7 high school players to watch at state soccer final four at U.S. Bank Stadium

Defending champions, first-title hopefuls and top-ranked teams roll into the 1A, 2A and 3A soccer semifinals that will be hosted at U.S. Bank Stadium on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Keep an eye on these seven players as potential difference makers as their teams look for a spot in Friday’s state championship games.

Returning to state for the first time since 2019, top-seeded Minneapolis Washburn (15-0-3) is hoping to become the first Minneapolis public school to lift a boys soccer trophy in the tournament’s 50 years. A strong season from 3A’s Mr. Soccer, senior midfielder Ronan Selbo has produced 16 goals and seven assists for the Millers. He scored and assisted one each in the Miller’s 3-0 over Bemidji in the quarterfinals.

Washburn faces No. 4 Eagan (18-1-1) and their own Mr. Soccer finalist, Blake Prouty, in their semifinal matchup Wednesday.

Gophers fans could get a glimpse of what’s to come for University of Minnesota soccer as Wayzata forward Tenley Senden looks to carry the top-seeded Trojans (17-1-1) to a state title. They finished runner-up to Edina last year, and the Hornets have been Wayzata’s only loss of the season this fall, back in August. But the Trojans haven’t lost since, thanks in part to 23 goals and 16 assists from the Class 3A Ms. Soccer finalist. Senden and Wayzata will face No. 4-seed Eagan (16-3-1) on Tuesday, though Edina waits on the other side of the bracket.

If there’s one thing this Stars forward will do, it’s score goals. As of now, Maya Johnson, a senior, has 24 of them, a team-best for undefeated Southwest Christian (18-0-1). Johnson had 36 goals last year as Southwest Christian made its debut at the 1A girls state tournament and finished fourth. This year, the Stars are the top seed and have a date with No. 5 Esko (13-3-1) in Tuesday’s semifinals.

The only team that’s been able to hold Maple Grove to a draw was Andover, shutting out the Crimson in a 0-0 match in September. That was, in part, thanks to 12 saves from second-team All-State senior goalkeeper Christian Guenther. He’s made 154 saves for the Class 3A Huskies (11-3-3) this year on 89.5% of shots faced. Seeded based on random draw, Andover upset the No. 3 seed, Minnetonka, in a 3-2 win on Tuesday. In their third consecutive trip to state, the Huskies will get another shot at the No. 2 seed Crimsons (18-0-1) in Wednesday’s 3A semifinals.

An All-State forward, junior Jabari Kibisu has scored 21 goals and recorded six assists for the Eagles, the No. 2 seed in Class 2A. He bagged one goal in the Eagles’ 6-0 rout of St. Cloud Tech, helping book a semifinal against No. 3 Blake (17-2-1). The Eagles (13-3-3) last won a state title in 2017, but in Class 1A. Making their first Class 2A tournament appearance, Totino-Grace and Kibisu will be tasked with finding the back of the net against a Blake squad that has conceded only 11 goals this year.

In its 2-1 quarterfinal win over Duluth Marshall, St. Cloud Cathedral hit the 100-goal mark. Junior Jacob Oliver has had 42 of those goals, a state-best for boys soccer. He and the No. 2-seeded Crusaders (20-0-0) will go up against No. 3 Rochester Lourdes (16-3-1), another high-scoring team behind sophomore forward Blake Moynagh’s 30 goals.

An unlikely source opened the scoring for the Zephyrs in their 3-0 semifinal win over St. Francis on Thursday: a centerback. But not all that unlikely — All-State senior centerback Faith Peper has scored six goals this year, nearly as many as opponents have scored on Mahtomedi all season (just seven). Only four of those have come with Peper on the field, locking down the backline.

Like the Totino-Grace boys, 11-time 1A champion Mahtomedi (17-2-1) is another program looking for its first title in a larger size classification. As the No. 2 seed in Class 2A, the Zephyrs will face No. 3 Mankato East (16-2-2) on Tuesday.