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Volleyball
PA Volleyball traveled on the road to Minnehaha on Monday and West Lutheran on Wednesday. The Lions fell to Minnehaha in 3 sets and West Lutheran in 5 sets. Captain and outside hitter, Maria Counts, stepped up as a leader and go-to player leading the team with over 20 kills this week. The team felt the consequences of missing some vital players. Coach says, “We came together early on this season but ultimately couldn’t fill the shoes of so many missing key players. Excited to be back together whole again!” Providence takes on Blake and Breck next week.
Scoring details can be found at MN Volleyball Hub
Follow @PA_Volleyball to stay up to date with everything Providence Volleyball.
Football
The Lions opened their 2020 Season last Friday night vs Mound Westonka. The Lions spotted the visiting White Hawks a 21-0 halftime lead through a series of missed opportunities and costly turnovers. However, the second half would be a different game altogether.
The Lions would take the opening kick of the 2nd half and proceed to march their way down the field. Key pass completions from Senior QB Aidan Lampe to Junior Sean Allerheiligen kept the series alive and ate up yards. A 15 yard run by Junior Running Back Jacob Meissner got the Lions inside the 10 yard line. A TD pass from Lampe to Junior TE Mark McCarthy put the home team on the board. Senior Kicker J.P. Luedke would add the extra point and the deficit was cut to 14 points, with the score now 21-7.
The score would remain knotted at 21-7 until the 4th quarter. A botched punt snap by Mound put the Lions in good field position. Lampe and Allerheiligen connected on a huge 3 and long to get the offense inside the 10 yard line. A few runs later and Lampe would go in on a 1 yard QB sneak, and Luedke would hit the extra point cutting the score to 21-14.
The Lions defense who played excellent in the 2nd half would force another Mound punt and gave the offense the ball back on their own 15 yard line needing to go 85 yards to tie it up. On two consecutive plays the Lions would pick up 27 yards on a pass to Allerheiligen, and then 33 more yards on a pass to Junior Jack Reller. Two plays later Lampe would go on to hit McCarthy for his 2nd TD reception on a beautiful 20 yard touchdown pass. Luedke, who was 3 for 3 on kicks tied the game at 21.
The Lions Defense would hold the White Hawks on their last attempt to score and the game went into overtime. Mound would get the ball first and scored a touchdown but missed their extra point setting the score at 27-21. The Lions Offense would get 4 chances from the 10 to tie the game or win it. But it was not to be, a couple missed opportunities and the game ended at 27-21. A valiant comeback that came up just short. The Lions showed excellent resilience to comeback after being down by 21.
Key Stats:
- Aidan Lampe as 11 for 21 passing for 151 yards and 2 TD passes. Also ran for 1 TD
- Sean Allerheiligen had 5 catches for 76 yards
- Mark McCarthy had 3 catches for 38 yards and 2 TDs
- Jacob Meissner had 22 carries for 121 yards.
- Josh Mogeni led the team in Tackles with 9
Cross Country
The boys cross country team finished their season on Thursday with a run at Mora’s golf course for Sections. Their last 5K for the year was windy and chilly, but exciting. To keep within MSHSL guidelines, the section was split into 6 different races, each with 4 teams competing and then combined the results to create a Section result. The team finished overall in 9th place out of 22 teams. Jack McElroy finished 21st out of 134 runners with a time of 18:38.5. Jacob Olson finished his race in 19:48.5. The rest of the team included Tomas Palomarez, Aidan Flynn, Jayden Mersereau, Grant Heim, William Wehmann, and Alex Rynders as alternate. “The Varsity squad has some great potential in the next few years. The section race wasn’t their best showing, but when they all align, they’re going to be hard to beat. This is an amazing group of young men who show their respect both on and off the course which makes them a lot of fun to coach. I am looking forward to a very competitive and fun season next year,” says Coach Rachel Fogle.
Next Up: The girls get their turn at Sections on Friday, October 16th up in Mora.
Girls Tennis
The Varsity girl’s tennis season came to an end this week with the completion of the team section tournament. PA finished the regular season tied for fourth in the IMAC conference standings and fell in the quarterfinal of the section tournament to third seed St Paul Academy.
It capped the end to a very rewarding season. “We welcomed 5 new varsity members this year and saw a lot of growth from last season’s returning players and from each player these past two months in both practice and competition. This is the first time we have not had any graduating seniors so it will be fun to see how this team continues to grow during the offseason.”
Earning varsity letters this season: Grace Arndt, Libby Bruce, Katelyn Clements, Olivia Eck, Leightyn Farrell, Ella Flynn, Marie Heyda, Koral Horstman, Lisey Langhus, Annika Harberts Ott, Emma Speier, Grace Wikenheiser. Thanks to Coaches Alyssa Wilkins, Howard Johnson, and Mary Kennedy for all their hard work.
