartan Cup. Hockey in Minnesota, the two go together like peanut butter and jelly, like Starsky and Hutch. The Cup this year saw our Spartans hosting Redwood Valley, Waconia and Henry Sibley.

It was obvious from early on in the off season that to be successful our Spartans would have to unite and overcome a lot of adversity. Off season headlines saw Senior Mason White announce his retirement after a life of playing puck. Also countless important seniors from last year graduated and this team would have to rely on a primarily young squad this season. To make matters worse the Spartans found out earlier this week that they would be playing without star defender and team Co-Captain, Junior Cameron Kami-Causey.

In the first round our boys would took on Redwood Valley in a game that would inevitably set the tone for the rest of the season. The Spartans came out hungry looking to please the hundred(s?) of fans that crowded Historic Drake Arena in support. It was obvious from the opening face off that the Spartans were on another level than the team from Redwood. After five minutes Peter "Woody Allen" Wood picked up right where he left off during soccer season and drilled a beauty into the back of the net on an assist from freshman Austin Ramirez. The Spartans continued their dominance in the first period with exemplary defensive efforts by Junior Co-Captain Krazy-Karl Hommeyer. On the attack a few chances were wasted and the 1st period ended with the Spartans holding on firmly to a 1-0 lead. The second period began with the Spartans getting hit on the wrong end of a counter attack from the Redwood team which leveled the score. The Spartans reacted in great fashion to this goal and began to mount countless attacks on the opposing goal. About halfway through the period, Jake Westfield inadvertently opened the floodgates with an ice cold snipe.Just three minutes later, Westfield assisted fellow sophomore Mick Sullivan to make the score 3-1. Redwood players responded with frustration and hard hits. Woody Allen even took a check from behind which was somehow ignored by the referee. With one minute left Drew "the Dark Knight" Blackmun snapped a puck into the upper corner of the net that the goalie had no idea was coming. The sophomore goal-fest continued. With the clock quickly winding down and less than fifteen seconds left Blackmun put the game out of reach with an near replica of his first goal. 5-1 Spartans at the end of the second period. The third period began much like the second with a consolation goal by Redwood. Then MPAer Charlie Bartholic answered with a five hole on the goalie. Now the Spartans were finishing in style giving the loyal fans their moneys worth. The last five minutes saw the Spartans concede another meaningless goal and then right before time expired the Dark Knight ended the game with a Hat Trick and the Spartans cruised into the Spartan Cup Final.

Less than 24 hours after their impressive victory the Spartans took the ice in an attempt to win their fourth straight Spartan cup. The Spartans would be taking on Waconia who had demolished Henry Sibley the night before. The game began with solid attacking play from the Spartans which resulted in an early goal off of a perfectly executed counter attack from MPAer Alex "Mezzy" Messerich. The first period saw the Spartans, who were much more technically prepared, dominate Waconia. At the end of the first period, Drew Blackmun added to his tournament goal tally on a power play to extend the Spartan lead. The Spartans headed into the second period with a 2-0 lead. Waconia however continued their physical and scrappy style of play and after five minutes was able to get a goal back. Shortly afterwards another followed and we had a game on our hands. 2-2. This caused constant back and forth action for the rest of the second period which did not result in any more goals.

The game would be tied heading into the third period with both sides hungry to close it out. Tensions rose in the third period hard hits were met with harder hits and missed shots were met with looks of desperation as both sides fought to bring home the great Spartan Cup. Five minutes later in only his second game as a Spartan, the ruthless Matt Littler assisted freshman sensation Austin Ramirez to give the boys a 3-2 lead. The Spartans defended their lead in great fashion with a stingy defense and solid work by goaltender Jude Hull. With a little under 4 minutes left Waconia took advantage of a power play and equalized the game. This Waconia team would simply not go away even though the Spartans seemed to be the better team almost all game. The Spartans continued to look for the game winner but were unlucky on various occasions and so the game would head to a sudden death overtime.

The overtime would prove not to disappoint as far as entertainment goes, both sides continued to attack and came close to scoring a few times. With a little under a minute left a Waconia forward was on a breakaway and just when it seemed like it was good night for the Spartans Jude Hull deflected the shot into the air. Now it seemed like it was inevitable for the overtime to end unresolved but Waconia continued to work and on another breakaway with just 30 seconds left found the back of the net. Waconia won the Spartan Cup.

It was a very tough loss to digest for our Spartans, but even though I don't know much about hockey, (in fact I can't really skate) many good things were seen from the guys and the season is still young. This Spartan hockey team could do big things this year. Thanks to all the fans who came out in support of the Spartans this weekend.

Dome Days

The Spartan season ended at the Metrodome this week. They made it to the dome as one of the top 4 Single A boys soccer teams in the state.

On Monday the boys took the field against the second-seeded Scarlet Knights of Benilde-St. Margarets in front of hundreds of Spartan fans who made the trip to the dome along with teachers and parents to cheer on the guys in what was bound to be a dogfight from the very beginning.The Spartans and the Knights had been ranked as two of the top three teams in state all season and had constantly been compared to each other but it was not until the State semi final game that they finally met up. The game started off greatly, each ball was contested by both sides and both teams were laying their bodies on the line for a shot at the championship game. Both squads responded to each other with exceptionally organized attacks. Ikey "the baby faced assassin" Forsgren lived up to his name and with incredible guts combined with exceptional 1 on 1 man marking skills was able to make Mr. Soccer almost irrelevant. Great work from the Spartan defense and goalkeeper Ben "Beast" Braman provided the boys with the necessary fuel to counter attack, but the Spartans were having difficulty in penetrating the back line of the big Knights defense. However it was not long before senior captain Gabe "G-Unit" Brennaman shredded the defense with his blistering pace down the wing, cut into the box and blasted a shot that hit off of the cross bar. This provided the Spartans with the necessary momentum to finish the half on the attacking side of the pitch. Unfortunately though they were not able to find the back of the net and the half ended 0-0.

The second half began with the same high pace with which the first one ended, except this time the Knights were attacking much more, keeping the ball in the Spartans half of the field. Within the first ten minutes, the heavy pressure game finally paid off for Benilde when one of their strikers shots from outside of the box deflected into the back of the net. 1-0 Benilde. And just like that, with an incredible dosage of bad luck, the Spartans found themselves trailing.

The Spartans began yet another attempt at coming back. The Spartans tried to build up their attacks by maintaining possession and having patience but due to great defensive play by the Knights the patience was lost quickly. The boys began to rush things and never had solid possession, this led to the Knights having a few more chances go just wide of the goal or into the Beasts hands. No matter how hard they tried with determined runs from Sam "Bulldog" Forsgren and Josh "Slim Shady" Gray, they were not able to have the chances on goal that they needed. Then a deflected Spartan shot in the box that was cleared off the line after a lot of confusion provided the Spartans with that extra spark but it simply was not their day. The match ended 1-0 and the Spartans were eliminated from the State Tournament.

Luck on this day was not on our side. The long season however would provide the boys with one more opportunity for glory. They would play the Rochester Lourdes Eagles in the third place final on Tuesday morning. The game saw two tired and worn out teams battle for one lat slice of pride in what would be both of their last games of the season. The Spartans, demoralized from a very tough loss, came out flat and conceded two goals fairly early on. In the second half the Spartans finally received the wake up call and turned on the jets, they were a able to draw a goal back with a marvelous strike by the G-Unit but unfortunately it was too little too late. The Spartans lost 2-1. The season ended at the Metrodome with the boys receiving their fourth place trophy.

These final two games however are not what this season should be remembered by. This season was an incredibly successful season which saw the Spartans accomplish a lot. The season began with the Spartans having to partially rebuild their team after having graduated 11 players, three which went on to play collegiate ball. The Spartans saw seven new starters in the lineup but they quickly formed their own team which was not afraid to be compared to the highly successful squad of the year prior. The 2011 Spartans prided themselves on toughness, a mentality that took them very far this year. The team had two All-State players and an All-State Honorable Mention player lead the way. The boys were able to surpass all expectations of them. They were able to go undefeated in Single A play during the regular season, win a conference championship,a section championship and reach the semi finals of the state tournament. The Spartans simply never gave up, things weren't over until they said they were.

I am honored to have been a member of this team, I would not have had it any other way.

A big thanks to all the fans and parents that came out to support the team this year, it meant a lot, you are huge part of our success.

I hope you have enjoyed the Blog posts about soccer games, I have been dreading this for a while, but this is the last post about the soccer team that I will do. The blog will be back for the winter sports season, highlighting hockey and basketball.

RIP 2011 Boys Varsity Soccer. It was a pleasure to be a part of this truly special group of guys.

State Quarterfinals

State. Where the good teams are separated from the great ones. Our Spartans took the field against the Mankato West Scarlets at St Cloud State University on a cold late October evening last night.

