By: Brennan McMahon

On Friday, October 6, both of the varsity soccer teams got the opportunity to play at the Allianz Stadium in St. Paul. This was a very cool opportunity for both teams because they got to play where the Minnesota Loons our professional soccer team plays.

The game is something that the Loons set up every year. Each year two of the seven SPPS schools get to play in the game which is named “The St. Paul Cup”. The team that we got paired up to play against is our biggest rival: Central High School. This caused it to be a very fun and exciting game.

None of this would be possible if the Minnesota Loons had not been willing to let teens get opportunities like this. The Minnesota Loons also donated $2,500 to each of the teams for them to buy things like new soccer balls and nets that we desperately need.

The girls game was very close and both Highland and Central did very well and the first half ended in a tie. The second half was also very exciting with both teams having many scoring opportunities, but both goalies played very well and didn’t let any goals in.

The game ended with a score of 0-0. The game then went to a penalty shootout which was very close, but Highland managed to win 3-2 with goals from Ellery, Greta, and Ava.

The boys game was very close and in the 38 minute, number 12 scored a free kick for Central, putting them in the lead 0-1. That was the only goal in the first half. Jonah Wriggly, one of the Highland goalkeepers, played a super good half.

In the 55 minute, Ayub scored for Highland on a penalty kick. Sadly, Central scored with 10 minutes left in the second half and won the game. Isaac Rappe, the other Highland goalkeeper, played really well also.