Girls Soccer
The PA Girls Soccer Team wrapped up their season this week with an impressive last 2 games. The Lady Lions entered section play as the #9 seed and traveled to #8 seed Delano for the first section contest. The Lions came away victorious and upset the higher seed. Freshman Inga Nelson got the party started in the first half and netted her 2nd goal of the season. In the second half Senior Sofia Caballero picked up another goal to tie the game and then it came down to 8th grader Lauren Damberg as she scored the game winning goal. The Lady Lions moved forward in the section to face off against #1 seed Watertown – Mayer. The Lions battled the entire game and was deadlocked 2-2 until the last 16 minutes of the game. The Lions ended up falling 5-2 to the #1 seed in a heart breaker of a game. Head Coach Paul Cronin said “We had them, we had them on the ropes the entire game and we were making them nervous. For the #9 seed to come in and hold and at times out play the #1 seed until the last 16 minutes is something to hold our head high about.” That game completed the 2020 season for the Lions. Thank you to all the players, parents, coaches, and our athletic directors for making this unprecedented season possible and one to remember we cannot wait for next season! Go Lions!
Scoring details can be found at MN Girls Soccer hub
Follow @PA_GirlsSoccer to stay up to date with everything Providence Girls Soccer.
Boys Soccer
Providence boys soccer had a big week. On Saturday 10/10, they completed their final game of the regular season and conference play against Mounds Park Academy. For many years, Mounds Park finished ahead of The Lions, but this year, the tables were turned. Providence came into the game third in conference. The Lions demonstrated that their position was not a fluke by pounding Mounds Park 5-1. The first goal scored by JP Luedke from Matt Wooden was scored in the 5th minutes, followed by more goals in the first half from Sam Schroeder (with Roy Kyle assisting), Roy Kyle (Sean Donohue assist), and Nick Altenhoff scoring his first varsity goal (from a cross goalmouth pass by Roy Kyle). The second half allowed many substitutes to get ample minutes and Matt Wooden closed out the scoring with another assist by Roy Kyle, who got one goal and three assists on the day. “Not too shabby coming from a 9th grader”, said Assistant Coach Brad Fewell. The result solidified Lions third place in conference behind only perennial state powers Breck and Blake.
On Tuesday 10/13, the #8 Section seed Lions, which is possibly the highest ranking achieved by the boys team in school history, played the #9 seed Willmar. Willmar HS is a public school many times the size of Providence. Willmar had many upper class strong and skillful players. Whereby Providence regularly fields half the starting lineup of 9th and 10th graders. On that night, both teams were vying to play the #1 section seed, Orono, for the quarter-final round. For most of the game, Providence allowed very few chances, including no defensive corners. Whereby, the Lions generated a few potent attacks and a number of good chances. “It was a tactical battle of two very different teams”, recounts Coach Lev Buslovich. “Willmar was talented with individual skill, but lacked the team organization, which allowed us to pass around their midfield and outside backs. Our [Lions] team did not have the depth in talent, but we played in our lines very well and stayed disciplined. They [Willmar] had two decent chances in the second half, which sophomore Goalkeeper Ben [Martin] took exceptionally well, especially the close range low shot in the second half.” The game ended in a 0-0 tie in regular time, but got away from Providence when key Senior forward, Sam Schroeder, came off injured early in the second half. And the game became quite emotional when JP Luedke questionably received his second yellow card to earn a red, which reduced the Lions to 10 men with 2 minutes in regular time, but still 2-10 min overtime periods to go. With both of the starting senior captain forwards sidelined and playing with one less player, Providence conceded a late period defensive breakdown to allow Willmar to score at close range.
“It was devastating way to lose,” said Assistant Coach Brad Fewell. It was an even game with Providence actually generating more better chances. “The injury, the red card, the fatigue of playing extra time with one player down, finally wore us down,” concludes Fewell. “The seniors gave it their all and we all tried to play for them,” quoted Junior Captain Eli Schmidt. “Nobody wanted this to be their last game,” continued Senior Captain Sean Donohue. In unity and full of emotion, the entire Lions team, after having a momentous season, remained on the field to console the seniors and take in the last feel of autumn evening games under the lights of Mithun Stadium.
Scoring details can be found at MN Boys Soccer Hub.
Follow @PA_BoysSoccer to stay up to date with everything Providence Boys Soccer.
Live Stream Lions Games on the NFHS Network!
If you haven’t already heard, the NFHS Network is your home for live Lions broadcasts for the entire 2020-2021 season! Learn more about signing up for a free account by clicking here!
Scores and Standings
Check our and keep up on all varsity and non varsity team results on our Scores and Standings page.
Remember to follow @PAheadmaster, @PAcademyATH, @PA_MSathletics, @PALionsAD, and @ProvidenceLions for the most current updates regarding Providence Academy Athletics.