The Spartans, fresh off their Section 3A Championship were looking to head to the Metrodome for the second straight year. Peter "woody Allen" got his first start at forward this night, and he would be sure not to disappoint. The game would also see the return of Head Coach Franklin Tawah after having missed nearly a month of games. Around 40 faithful members of Spartan Nation made the long journey to support their boys.

The game started off with the Spartans looking like the more in form side. Around 7 minutes in, Sam "the Bulldog" Forsgren sent a wonderful through ball over the top of the Scarlet defense that found Peter "Woody Allen" Wood who was able to put an incredible amount of finesse onto the ball and send it into the back of the net for his first ever varsity goal. 1-0 Spartans, the fans could not have dreamed of a better start. The guys continued to play like the superior team and controlled most of the possession. When the Spartans had the ball they would move it around with exceptional passing and control the tempo of the game. The greatest effort however came from the back, the defense almost never allowed the Mankato attackers to beat them, the four men in the back moved as one with an incredible amount of focus and poise. On the rare occasion that a Scarlet would get a shot off, Ben "Beast" Braman was there to stop it and continue his exceptional late season form.

It was not until the last few minutes of the half however that the Spartans pushed the accelerator and began to make incredible runs that set up marvelous chances. Unluckily though they were not able to put any past the keeper and the half ended with the Spartans up 1-0.

The second half began with the guys hungry to put the game away with a few more goals. The Spartans began to attack constantly but could not seem to find the back of the net. Great runs by the Forsgren brothers as well as inspired play by G-Unit Brennaman were not enough to give the boys the cushion that they deserved. Based on how the defense was playing though, the cushion did not seem like a necessity.

With around 15 minutes left in the game, Josh "Slim Shady" Gray was tripped up in the box by the goalkeeper and earned the Spartans a penalty. Senior Captain Gabe Brennaman stepped up to take the penalty but unfortunately sent it wide of the right post. It did not seem as if the Spartans were going to score anymore goals on the night after that, but the boys kept their cool and continued their domination with an admirable amount of composure.

With 30 seconds left, just when it seemed as if the game would end 1-0, Woody Allen finished what he started with a goal off a header on a high speed breakaway. 2-0 Spartans, and that was all she wrote. The Spartans are headed to the dome. On Monday morning at 8 AM they will take on the Benilde-St. Margarets Knights in the State A Semifinal. The other semifinal will be between the Rochester Lourdes Eagles and Prairie Seeds Academy at 10 AM.

Thanks to all the fans that came out to support the boys last night and we hope to see you all there in the Metrodome. Go Spartans!

Section Finals

I would like to begin by apologizing for the delay in the publishing of this post, but my emotions were all over the place after one of the greatest nights of my life last night and I simply could not keep them in check. Enjoy.

Last night our Spartans took the field at Griffin Stadium against the Holy Angels Stars in the section 3A championship game, the match would decide who would go onto state. The Spartans had recently come off a morale boosting victory over St. Thomas in the semi finals and Holy Angels had dusted off the Washburn Millers 2-0.

Countless Spartan fans came out to cheer their boys regardless of the frigid temperatures. The game started off with a great level of intensity, with both teams searching for a goal straight away. The Stars came away with the better chances over the first ten minutes and began to set the tempo, with a lot of balls in the air that interrupted the flow of the Spartans attack and general play. Then just like against the Cadets on Saturday, the Spartans fell behind 1-0 on a goal from inside the six that the Spartan defense could do nothing about. Down 1-0, the boys got a little nervous and tried to rush things a little too much on the attack, they were not playing their game. Holy Angels continued their physical and aerial play as the Spartans tried to do everything they could to find an equalizer, but almost never were the Spartans able to get past the defensive line of the Stars. The half ended with the score still 1-0.

In the locker room at halftime, Interim Head Coach Max Lipset told his boys that they could beat this team but they needed to start playing their own style and not adapting to what the Stars wanted.

The boys took the words to heart and came out of the gates fast. Holy Angels seemed content to try to sit back and defend their lead rather than go for more glory, but the Spartan attack proved too much for them to handle. Led by the wingers, Ikey "the baby faced assassin" Forsgren and Josh "slim shady" Gray the Spartans began to tire the Stars defense out. Then they gained a free kick from right outside of the box around 15 minutes into the half. It was now or never for the Spartans to tie the game up and nobody understood that better than Sam "Bulldog" Forsgren who had the ball tapped to him by Captain Ryan Hobert, took a couple touches into the box and sent a sizzling ball off his left foot into the bottom corner. The boys had become men, they had come from behind once again. But the comeback was not complete.

The Spartans continued their domination of play throughout the next 15 minutes but the Stars also had a few chances off of speedy counter attacks, all of which were stopped by the phenomenal Ben "Beast" Braman. The last ten minutes proved to be incredibly intense as both sides battled evenly for a chance at the State Tournament. Slim Shady and Gabe "G-Unit" Brennaman each had their chances but failed to get them past the keeper. The half ended with the Spartans under heavy pressure from the Stars who hit the post and were cleared off the line various times by the Beast in the last minute of play.

Regulation time ended and there was still a score to be settled. Who would be crowned section champions? Based on the last minute of play it seemed like we were about to see an upset by the Stars, but the Spartans went in more confident than ever. Extra time would be Golden Goal, sudden death. That simple, you score and your through, you don't you lose.

The Spartans started the extra time in great fashion, only on the attack and not allowing the Stars to even think of touching the ball. About 50 seconds in, the Bulldog made a huge run down the middle, bursted through the Stars defense and then was fouled recklessly by a defender on the edge of the box. Forsgren lined up to take the kick but this time sent it over. The Spartans felt it coming though and continued to attack and then the moment of truth came when Slim Shady received a ball in the air on the right side of the box and struck it with incredible power. The ball made a wonderful parabola in the air, hit under the crossbar and then..........

It dropped, hit behind the line. And the SPARTANS WON SECTIONS!!!!!!!

Unbelievable. The Spartans showed the character yet again, this time when it mattered most. All the hard work put in finally payed off. The boys received their GOLD medals and preceded to run 1 by 1 through a tunnel made by the Spartan fans (a genius idea). The boys, now men, lifted the trophy and confirmed their spot in state for the second year in a row. The magical season lives to see another day. A big thanks to all of the fans who came out to support us, it means a lot.

A confession: I cried a little.

Section Semifinals

Today Historic Lang Field hosted two section semifinal games. It was a beautiful day out, a little chilly but with the sun brightly shining. Both the Girls and the Boys played the most important games of their seasons.

The girls kicked off first against the Holy Angels Stars who they had just tied 2-2 two weeks prior. The game was bound to be a battle, SPA was the second seed and Holy Angels was the third. The game started off fairly balanced with the Spartans maintaining possession until three minutes into the game when the Stars on a perfectly executed counter attack were able to go up 1-0. It was a very unfortunate start to the game because the it was the first real chance on goal the Stars had. The Spartans looked to regroup and tried to find an equalizer for the rest of the half, however it was very hard for them to penetrate the Holy Angels defense. The half ended with the Stars up 1-0. In the second half the lady Spartans looked to work some of their magic. The girls tried to play the entertaining and fast paced soccer they had been playing all year, but it was not the same. They created a few chances but it was the Stars who capitalized on another counter to go up 2-0. The Spartans continued to try to find the back of the net, but it was too late. That 2-0 score marked the end of the girls season unfortunately. We will all miss watching their very entertaining, attack-minded soccer. That game will certainly not be the only thing taken away from this season were the lady Spartans accomplished so much.

Right after the girls finished it was the boys turn to take to the field against the St. Thomas Cadets. The same St. Thomas Cadets who they had beaten 5 weeks ago 4-3 at St. Thomas. This time however the Cadets were hungry for revenge and would do anything to come away with an upset of the first seed at Lang. The game started off high paced with the Cadets on the attack for the most park. After only four minutes St. Thomas went up 1-0 off of a mid range goal. The Spartans, not used to coming from behind, did not panic. The game went on with the Spartans began to bring the intensity up and dominated possession, however soccer is a cruel game and you can dominate all you want but if you don't score you won't win. The Spartans kept their patience and then finally about halfway through the half junior Josh "Slim Shady" Gray leveled the playing field with a goal from very close in that slowly rolled into the opposite corner of the goal. 1-1. The Spartans, for the second time in these section playoffs, found themselves in a tie game. The guys continued their dominance throughout the rest of the half, they controlled possession and did not allow the Cadets to even dream about having any chances, they completely shut them down. The defense played a key role in this with the Good German, the Swan, the Decapitator and Harg Knocks (i hope you know the nicknames by heart now) moving everywhere as one unit and not making very many mistakes. The half ended 1-1 but with the momentum overwhelmingly leaning the Spartans way.

