Prep roundup: Willmar Cardinals open with a tough loss to Monticello Magic

Aug. 27—WILLMAR — The Willmar girls soccer team opened up its season with a 2-0 loss to he Monticello Magic on Saturday at Willmar High School.

Monticello scored both goals in the first half.

Bella Vasoli, a Class AA All-State First Team selection in 2022, scored on a penalty kick early on after a Cardinals' handball in the box. Gabrielle LeBrun added the Magic's second late in the half.

"It feels great to have game one down," Cardinals first-year head coach Madeline Wertish said. "I was very impressed with how the girls were able to bounce back quickly and battle back.

"We were able to push back quickly, but were not as effective in the final third as we practiced or that we'd like."

Miscommunication by Willmar led to Monticello's second goal, but Wertish feels her team is adapting well.

"It's nothing I'm worried about at this point in the season," Wertish said. "Telilie Lange created some space in the middle to get us wide and forward with the help of Sophia Quinn out wide and Kailly Benitez up top, unfortunately to no avail."

Kianna Eichhorst made six saves in net for the Cardinals.

"Kianna had a strong performance in goal," Wertish said. "She came up with some great saves when we needed them."

The Cardinals play host to Alexandria at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Monticello (1-0-1)................. 2 0 — 2

Willmar (0-1)......................... 0 0 — 0

FIRST HALF — Stats not available

SECOND HALF — No scoring

SHOTS ON GOAL — M: 7. W: 3

GOALIE SAVES — Monticello: Elizabeth Nelson, 3 saves ... Willmar: Kianna Eichhorst, 6 saves

Hermis Alvarado Reyes paced the Cardinals to a 3-2 victory at Willmar.

Alvarado Reyes, a sophomore midfielder, notched a hat trick, including a pair of penalty kick goals. His first penalty kick tied the game at 1-1 in the 23rd minute and his second gave Willmar a 3-1 lead in the 74th minute.

Alvarado Reyes scored his second goal from the bottom of the midfield circle on Monticello's side of the field. He launched a chip shot over the Magic's goalkeeper in the 63rd minute.

"What I like is his field vision and passing ability out of the back," Cardinals head coach Jeff Winter said, "Hermis sees what's developing before it happens."

The comeback victory gives Willmar a 2-0 overall record through the first week of the season.

"I was really impressed with our team's resolve," Winter said. "They never gave up, they kept playing and they regrouped."

Willmar plays Alexandria at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Alexandria.

Monticello (0-2)................. 1 1 — 2

Willmar (2-0)...................... 1 2 — 3

FIRST HALF — (1) M: Alvin Bropleh (Maxwell Chard), 5th minute ... (2) W: Hermis Alvarado Reyes (Miguel Altamirano Toruno), 23rd minute

SECOND HALF — (3) W: Alvarado Reyes (not available), 63rd minute ... (4) W: Alvarado Reyes (Altamirano Toruno), 74th minute ... (5) M: not available, 78th minute

SHOTS ON GOAL — M: 10. W: 15

GOALIE SAVES — Monticello: Dane Jacobson, 12 saves ... Willmar: Carson Eichhorst, 7 saves and Nehemiah Van Horne, 1 save

Minnewaska fell to 1-1 on the season with the loss to Heritage Christian at Glenwood.

The Lakers play at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Hillcrest Lutheran Academy in Fergus Falls.

Eighth-ranked (Class AAA) Byron got a straight-set victory over Willmar at the 10th Annual Breakdown Side Out Classic at New Prague.

Brielle Ogdahl and Nora Mitteness each had five kills for the Cardinals. Lexi Owens scooped 12 digs, and Ellery DeoBer finished with 15 set assists, three ace serves and four kills.

Willmar has its Central Lakes Conference opener at 7 p.m. Tuesday at home against Fergus Falls.

Byron (2-0) 25 25 26

Willmar (0-2) 21 21 24

Byron

Stats not available

Willmar

Serving (aces): Ellery DeBoer 3, Avery Olson 3, Lexi Owens 1, Gretchen Volk 1 ... Set assists: DeBoer 15, Volk 3, Owens 2 ... Hitting (kills): Brielle Ogdahl 5, Nora Mitteness 5, DeBoer 4, Maddison Molacek 4, Volk 2 ... Blocking (aces): DeBoer 1, Mitteness 1, Volk 1, Olson 1, Ogdahl 1 ... Digs (5 or more): Owens 12, Volk 8, Ogdahl 8, DeBoer 7, Hannah Magnuson 5

BOLD pulled out a 23-25, 25-16, 25-20, 26-24 victory over Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial at the 10th Annual Breakdown Side Out Classic in New Prague.

It was the Warriors' season-opener. BOLD is host to Morris/Chokio-Alberta in a West Central Conference match at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Olivia.

LC-WM (1-1) 25 16 20 24

BOLD (1-0) 23 25 25 26

Central Minnesota Christian finished with a 1-2 record at the Adrian/Ellsworth Tournament in Adrian.

The Bluejays fell to Martin County West 2-1, then beat Hills-Beaver Creek 2-1 before losing to Adrian/Ellsworth 2-0.

The Willmar boys finished sixth and the Cardinals girls were fifth in the Brave Like Gabe Early Bird Invitational on Saturday at Arvig Park in Perham

Perham won the boys' competition with 72 points, beating Hopkins, which had 96. Willmar had 159, led by Sully Annez, who finished third with a time of 15 minutes, 23.40 seconds. There were 18 teams in the boys' race.

Perham also won the girls' division with 48 points. Hopkins took second with 72. Willmar had 167. Top Cardinal finisher was Hannah Quinn, who took 23rd with a time of 21:01.80. Fifteen girls teams competed.

Boys

Team scoring (Top 10)

(1) Perham 72 ... (2) Hopkins 96 ... (3) Moorhead 97 ... (4) Lakeville South 103 ... (5) Bemidji 159 ... (6) Willmar 159 ... (7) Pequot Lakes 188 ... (8) Hawley 214 ... (9) Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 220 ... (10) Pelican Rapids 310

Individual

TOP FIVE — (1) Bjorn Anderson, Per, 15:19.90 ... (2) Eli Hall, PL, 15:19.90 ... (3) Sully Anez, Will, 15:23.40 ... (4) Landon Hering, Hop, 15:36.70 ... (5) Will Termont, Bem, 15:49.60

WILLMAR — (3) Anez ... (11) Fathi Dubet 16:44.50 ... (42) Zach Engstrom 18:02.30 ... (49) Matthew Eystad 18:17.30 ... (54) Brandon Zepeda 18:35.40

Girls

Team scoring (Top 10)

(1) Perham 48 ... (2) Hopkins 70 ... (3) Moorhead 91 ... (4) Lakeville South 112 ... (5) Willmar 167 ... (6) Little Falls 212 ... (7) Wadena-Deer Creek 217 ... (8) Pequot Lakes 230 ... (9) Hawley 233 ... (10) Bemidji 233

Individual

TOP FIVE — (1) Sydney Drevlow, Hop, 17:35.80 ... (2) Mia Hoffmann, Bem, 17:52.00 ... (3) Calia Chaney, PL, 19:19.60 ... (4) Claire Vukovics, LS, 19:35.60 ... (5) Lindsey Rotz, Barnesville, 19:49.00

WILLMAR — (23) Hannah Quinn 21:01.80 ... (28) Jaidyn Flolo 21:14.30 ... (36) Gabby Martinez 21:43.50 ... (42) Madi Engstrom 21:50.40 ... (52) Leah Eystad 22:22.60