St. Paul Central earned a spot in the Class 3A boys soccer semifinals on Thursday, getting past Maple Grove in a penalty-kick shootout after the teams finished level at 1-1 in a quarterfinal played at White Bear Lake High.
Andrew Whittington converted the deciding kick from the 6-yard line, giving the Minutemen a 4-2 advantage in the best-of-five shootout. Central's players erupted in celebration with a student section of roughly 200 that had kept up a loud presence all evening.
The win sets up a second straight postseason meeting with Edina, which knocked Central out in last year's quarterfinals. The Hornets defeated Rochester Mayo on Wednesday and will face the Minutemen in a semifinal on Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. in U.S. Bank Stadium. "I think the boys are very motivated to make history this year," said third-year Central coach Mo Gubara. His program is still looking for its first state title and last reached the semifinals in 2019.
Early on, the outlook was not encouraging for Central. Maple Grove (14-4-1) pressed hard and kept the Minutemen pinned in their own end for long stretches. The Crimson took the lead when Bodi Nelson sent a low shot inside the right post from the left side of the penalty area.
Central (13-3-3) survived that pressure, avoided falling behind by two, and gradually pulled the match back toward even. Whittington said the team applied lessons from a 5-3 regular-season finale loss to Maple Grove. "We needed to possess the ball and move it around to tire them out and create chances," he said.
The equalizer arrived with 13 minutes left in the second half. A long cross from the right side toward the left post deflected off the hands of diving Maple Grove goalkeeper Raidyn Bailey. Central's Aiyden Moore kicked the loose ball into a crowd of defenders in front of the net, and it deflected off one of them and into the goal.
Two scoreless 10-minute overtimes followed. Central won a coin flip to shoot first, and David Bryan and Dylan Barsness both scored. Maple Grove's Carter Mast hit the crossbar, and Nelson was stopped by Central goalkeeper Frankie Burns. Liam Reszetar sent his attempt over the net for the Minutemen, but Rowan Tidwell scored against Matviy Bondarenko, a goalkeeper brought in only for the shootout. Parker Carlson and Elias Sorbel scored for the Crimson before Whittington finished it.
Whittington, a junior, was named a captain midway through the season by Gubara because of his selfless attitude. He has 15 goals and 19 assists. "He knew the feeling of losing to Edina in the playoffs last year and he wanted our seniors to get another chance," Gubara said, adding that he expects Whittington to be a Mr. Soccer candidate next year. Whittington described his mindset on the final kick: "It was just another kick and it had to go in that one corner."
Burns, a sophomore, has been another story for Central. He stepped in when starter Simon Okstad-Gardella broke a finger during warmups before a Sept. 17 match with Como Park. Against Maple Grove, Burns played aggressively off his line and made sure catches on balls played into the box. "He came up clutch for us," Gubara said. "We're going to enjoy this moment because it doesn't always happen, then we have to get back to work and be ready to compete against Edina."