The teams came out of the half both ready for battle in what ended up becoming a very physical game. A few questionable calls immediately shifted the momentum in favor of the Cadets and the tempo was completely sucked out of the game. The Cadets began to dominate, forcing Ben "Beast" Braman to make a few exceptional saves to keep the Spartans alive. However the referee begged to differ and called an invisible penalty in favor of the Cadets. If St. Thomas scored it would basically be good night to the Spartans. Cadet captain Ben Lamey lined up to take the penalty kick against the Beast. The Cadet fans fell silent while the Spartan fans began to make as much noise as possible to distract Lamey. The referee blew the whistle, Lamey kept his eyes fixed on the ground and struck the ball. The ball went high into the air and seemed as if it was heading for the top right corner, but by some good fortune it sailed farther to the side of the corner. A missed penalty, just what the Spartans needed to gain control of the game again.

The game turned out to be constant back and forth action, which many times was unjustly interrupted by the referee or unjustly allowed to continue by the referee who seemed as if he was trying to be the center of attention. However justice was served and on an incredibly confusing and mind boggling attack, Sam "Bulldog" Forsgren was somehow able to find the back of the net and the Spartans went up 2-1 with a little less than 15 minutes left. The Spartans and their fans celebrated the goal in an incredible fashion which saw raw emotion paired with a sigh of relief. The game however was far from over and those few minutes seemed to be the longest of my life. The Spartans defended with heart, doing whatever they could to avoid being scored on. When the referee finally blew the whistle for good it was 2-1 in favor of the Spartans. A loud roar came out of the fan sections and the Spartans celebrated their reaching of the section final game. A true test of character, this Spartan team has showed that they can be patient and keep their composure even in the most hostile of situations. For a team like that many things will end up going right. Good things will come to those who wait. A team like this does not come around often, so enjoy your Spartans. On Tuesday afternoon they will be taking on the Holy Angels Stars in a chance to go to state by redeeming the girls team. Go Spartans!

A big thanks to all the fans, we will see you at the game on Tuesday. Go Spartans!

Section Quarterfinals

It's that time of the year again, the time were if you don't win you go home, playoff time. Today the playoff journeys of both our Spartan soccer teams commenced.The boys played against the Minneapolis Roosevelt Teddies after having had a first round bye while the girls played host to Trinity High School after their bye. The boys played their game at Highland Park Stadium while the girls played on Historic Lang Field.

The guys were more than ready to play after a full weeks rest from games, but their opponent, the Teddies, were on a high after having upset the 8th seeded Blake Bears in the first round 3-1. The start of the section tournament also saw the calling up from the JV squad of 3 new players, freshaman Tyler "Seppi" Seplak, sophomore Emoon "the Immunization" Solomon and junior Sam "Curly" Wood (the cousin of Peter "Woody Allen" Wood).

The game began with the Teddies in clear control of posession, winning all the battles in the midfield and having a few chances which forced keeper Matty "ICE" Fiedler to make exceptional saves. The Roosevelt defense continued to draw the Spartan forwards offsides with its offside trap, it seemed like nothing was going right for our boys. It was not until around 20 minutes into the half that the Spartans finally broke the ice. On a counter attack, Lorenzo "Cappuccino" Pavoloni was able to make the best of the Roosvelt goalkeeper's awful mistake and find the back of the net to bring the Spartans up 1-0. Once again, Cappuccino found himself in the right place at the right time and with his sweet aroma was able to bring energy to the Spartans. However there was not enough energy because shortly afterwards the Teddies equalized the game on another counter attack. On the play Matty "ICE" Fiedler collided with a Roosevelt player and was kicked in the face. Recent updates have told me that Fiedler has a broken nose, no concussion but that they are still deciding whether or not surgery will be necessary. In for the Iceman stepped Ben "Beast" Braman.

The Teddies were now back in the game and attacking a lot more. The Spartans needed to gain control again and start playing with their usual intensity before it would be too late. The boys began to run speedy attacks that created some much needed chances. Then a few minutes later on a perfectly excuted play, senior co-captain Nico "Swan" Olson-Studler was able to head a ball into space for Sam "Bulldog" Forsgren who with a wonderful strike gave the Spartans the lead on a wonderful low ball. 2-1 Spartans. The boys kept up their pressure and it paid off with senior co-captain Gabe "G-Unit" Brennaman scoring to bring the guys up 3-1. They now had a fairly commanding lead and the floodgates had finally opened, before the end of the half, Sam "Bulldog" Forsgren netted his second on the day to bring the Spartans up 4-1. The Spartans had finally began imposing their style of play on the game and it paid off greatly, the momentum had shifted completely.

The boys came out of the half looking much like they did at the beginning of the game and consequently conceded a goal shortly after the beginning of the to have their lead cut to just two. However the boys did not panic like many teams would have in a situation such as this one and began to set the tempo. As the Roosevelt players began to get more and more frustrated and continously fouled the Spartans, our boys kept their composure and made sure the only thing on their minds was winning the game. The Bulldog netted two more goals to give the Spartans a 6-2 lead and a ticket to the section Semi-Final game. With less than 1 minute left, Peter "Woody Allen" Wood hurt his knee on a excesivelly rough and ill-disciplined challenge by a frustrated Roosevelt defender. But in the spirit of a great Spartan, Woody Allen was able to tough it out cheer his boys on for the rest of the game. The match marked a great performance by Josh "Slim Shady" Gray in his third game back from injury, he had three assists. The Spartans continued their unbeaten streak in Single A play and will be playing again on Saturday in the semi-final game. Also a big thanks goes out to all the fans that made the treacherous journey all the way to Highland Park High School to support the boys, you always play a big role in our victories. Our thoughts are with both the Iceman and Woody Allen after this game.

The second seeded girl Spartans played host to Trinity on Historic Lang Field. The girls had already beaten Trinity 3-1 earlier in the season and were looking to go to the semi-final game for the fourth straight year.Unfortunately I could not be in two places at once, but word reached me that the girls dominated the match and the final scoreline was a clear reflection of this, 5-0.

On Saturday afternoon there will be two semi-final games taking place on Historic Lang Field. The girls will be taking on Holy Angels in a game that was played two weeks ago and ended in a 2-2 draw after overtime, the Spartans will be looking to play spoiler this time however. That game will be sure to receive a much better mention in the blog than this one because I will be able to attend both, you should also attend the games if you are reading this, simply because it could turn out to be one of the greatest Saturday afternoons of your life. The boys will be having a rematch against St. Thomas Academy who they beat 4-3 in the third week of the season in one of the best games all year. The Spartans will both have to come out with their best games against two hungry opponents, after all it is win or go home. Go Spartans!

Any Given Thursday-(At Blake Part 2)

On an action filled Thursday, the girls soccer team had their Senior Day against the Minnehaha Redhawks, the boys finished their regular season against the Redhawks and the football team took on Blake in the 100th anniversary of the rivalry.

The boys travelled just past the river to play their last regular season game, one that if they won would clinch their second conference title in just three years. The Redhawks were third in the Tri-Metro Conference and would make sure to give the Spartans a hard time. Thursday marked the return to action of Junior Forward Cameron "CC" Causey as well who had sat out with a groin injury for four straight games. The match started off in the worst of ways for the Spartans who conceded a goal to Minnehaha after only 30 seconds. The Spartans found themselves behind for the first time in conference play all season, but it would be a test that would only do them good. As the half went on, the Spartans trailed but did not allow the frustration to get to them too much, knowing that they would come back. About half way through the half, after a few failed chances, the boys tied the game with Sam "Bulldog" Forsgren. The momentum shifted and the Spartans began to take control, but the Redhawks defense did not give up and so the half ended 1-1. The second half continued to be a battle which saw the Spartans almost continuously on the attack but the Minnehaha defense would be able to stop nearly anything. A few unlucky strikes also prevented the Spartans from going up, but then in his usual dramatic style Lorenzo "Cappucino" Pavoloni was able to awake his side by scoring his 11th goal of the season. The Spartans began to take full control, even though they were not playing their best soccer, they knew what they had to do to win. With little time to go, the Bulldog netted his 34th goal of the season to end the game and the Spartan Boys Soccer Team became Tri-Metro Conference Champions. Congratulations Spartans!

The girls instead played their last game on Historic Lang Field against the lady Redhawks and were looking to finish the season strong after a disappointing loss at Blake on Tuesday. Seniors Bari Applebaum, Anya Moradian and Jenna O'Brien played their last ever home games on Historic Lang and wanted to do nothing less than leave a mark. The girls battled and ended up winning the game 1-0. They finished their season in second place in the Tri-Metro Conference with their only losses of the season being to Class AA powerhouse Eastview and rivals Blake.

The two soccer teams will be awaiting "Selection Sunday" to see their draw for the Section Playoffs coming up next week. Good luck to both teams.

The main event of the night happened after the soccer games, at Blake. For the hundredth year the Blake SPA football rivalry would be played at Blake. The Spartans were incredibly motivated for the game and began the game with a very good drive, using their power running game. Hundreds of SPA fans made the trip for the game and continued unrivaled support for their boys who fought hard all night. The game saw the return of Senior Captain Andrew Bradley who had been injured since the first game of the season. Under much pain, Bradley saw his action limited on Thursday, but nevertheless toughed it out to participate both at quarterback and as a defensive back. The first quarter was a great battle that saw the Spartans within striking distance of the Bears. The second quarter saw more and more running plays for the Spartan offense who ran with Krazy Karl Hommeyer, Danny "the Rhino" O'Shea and David "Pitbull" Ristau but failed to convert. The Spartans fell far behind by halftime, but they never gave up and continued to fight for every yard. The fans, led by Spartan mascot Drew Whitaker, continued their unconditional support and it all paid off in the end when the Pitbull scored a touchdown on a running play. The game unfortunately ended 49-8 in favor of the Bears but it was a great night for all involved.

The Star Tribune however reported that our Spartans won the game.

At Blake: Part 1

Last night both Spartan teams had important conference games against the Blake Bears. The Girls were taking on their main rival from the past couple of years in what was bound to be a thriller of a match. The boys instead were looking to gain momentum heading into sections after a tough loss on Saturday.

When I arrived with the team for my game the girls had around 20 minutes left in the second half and were down 1-0. I was told that they had gotten scored on in the first half and had been trying very hard to equalize ever since. You could tell the girls really wanted it and would do anything to tie this game against their bitter rivals. The game would decide who won the conference and which of the two teams would get a higher seed in sections. The girls continued to fight and with about five minutes left in the game, still trailing 1-0 and just when it seemed like it was all over, senior captain Anya Moradian tied the game on a header off a corner kick. The half ended 1-1 and for the second time in four days the Spartan girls would be headed to overtime. The first overtime started off fairly well for the Spartans who had a chance to go up 2-1 against the Bears on a powerful Nina Perkkio volley that hit the outer side netting. With little to go before the half, the Blake girls worked a counter attack that finished with them scoring the go-ahead goal. The first half of extra time ended with the Bears up, however the Spartan girls had not given up and still believed they could pull it off. The second half of extra time began were the first one left off however as the Blake girls scored to go up 3-1. At that point, even when it seemed to be good night Spartans, the girls fought back and gained a penalty kick. Junior Amanda Hotvedt took the responsibility of the kick and buried it into the back of the Blake net. The Spartans now down 2-3 had new momentum and began to fight for the victory, however there was simply not enough time left, Blake won 3-2. A very tough loss for the girls (their first in single A play this season)but one that can surely be avenged in the section playoffs in the next couple of weeks. As hard as this one is to digest, it should make the girls even hungrier to win sections. A congratulations for all the hard work that the girls showed.

Right after the girls game finished, the boys took the field looking too bring one back for the Spartans. Under the lights during a beautiful fall evening, the game began slowly for the Spartans who did not attack much during the first ten minutes. After that however the game picked up a good pace but the Spartans were not able to put the ball into the net. Newly returned goalkeeper Matty "ICE" Fiedler made a few good looking saves for the Spartans in the first half. James "HarG Knock Life" Hargrens had what may arguably be his best game of the season by playing solid defense, never allowing his opponent to even think about beating him. The end of the first half also saw the return of Josh "Slim Shady" Gray after having misssed five straight games due to a leg muscle injury. Gray seemed a little slower than usual, but his touch was as beautiful as ever when he cut past a Blake defender and almost put it past the keeper to give the Spartans a lead. The half ended with a score of 0-0, it was still anybody's game.

At the half the Interim Head Coach Max Lipest told his boys about playing simple and going out to score 5 goals. The Spartans took the message to heart and began playing an attacking style that gave the Bears very little room to breathe. After about 7 minutes, Senior Captain Ryan "Giggles" Hobert received a ball behind the half way line and began to dribble up the pitch. Hobert saw that there was nobody there to close in on him and so he continued all the way to the edge of the other box, were after a couple of fakes released a low left-footed shot into the right corner of the net for his 3rd goal of the season. The Spartans were up 1-0 now with Hobert's goal forcing all the momentum to switch their way. Shortly thereafter Ben "the Good German" Kachian made a pass to Slim Shady Gray down the left hand wing who faked a cross, cut inside and struck the ball with the inside of his foot to the opposite corner of the goal. 2-0 Spartans. After having been nagged by injuries for the majority of the season, this was the best way for Gray to make a statement in his return, a truly emotional return. A few minutes after that Lorenzo "Cappucino" Pavoloni made sure to give the Spartans some more of his caffeine so they would not start to doze off, with a wonder strike from the edge of the box. Pavoloni hit a ball with great power and finesse that dipped over the goalkeeper to give the Spartans a commanding lead. He seems to always score fantastic goals in great moments, a true striker. Pavoloni would go on to score again and the end of the game would see Sam Forsgren come back to his goal scoring ways by netting two goals to bring his tally to 32 on the season. The Spartans closed the game out 6-1 and will look to finish the regular season strongly on Thursday against Minnehaha.

Thursday will also see the girls play Minnehaha Academy as they look to gain momentum heading into the section playoffs.

The main event on the Thursday however will be after the two soccer games and it will once again be at Blake (Part 2). The Spartan football team will be looking for their first win of the season against their biggest rivals. The game is celebrating 100 YEARS of SPA VS BLAKE football and it is sure to be very entertaining. There will be an electric atmosphere and it is sure to be a special night for the Spartans who have been putting in plenty of hard work all season for this night. The game will see the return of QB Andrew Bradley who has been out since the first game of the season with a broken fibula. All Spartan students should wear white, we are going for a white out and you don't want to be the only kid out of 200+ that is wearing purple.

Good Luck to all three Spartan teams tomorrow and especially to the football team.
Go Spartans!

Heartburn

Yesterday the Spartan guys traveled into the Southern suburbs to taken on Apple Valley. The Apple Valley Eagles have been a powerhouse in Minnesota High School soccer for a long time and are the Two Time Defending AA State Champions. The Eagles however had lost many key seniors and started the season off slow. They lost a couple of key games early on which dropped their ranking from 1st to out of the top 10. Our Spartans on the other hand were dominating their Class A competition going into this game on an 8 game winning streak and holding an exceptional 12-1 record with the only loss being to AA school Edina. The Spartans had lost to the Eagles each of the past three seasons and when interviewed before the game Senior Captain Nico "Swan" Olson Studler emphasized that "It's our turn to win against them. I am sick and tired of coming here and losing badly every year."

The team took Studler's message to heart it seemed like, with the boys playing a very good first fifteen minutes of soccer which saw some exceptional saves by Ben "Beast" Braman. Around twenty minutes into the half, Lorenzo "Cappucino" Pavoloni won the ball in the middle of the field with a hard tackle and dished it off to Sam "Bulldog" Forsgren who found Gabe "G-Unit Brennaman up front. The G-Unit was the Spartans' only man up front and had three defenders in front of him, he made a couple of fakes which forced two of the defenders to collide and then with great patience perfectly executed a weak footed strike into the bottom corner of the opposite side of the net. The Spartans were up 1-0, Brennaman had scored their first goal against Apple Valley in the past three years. The Spartan players and bench all exploded with joy as they felt this was going to be their day.

The Spartans continued their game with very few mistakes and were still clinging onto the lead with five minutes left in the first half. The next Apple Valley attack however saw the Eagles strike level after a ball hit off the bar and found its way into the back of the net a midst confusion in the box. The game seemed as if it would go into the half tied 1-1 but exactly one minute after their first goal Apple Valley worked another counter attack to go ahead into the break 2-1.

The second half saw the Spartans come out hungry, believing that they could tie the game up. There was constant back and forth action until the referee awarded the Eagles with a penalty were there was no clear foul at all. It seemed like it was all over for the Spartans, but Ben "Beast" Braman did not let anybody down and came through with a fabulous save. The wonder save shifted the momentum and the Spartans began to attack with a purpose, however they were still struggling to create chances when in front of the net. This led to another Eagle set piece that finished with an aerial goal. 3-1 Apple Valley.

The boys however did not give up and continued look for a goal that would change the game. They had a couple of chances with G-Unit and Lorenzo "Cappucino" Pavoloni, but were unlucky on both. With less than 10 minutes left Apple Valley was able to score yet another goal off a set piece to shut the door on the Spartans. The match ended 4-1. It was a very tough result for the Spartan guys to digest because of all the hard work and fight they put on. The score does not do justice to the game the Spartans played, however thats the cruelty of sports. Regardless of the score the Spartans showed yet again that they are able to compete with even the bigger schools. There is nothing to be ashamed of in losing to a team like that, even though I still hold to the belief, knowing that I am not the only one, that we could have beaten them if everything went right. Sadly this game also marked the end of the Bulldog's goal streak, as my good friend once said though "All good things have to come to an end." What isn't coming to an end for Forsgren however is leading the state in points and being undefeated in single A play this season.

Later that night it was the Girls' turn to put on a show. The lady Spartans travelled to Richfield to take on the Holy Angels Stars in a section preview game. Under the lights, on turf and in front of many of their own fans, the girls took to the field pumped to spoil the Stars' homecoming. This match also started off very high paced with constant back and forth action. The Spartans looked like the more in form side, forcing the Holy Angels goalkeeper to make a few miraculous saves. The Spartans continued their dominance throughout the half, but to everyones surprise it was the Stars that drew first blood, scoring midway through the half. The Spartans did not allow the shock to hit them too hard and made sure that the Stars knew they meant business. Less than a minute after the Stars goal, Junior Amanda Hotvedt equalized the game with a powerful strike from inside the box.

The first half continued with the same entertaining action and a few close calls for both sides. Once the buzzer sounded for halftime the score was 1-1.

The ladies went into the second half hungry to grab a well deserved lead and continued to play a very entertaining style. The Spartans began to dominate and were clearly the better team on the attack. They searched and searched for the goal that would bring them ahead, but could not seem to find it. About halfway through the second half when the game seemed like it was bound to be drawn, Nina Perkkio broke through the Stars defense and scored the goal that gave the Spartans a 2-1 lead. The girls continued their control of the possession and came close on a few more chances but were not able to finish. The clock began to tick heavily and at some points it seemed like this game would never end. WIth about 55 seconds to go, as the Spartan fans prepared to sing good bye, the Stars worked a counter attack to perfection and were able to tie the game 2-2. The Spartans however did everything they could to end the game then and there and orchestrated an attack that came very close. With just a few seconds left in regulation Senior Captain Jenna O'Brien was fouled on the edge of the box by a Holy Angels defender, but this did not catch the referee's attention and so the game went to overtime. Overtime saw both teams make one last ditch effort to win, but nothing that came extremely close and so the game ended 2-2. Once again, the score did not do the Spartans justice, they deserved much better than a 2-2. However they were able to keep their undefeated Single A streak alive. A good job by the ladies who deserved more than what they got, but as we saw in the boys game it could have ended even worse.

Both Spartan teams played very entertaining games on Saturday, however they were also very painful to play in and watch for me. It is hard to see results that do not end in your teams' favors after having seen both teams demolish most of the competition this season and even play well in these two games.

The season however is far from over. Both teams will face the Blake Bears on Tuesday and the Minnehaha Eagles on Thursday. The boys will try to lock up a number 1 seed for section playoffs and end the season in style. The girls will look to do much of the same against a Blake team that knocked them out in the section finals in each of the past few years. Can you say revenge?

Thanks to all the fans that came out to the games this weekend, we would all appreciate the support in this final week of the regular season as well. The sporting week however will end with the game to watch, Blake vs SPA Football version. The game marks 100 years of Blake vs SPA football games and there is sure to be a great atmosphere in store.

On another note I have a special announcement to make, this post marks the one month anniversary of the blog. I hope you are enjoying it and hope you will continue reading as the sports year goes on. Thank You.

The Rivalry

Yesterday the Spartans took on the Mounds Park Academy Panthers in the newest edition of this rivalry which has been one of the best and most passionate in the Tri-Metro Conference over the last few years. The Spartans were looking for revenge after having lost the conference to the Panthers only one year ago by one game, that game being a 1-0 win at Historic Lang by the Panthers. This year though would be a different story because the Panthers had graduated several star seniors from the year before. The game was at Mounds Park and going into it the Spartans were ranked 3rd in state and leading the conference, while the Panthers had been struggling and were cellar dwellers with only 2 wins. The game started off with a bang as Gabe "G-Unit" Brennaman scored the first of many around seven minutes into the game. The boys kept up the pressure and Sam "Bulldog" Forsgren added to his never ending goal tally to double the score. The SPA fan section composed by the usual die-hards went crazy and soon enough it seemed like it was a home game. The fans continued to encourage the guys until freshman senstaion Ikey "the Baby Faced Assasin" Forsgren scored his second goal in the past two games. The floodgates have now officially opened for Forsgren number three. The goal was shortly followed by senior captain Ryan "Giggles" Hobert scoring his second goal of the season on a genius header. Before the half ended, Junior Forward Lorenzo "Cappucino" Pavoloni injected his caffeine into the teams veins with two spectacular strikes that gave the Spartans a 6-0 lead. The first of these goals was a great shot with the outside of his left boot that went into the top corner of the net.

The Spartans went into the second half confident that they had this game in hand and did not let up. In the second half they put up a great effort in pressure from the front to the defense that rarely allowed their opponents into Spartan territory. The leadership of Nico "Swan" Olson Studler in the back and the safety offered by Matty "ICE" Fiedler in goal were crucial in what was an extremely entertaining second half. The Bulldog was unleashed and punished the Panthers to make the score 7-0, his 29th of the season. With less than ten minutes to go, he put in another one, his 30th of the season, he cannot be stopped. He has scored in every game and this hat trick added to many others. Substitute Nick Volpi also saw some playing time against his old school, and nearly scored on a back-heeled shot which was saved on the line by the keeper. Later however goalkeeper Ben "Beast" Braman, playing forward at the time, found himself about 35 yards out with the ball at his feet and the clock ticking, and decided to do one of the craziest things, he struck the ball with an incredible amount of power and slowly but surely it found its way into the top corner. His teammates swarmed him, overwhelmed in joy, one of the greatest goals of the season but also one of the highlights of the season in general, a goalkeeper scoring, not something you see everyday. Congratulations to the Beast. The boys ended the game with this 9-0 score and continue to have a firm hold on the conference with three games left in the season, two of them being conference affairs, both away from home.

The girls team played host to the Panthers at Historic Lang and was consistent with the result of the other game. The lady Spartans dominated the Panthers played very nice soccer. After scoring two minutes into the game, the girls hit the cruise control button and plowed through the Panthers. Up 6-0 at the half they did not let up and continued to add to the tally until they finished the game 10-0. Scorers on the day included Molly Fiedler, Jenna O'Brien, Camille, Horne, Catherine Riley and Nina Perkkio.

Congratulations on both Spartan squads for their victories. On Saturday the boys will be traveling to the southern suburbs to take on defending AA State Champions Apple Valley in what should be a thriller at 1:00 PM. Later, at 8:00 PM, the girls will be in richfield to take on Holy Angels in a section preview under the lights. Good luck to both teams. Both games should be excellent, I will be in attendance at each of them and so should you. Go Spartans!

Border Battle

This morning the Spartans traveled to the America's Dairyland for a game against the New Richmond Tigers. The game was not a conference game or a section preview, but it was an important test for the boys as they looked to win their seventh straight game. It was a cold and very overcast morning in Wisconsin and our boys did not immediately embrace the conditions.

The Tigers scored very early in the first half, and were simply out working the Spartans. Everything seemed to be taking a turn for the worst until Sam "Bulldog" Forsgren finished on a beautiful through ball from Gabe "G-Unit" Brennaman. At that point the momentum completely shifted over to the Spartans and Sam "Bulldog" Forsgren scored yeat another goal to officially tie his goal tally with his brothers from last season, at 25. The Tigers however would manage to fight back and tie the game 2-2 on a play that saw goalkeeper Ben "Beast" Braman hit the ground hard and have trouble getting up. Braman was escorted off the field by the trainer who would have to make sure there was no damage done. Meanwhile in the absence of Matty "ICE" Fiedler, Lorenzo "Cappucino" Pavoloni filled in the hole left at goalie. The beast would be back however very shortly and Cappucino earned his first career clean sheet without having to even touch the ball. The Bulldog, inspired by the heroics of the Beast, finished a marvelous effort off of a free kick to give the Spartans 3-2 lead with less than ten minutes before the half. Yet another hat-trick for Forsgren. With very little time to go before halftime the Spartans struck again, this time with Gabe "G-Unit" Brennaman on a beautiful diagonal shot from about 10 yards out. Those two goals proved crucial in giving the Spartans the momentum going into the second half.

The second half, like many Spartan second halves this year saw the boys pull away and prove why they are ranked third in the state. An early G-Unit goal assisted by Peter "Woody Allen" Wood began the second half, and the Spartans began to dominate play. The 5-2 lead did not last too long, because Sam "Bulldog" Forsgren scored his 27th goal of the season and his fourth of the day on another great free kick. The sophomore continued his streak of scoring in every game this season (11 games) and leaving everybody in awe with his nose for goal. The Tigers were able to once agin fight back and make the score 6-3, however the Spartans would not allow them back into the game.

On speedy counter attack, Mason "the File" Mohring made a run down the left sideline and crossed in a ball that met Ikey "the Baby Faced Assasin" Forsgrens head and flew into the back of the net. The cold blooded Ikey scored his first goal of the season after having set up so many in recent weeks. A well deserved goal that is another highlight of this great season.

The boys won the game with a final score of 7-3 and will take on reigning conference champions Mounds Park Academy in an important conference fixture on Tuesday. Go Spartans!

Thursday Night Lights

First off I would like to apologize for the delay in the newest segment of the blog, however I hope you still enjoy the post.

A weeknight game, in forty degree weather, under the lights and on turf, it simply does not get much better than that. The Spartans went to Breck High School on Thursday for a conference game that would be the first of many road tests for the Spartans in the next week. The Breck Mustangs, I would like to mention, make me very proud of my skill in giving our players nicknames...but it might be because of their lack of skill at the task, considering the fact that the announcer at the game called their players by names such as "Cyborg", "Killer Whale", "Forcefield" and my favorite "Do-Re-Mi"...... compare that to "the Good German", "the Swan" and "Bulldog".

The Spartans would be without Junior Winger Josh "Slim Shady" Gray yet again for this game because of his lingering leg muscle issues. Filling in for him would be fellow Junior, Peter "Woody Allen" Wood who displayed some solid play down his sideline.

The game began with Ikey "the Baby Faced Assasin" Forsgren assisting Gabe "G-Unit" Brennaman less than a minute into the game. To everyones surprise, the G-Unit showed some emotion after the goal and let out a scream as he made his way back to midfield, maybe he is simply a night person. The first half went on with the Spartans putting on a clinic with their patience and sharp passing. Ryan "Giggles" Hobert won all the battles in the midfield and distributed the ball beautifully. One of the men he distributed the ball to often was the teams lone freshman Ikey Forsgren, who inarguably played the best game of his career. Ikey made beautiful runs on the turf, making great cuts to beat opponents and continued to set his teammates up. Later in the half Ikey's hard work on the wing proved crucial in Sam "Bulldog" Forsgrens goal. When we caught a glimpse of the "Forsgren Connection" at its finest. The freshman assisting the sophomore, the younger brother assisting the older brother, it nearly brought tears to my eyes. I could not feel my face, that may have been just due to the cold though, but regardless the boys kept a 2-0 lead going into halftime.

The Spartans came into the second half a little bit flat and it showed when the Mustangs pulled back a goal and opened the game up again. With a score of 2-1, the Spartans needed a jolt and that is exactly what Roman Super-Sub Lorenzo "Cappucino" Pavoloni gave them with a wonder strike from just outside the box. Pavoloni hit the ball with the laces on his boot so well that it dipped over the keeper in extraordinary fashion. He once again showed that he is always in the right place at the right time. A true forward.

The Spartans began to once again control possession with great no-nonsense playing by James "Harg Knocks" Hargrens, Ben "the Good German" Kachian and Cameron "CC" Causey who showed us all that he is a natural athlete and with his speed and strength dominated on the turf. Shortly afterwards, Sam "Bulldog" Forsgren managed to score yet another goal, to make his tally 23 on the season, now only two back from his older brothers total from last season. He has scored in all eleven games this year and every time makes it look easy.

The game ended with a solid 4-1 win for the Spartans and the girls team won as well at home against the Mustangs.
On Saturday the boys will travel to New Richmond, Wisconsin for a border battle match, while the girls will look to pull off a historic upset against AA school Eastview. Good luck to both teams and also to the football team who will be playing DeLaSalle on Saturday.

Senior Day

Today was the Spartans final game at the Historic Lang Field and for the seniors it was their final game ever game on Lang. The three captains, Nico "Swan" Olson Studler, Ryan "Giggles" Hobert and Gabe "G-Unit" Brennaman took to the field one last time, but today they were joined by three other seniors: Gabe "Messi" Chang, Paul "Chicken Kiev" Micevych and Nick Volpi (it feels awkward to give myself a blog mention).

The game was played against the Providence Academy Lions and was an important affair. The Spartans were looking to continue their undefeated record in Class A play to be able to vie for a number one seed in section playoffs and their second conference championship in the past three years. The game started off a little bit slow for Spartan standards because there was not a goal in the first five minutes, but then Gabe "G-Unit" Brennaman came through twice to bring the Spartans ahead. The Spartans dominated the game, they rarely allowing the Lions into their half of the field, and the Lions had no shots on target for the day. After G-Unit's first two goals (without a celebration, as usual), Gabe "Messi" Chang came through in what was in-arguably the best game of his varsity career. Messi kicked the ball past the goalie from the left side of the box with absolutely no angle, and when the ball went in even he couldn't believe it and had a delayed celebration. The die-hard Spartan hooligans were in attendance yet again, however this time they were not in Spartan Symphony form and without Drew Whitaker in Spartan form. However as usual you could hear their support on the field, and this time so much that the referee went to speak to them, which simply confused everybody in attendance at the game.

After the goal by Messi, Brennaman scored again, this time it was a wonder goal that would have the chance to be in SportCenter's Top 10 plays tomorrow morning. The G-Unit headed a ball from the top of the box with a splendid mix of power and finesse that it went straight into back of the net after looping over the goalies head. As usual however, there was more emotions shown by his teammates for the great effort by himself.However you could tell by the grin on his face that even the most modest man on this side of the Mississippi River was impressed. That capped yet another hat-trick for the G-Unit, and it was still only the first half.
Next Sam "Bulldog" Forsgren was able to stun us all with two more goals, his 20th and 21st of the season. I remind you yet again that he has scored in all ten games this season, meaning that he averages over 2 goals a game. He is now only 4 goals away from tying his older brother's tally from last season. It has become a habit for Forsgren to score, but fro his younger brother, Ikey "The Baby Faced Assasin" the passing game has been his strong point. Ikey had three assists in today's game and even though he is still searching for that first goal (that makes two of us)he is happy that he is contributing to the team with his 10 assists. He does not look like a typical Freshman out there, that is for sure.

The half ended with a goal by Paul "Chicken Kiev" Micevych, his first Varsity goal, an opportunistic strike which he put in after a huge scrum in the box. The second half was less eventful, but the Spartans still dominated the game and the Bulldog was able to put the cherry on top of the icing on top of the cake to finish the game 7-0. Ben "Beast" Braman and Matty "ICE" Fiedler both recorded yet another clean sheet and continued to show why they are two of the best keepers around.

On behalf of all the seniors Lang will be missed, on behalf of me I will miss the beautiful Lang bench with the perfect inclined backrest and I am sure it will miss me keeping it warm as well.

Your Spartans are now 9-1, ranked third in state and about to go on a road trip to finish off the regular season. Thursday night they will be hosted by the Breck Mustangs and Saturday morning they will have to go to New Richmond, Wisconsin for a game, a MINNESOTA State High School Game in WISCONSIN....

Word reached me afterwards that our lady counterparts also won their game at Providence academy 4-1.

Thank you all those who have come out to home games to support the squad this season, but the season is far from over and we will make sure that it does not end soon.
Go Spartans!

NV

Homecoming Special

It's that time of the year again, the time when we all gather to enjoy fall sporting events in the cold, homecoming. Homecoming weekend is a great time for us to showcase our teams and show our school spirit. Homecoming weekend began on Friday when over a hundred spartans charged the field before the kickoff of the football game against Brooklyn Center. The Spartan football team had been going through hard times before this game, with QB Andrew Bradley getting injured in their first game of the season (broken fibula) and QB/RB Peter Morley getting injured in the second game (broken collar bone). The teams hearts were broken, but they still wanted to put on a show for all the fans that made it to the game. Newly named Quarterback, Krazy-Karl Hommeyer led the troops out to a fairly good first quarter performance. The Spartans fought and fought, you could see it by how they never gave up on a single defensive play. They finished the first half still very much in the game but also very tired because almost every player on the team has to play on both defense and offense, whereas other teams such as Brooklyn Center have enough players for two Spartan teams. The Spartans kept fighting with Danny "the Rhino" O'Shea getting some huge hits on defense and then the hard work finally paid off when they were on offense. Towards the end of the third quarter Hommeyer took the snap, rolled out of the pocket to his right side and connected with Senior tight-end Spencer Bemel for a Touchdown. Subsequently the Spartan fans took a lap around the field to show their appreciation for the boys' efforts. The Spartans later got even another touchdown back and made all the fans very proud. Our football team showed great effort, resolve and composure in yesterday's game and made it a show for all of us, we are truly thankful of that.

On Saturday the Boys kicked off Soccer Fest against the Brooklyn Centaurs in front of one of the largest fan bases of the season. The fans included football players who came out to cheer after a tough night. Today the fans, led by the Spartan Drew Whitaker, also had a symphony made up people playing anything form elementary school recorders to kitchen spoons and pans. The Spartans were looking to stay undefeated in conference play today and wanted to give the fans a lot to cheer about. The game started off with Josh "Slim Shady" Gray scoring in his first game back from injury within the first five minutes. He preceded to do the "cat daddy" dance in celebration. Around ten minutes later Sam "Bulldog" Forsgren was able to double the score and continue his streak of scoring in every game this season (9 games). He would also score later in the second half to make his goal total 19 on the season. He is inching closer to his brother's, the great Nick Forsgren, total of 25 last season. The game also saw another solid performance by Forsgren number 3, Freshman Ikey "the Baby Faced Assasin" who continues to impress everyone with his physical play down the wing. With great support by the fans, the Spartans finished the half up 3-0 with another strike from "Slim Shady", this time without the dance unfortunately. The second half started slowly and the Spartans even conceded a goal. At 3-1, the game stil kind of seemed wide open, until Lorenzo "Cappucino" Pavoloni took the game into his own hands and scored two beautiful goals in two minutes. With Fosgren's goal it was a grand total of six on the day for the Spartans. A solid 6-1 win, a beautiful undefeated conference record and a sublime record of 9-1. The Spartans seem like they cannot be stopped. The boys however were not done for the day, as they would stay to support their lady counterparts against Visitation.

The Lady Spartans game was a highly anticipated fixture with both teams being ranked top 10 in the State. The game started off with a BANG exactly a minute after the whistle when freshman Molly Fiedler (the sister of Matty "ICE" Fiedler) beat the defense and then even the goalie and preceded to tap the ball into the back of the net. The symphony in the student section of the stands went wild, and did not stop because a minute later sophomore Camille Horne doubled the score on a a solid finish. The girls were unlucky to not be able to find the net the rest of the half however and went into the break with a 2-0 lead. The second half began just as good a start as the first half when EIGTH GRADER Minnie Arnold scoring less than a minute into the half. The fans got loud and even louder when junior Amanda Hotvedt added a fourth goal a minute later. Later in the second half the Spartans gained a free kick deep in Visitation territory and Captain Jenna O'Brien lined up to take it. The referee blew the whistle and she did not hesitate, driving the ball to the corner on the opposite side of the goal with a ridiculous amount of power. One of the greatest goals that you will ever see, one that may surpass Gabe "G-Unit" Brennaman's against Harding High School as the best one of the season. A truly terrific strike! Just as the Spartan fans started retreating from their victory quarter-lap around the track, Amanda Hotvedt scored yet another goal, less than a minute after the goal of Jenna. Unbelievable, 6 goals, and three times two goals were separated by a minute or else. In all my 17 years I have never seen anything quite like it. The match ended 6-0 with another shutout by Senior Goalkeeper and Captain Bari Applebaum. A great way to end Soccer Fest and the homecoming sports events in style.

Thank you to all the members of these three teams for making this homecoming weekend a fun and entertaining one for all of us.

The Train Keeps On Chugging Along

Coming off an emotional victory against the St. Thomas Academy Cadets on Saturday, the newly third ranked Spartans were ready for battle again on Tuesday. The Spartans moved up in the State rankings from fourth to third this week and so did their lady counterparts. Congratulations to both Spartan teams. When interviewed about the new ranking, junior winger Josh "Slim Shady" Gray said that he was "ecstatic" and that "it's a great a accomplishment. It makes me very proud to see that our hard work is being recongnized, now we just have to keep taking care of business." You simply could not say it any better than that.
This afternoon,the boys took on St. Paul Harding in a game that last year went to overtime, but this year would it was sure to be a different story, this year the game was at Historic Lang Field in front of the Academy's great loyal fan base.The parents made their usual supportive appearance in great numbers but today the die-hards, the most loyal fans in the Tri-Metro Conference, were also in attendance, led by Drew Whitaker, Daniel Porter and Peter Coetzee. They provided the necessary inspiration for the boys to clean up shop.
The match would be a hard one with senior Captain Nico "Swan" Olson Studler sitting out due to suspension and Josh "Slim Shady" Gray plagued by an injury. However the game saw the great return of Cameron "CC" Causey. Also Ben "the Good German" Kachian proved yet again that he is the teams Ironman and played regardless of his ankle being dark purple.
The game began with a goal almost instantly by Gabe "G-Unit" Brennaman, who as usual did not celebrate. A little while later came a second goal yet again by the G-Unit, but the true magic happened on the Spartans' third goal. Gabe had the ball on the edge of the box, cut to the side ever so gracefully and struck the ball with the inside of his left boot. The ball had an incredible amount of spin and power on it and sailed passed the goalkeepers hands straight into the top right corner of goal. A sizzling finish, one that will not soon be forgotten the Spartans and their fans. It was arguably the best goal of the season so far. However the modest man preceded to not celebrate yet again....a true class act. When interviewed about this at halftime he said that he "just closed my eyes and shot." Wow. Before the half however Cameron "CC" Causey capped his emotional comeback from a groin injury with a glancing header to make the score 4-0.
4-0 at the half it seemed obvious that the Spartans were worthy of being ranked third, but one thing still had to happen, Sam "the Bulldog" Forsgren still had to score to continue his streak of scoring in every game this season. Who would have thought it would turn out being three goals? Sam effortlessly showed why he is one of the best players in the state and put in three goals in the first part of the second half. One of the goals was off of a free kick from the edge of the box where he was assisted by his Ikey. Sam now has 17 goals already and there is still a good chunk of the season the left.
The game ended 7-0 and truly showed all the hard work the Spartans have been putting in this season. Word reached the blog at the end of the game that Josh "Slim Shady" Gray is cleared to begin practicing again and will join the boys at the Soccer Fest game on Saturday against Brooklyn Center at Noon. If you are reading this, then you should make it to the game.
Your Spartan men are now 7-1, they are living a great moment, be sure to congratulate them when you encounter them. Thanks to all the fans for the great support, it helps a lot. Go Spartans!

Spartan Swag

Fall Saturdays are always great, but even better when your Spartans can put on a show for all to see. Less than 48 hours after their last game, the boys were ready for what could arguably be one of the most important games of the regular season, against the St. Thomas Academy Cadets. Played in the sweltering heat at St. Thomas stadium on a turf field, the game was sure to be incredibly intense. The Cadets came in fresh off a last minute win against third ranked Simley confident that they would win, but our boys were hungry and would be sure to give them a run for their money. It was evident that the Spartans really wanted the game when Juniors Josh "Slim Shady" Gray and Ben "the Good German" Kachian decided to try to play through their injuries.

Before I get started I would just like to mention that Miley Cyrus was on the warmup mix of the Cadets..........

In the blistering heat the game began well balanced and it seemed that it would stay deadlock on 0-0 for a while, that is until the Spartans brought out the spears. On a wonderful play around twenty minutes in, Gabe "G-Unit" Brennaman ever so gracefully chipped a ball up in the air for Lorenzo "Cappucino" Pavoloni who sent it to the back of the net with a glancing header. Spartans 1-0 Cadets. However the Cadets did not give up and surely enough before the half made a run down the line and managed to tie the game up Spartans 1-1 Cadets.
At halftime the boys agreed on the fact that they needed to get their stuff together and went out into the second half pumped and ready finish them off, however it would not be as easy as they would think because the Cadets would score at the beginning of the second half to take the lead 2-1. A truly disappointing start to the second half.
No worries though because thanks to incredible fan support for Spartan Nation's Die-Hard Hooligans, led by the Spartan, the boys were re-inspired. On a counter attack Gabe "G-Unit" Brennaman managed to do it again, this time assisting Sam "Golden Boy" Forsgren. 2-2. And now you could really hear the SPA fans cheering their boys on. At this moment is when I believe the Cadets figured out they could not handle us and decided to start talking and this Saturday afternoon game turned into a war. Every ball was fought for, every last breath was used, and less than five minutes later Josh "Slim Shady" Gray managed to give the Spartans a 3-2 lead with an opportunistic strike from inside the box! The Spartans were really feeling it now, in what was sure to become an instant classic of the young season, however the Cadets were not feeling it so much and it showed when one of their players tried to pull a cheap shot on Skipper Nico "Swan" Olson Studler. The kid came in reckless from behind and could have seriously injured Studler and immediately Nico would not allow his team to be bulied around, so he stood up looked the kid in the eyes and shoved him to the ground, then preceded to push his head down. Nico was subsequently red carded but he gave fire to the team, now they wanted it even more. The only thing was that the Swan retaliated against the wrong player.........
The Spratans would have to only play the game with ten players for the rest of the game and there were still 30 minutes left. Only a few moments later things somehow got worse with Slim Shady picking up a hard knock on a fifty fifty ball in the air, he had to be rushed off the field and was taken to the ER. However after a few X-Rays and the use of an IV, he was cleared and hopefully will be good to go soon.
Thanks to incredible fan support however, the guys kept fighting and sure enough on a counter attack (yet again) Gabe "G-Unit" Brennaman finished spectacularly to give the Spartans a 4-2. A goal with ten men. Remarkable. The Cadets kept their frustration up and it only helped the Spartans defend harder. The Spartans kept their composure and were able to defend the lead until five minutes from the end when the Cadets brought one back 4-3, but that would not discourage the Spartans because we are fighters. We are not Cadets: Trainees to become officers in the military. The boys managed to successfully keep the lead and come out of Mendota Heights with a well earned victory. A true test of Character.
Thanks to the fans for making this so memorable. A true battle. A classic fight, that seemed like it would never end. And another Spartan victory, your boys are now 6-1. When you see your Spartans in the upcoming days be sure to congratulate them, be sure make sure you attend their games because a team like this does not come around too often.

Battle of the Lighthouse

On yet another historic afternoon for SPA soccer, your Spartan men took on the Concordia Academy Beacons in Roseville. On the way to the game I was curious exactly what a Beacon was (english is my second language, cut me some slack)so I looked it up on the google. The result that I got from the great dictionary.com was that a beacon is a lighthouse. A lighthouse? A LIGHTHOUSE!! Really? Are you kidding me??? Now I know Roseville isn't the greatest place in the state, in fact far from it, but how could they not come up with anything better than a lighthouse for their mascot. Wow. Fear the lighthouses....yea ok. I mean when was the last time you saw the lighthouse on Deadliest Warrior??? I am speechless, unbelievable, this is almost as bad as the St. Croix Lying Lutherans of West St. Paul.Wow.Roseville, I am truly disappointed.

Anyways back to what we shall call the "Battle of the Roseville Lighthouse" I guess.The game was a Tri-Metro Conference battle which the Spartans looked to use to go 4-0 in Conference play. The game started with the 2011 season sensation Sam Forsgren scoring to keep his scoring streak of netting one in every game alive. A sizzling finish. But the headlines were made by Senior Captain Ryan "Giggles" Hobert, who scored his first Varsity goal on a cracker of a strike with no angle at goal. The bloke from down under had finally done it and so was well celebrated by his teammates. A true emotional moment for Hobert that will never be forgotten by those who were there. When interviewed after coming off Hobert said "It was about time, now lets win state!" A the answer of a true teammate. Before the whistle went off for the half, it was Sam Forsgren who netted yet another stunning ball to make his goal tally 13 on the season, on track to beat his older brother's 23 from last year.
The Spartans then played an incredibly chill second half and ended the match with a solid 3-0 win. Matty "Ice" Fiedler and Ben "Beast" Braman (who you can follow on twitter at @WindowBreakerBB) recorded their fourth shutouts of the season. This year the "Battle of the Lighthouse" was won by your Spartans who are not only undefeated in conference, but are also ranked 4th in State.
The other team ranked 4th in state for the Girls is our own Lady Spartans who defeated the Beacons today 9-0 in what was never much of a battle, but as usual they cleaned up shop with another solid shutout by keeper Bari Applebaum. Goals on this day included ones by the skipper Jenna O'Brien, freshman star Molly Fiedler (yes, the sister of Matty "ICE" Fiedler) and junior Amanda Hotvedt.

Congratulations to both SPARTAN team on winning the battle of the lighthouses.

Spartans vs Islanders

On a wonderful Minnesota fall afternoon, your Spartans took on the DeLaSalle Islanders in what was a hotly contested affair by the around 40 fans who made their way to The Historic Lang Field. The game was a very crucial conference match were the Spartans put their Undefeated conference record on the line.

I knew it was going to be a good one when while standing in line during national anthems I heard a peculiar sound coming from in front of me, sure enough it was Paul "Chicken Kiev" Micevych,Peter "Woody Allen" Wood and Cameron "CC" Causey singing along to the version of the national anthem that some may say was by Francis Scott OFF-Key. Unfortunately I was not able to save them from their misery by taking the reigns with all I learned in 8th grade choir because I honestly do not know half of the words to the song.
The match began with a BANG as Spartan striker Lorenzo "Cappucino" Pavoloni netted a goal doing his country proud.A spectacular finish with his opposite foot in the box. Which when interviewed after coming off he said he dedicated to all his boys in Roma.Ya,ok L.

Regardless of the incredible efforts down the wing by James "HarG Knock Life" Hargrens, the first half ended with Cappucino's strike being the lone goal.

The second half became heated as both sides tried to end on top and avoid being reprimanded by Eddie Murphy's twin, the referee. No lie, the guy looked kind of like him with a couple more pounds, the angle that my side of the bench offered was superb in making this discovery.As the half went on team Co-Captain Ryan "Giggles" Hobert had an altercation with a boy that was around 5'3''. The boy was obviously bothering Giggles and so he decided to go chest to chest with him and size him up which was a very interesting sight considering the boy was nearly a whole foot shorter than him.

Also,today I realized that you know you have been spending too much time on the bench when you look down the bench and see your teammate, Gabe "Messi" Chang drawing on his arms with chalk.

The Spartans then finally took charge on the usual goal by Sam "Clutch" Forsgren who once again pulled the trigger at the right moment like in a John Wayne film for the Spartans and continued his streak of scoring in every game this season.

Your boys are now undefeated in Conference Play thanks in great part not only to the usual suspects of Brennaman and Forsgren, but also to a solid defense compose of James "Harg Knock Life" Hargrens, Ben "The Good German" Kachian, Nick "Rock" Olson Studler and Francesco "the Decapitator" DiCaprio.

Thanks for the support. Next Victim: The Concordia somethings. Thursday in Roseville. Be there or be square.

Spartan Thursday

Welcome to the brand new, state of the art, mind blowing Classic Spartan Blog. The Classic Spartan Blog is the official blog of SPA sports. Simply put, if you are a real Spartan, then you read this blog. The blog will follow a wide variety of Spartan sports but in the fall it will mainly chronicle the Boys Soccer Team simply due to the fact that since I am on that team I go to all the games (that is unless in the few minutes I play I perform so bad and that I don't get invited back) and so it is easy to do.

Before we embark on this remarkable and unforgettable journey together I would like to thank the man that made all of this possible with his incredible foresight and imagination, Cameron Causey. You can follow him on twitter at @TheRealCamCause.

Enough with the boring stuff, now to the game. Today the Spartan Boys Soccer team played host to the St. Croix Lutherans in what was a cracker of a match. However they should be called the St. Croix "Lying Lutherans" instead, because they are not even from Anywhere near the St. Croix river, they are West St. Paul. Liars. I was shocked when I was told this before the game by Jonas "the prophet" Wang. It is like if we just decided to call ourselves the Chanhassen Spartans, now that just sounds terrible. Anyways back to the game which was played in front of a typical Thursday afternoon crowd at The Historic Lang Field where legends such as Manny Lagos, Tony Sanneh and Larry Fitzgerald have played. (Larry Fitzgerald didn't actually go to SPA but he played a football game at Historic Lang once)

The team began the game in great fashion, scoring four minutes after the first whistle on a great finish by the skipper Gabe "G-Unit" Brennaman who as usual stuck to his Swiss roots after the goal and showed no emotion. As the half went on Sam Forsgren netted three more and G-Unit added another, but the real news came from number 14 (but number 1 in our hearts) Cameron Causey who tapped a ball in past the goalkeeper with the grace of a ballerina performing the black swan. This goal was Cameron "CC" Causey's first Varsity goal. And the celebration was just as priceless, with Josh "Slim Shady" Gray (you can follow him on twitter at @ShadesofxGray) getting down on one knee and shining CC's shoe. When interviewed at half time about the goal, CC said that "it's all about the protein." Now I wasn't exactly sure what this meant, but I am sure that coming from CC it could only mean something ever so poetic. 
The second half consisted of Peter "Woody Allen" Wood playing the role of director in the middle of the pitch, while sporting the sickest flow on the team.......which could be simply due to the fact that he was among the few players without a shaved head.
A great save Ben "Beast" Braman kept the troops motivated to keep attacking.  Great defense by Francesco "decapitator" DiCaprio, a distant cousin of the great Leonardo, made the eventual shutout possible. A great performance overall for the Spartan boys against the lying Lutherans. 

Afterwards i am proud to say I was in attendance at the girls soccer game which as at St. Croix Lutheran, but unfortunately, all the plans I had about hanging out on the St. Croix river were crushed by these liars. Instead I saw the girls led by Molly Fiedler, the sister of Matty "ice" Fiedler, score four goals to help the girls reign victorious over the "Lying Lutherans."

Two Classic Spartan games. One Night. One Victim, the lying Lutherans of West St. Paul. Classic.