Determination leads Stars back to state title game

Holy Angels girls soccer took one step closer to the Class AA state title following a 6-0 rout of Becker at U.S. Bank Stadium Nov. 5.

Stars senior Emma Danberry picked up her eighth hat trick of the season and classmate Claire Meyer tied the single-season assists record with her 32nd assist while helping drive a defensive unit that hasn't allowed a goal in seven matches, going back to a 2-1 loss at Blake Sept. 29. It was the lone defeat on an otherwise sparkling 19-1-1 record.

Holy Angels and Blake will meet for the Class AA state title 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, back at U.S. Bank Stadium, a rematch of the Sept. 29 match that stands as the Stars' only loss this season.

Since returning to a full schedule in 2021, the Stars have yet to miss a state semifinal. The Stars won the 2022 state title in a 2-0 win over Mahtomedi to go with third-place finishes in 2025 and 2021 and state runner-up finishes in 2023 (2-0 versus Mahtomedi) and 2024 (1-0 versus Benilde-St. Margaret's). Holy Angels also won the 2003 state title and this season marks the 16th state tournament appearance since 1982.

Semifinal dominance

Senior defender Annalise Raasch opened the scoring by finishing a well-timed volley set up by a cross from Meyer in the 13th minute. Emma Danberry made it 2-0 in the 23rd minute as she took a pass from Annika Peterson at the top of the penalty area, turned and put the shot on target before celebrating with Peterson as her teammates swarmed around her knowing what was yet to come.

The Stars added three goals in the second half off corner kicks taken by Fiona Wilson. Typically, the Stars line up in a group just outside the top of the penalty box before finding designated spots in time for the ball to find them to create a scoring chance.

Eloise Danberry, Emma's younger sister, used her height to power a header into the goal from the penalty mark in the 46th minute.

When asked about playing on the field alongside her younger sister, Emma Danberry looked to the back of the room.

“It means everything to me and she scored tonight which is awesome,” Emma said. “I just love celebrating with her. There's been a couple times she's assisted on my goals which is even more special.”

Emma Danberry converted a header off a Wilson corner kick in the 49th minute before completing the hat trick with a shot set up by sophomore McKenna Vixavong in the 51st minute to push the lead to 5-0.

“I very rarely score unassisted goals,” Emma Danberry said, praising her teammates for finding her in a good spot to bury a scoring chance. “We do a really good job connecting, finding the back of the net. Whether that be on corners or set pieces or in the run of play.”

Borrell wrapped up the scoring by tucking a header inside the back post off a Wilson corner kick in the 71st minute to make it 6-0. Ahead of the final goal, the Stars switched things up, lining up along the end line, near the far post before finding their spot as Wilson picked out her target.

Meyer said they really began finishing well off corners in the second half of the season. “We're unpredictable with that.”

The Stars kept the ball in the offensive end of the field for a vast majority of the second half, forcing Becker to simply clear the ball away from danger on several occasions, leading to the Stars taking many corner kicks.

“This is really cool,” Holy Angels head coach Dave Marshak said during the news conference with three captains alongside at the front of the room while the rest of the squad gathered in the back of the room. “I know we've been here consistently but every year, every team is different, every journey is different. This group flew under the radar most of the season, there wasn't much press about us until later in the season with the exception of the coaches poll. We were never below number three in the state and we've gone 19-1-1 now, back in the state tournament scoring 14 goals and allowing zero.”

Marshak said Becker (16-5-0) was a difficult team to prepare for in the sense of two of the top goal producers in the state in the Changamire sisters. Adele Changamire, a junior, led the state with 66 goals and 12 assists while sophomore Andersyn Changamire added 29 goals and 33 assists for 62 points. Alyssa Kinney was third in scoring with eight goals and 15 assists and Kali Schendzielos had 15 points (seven goals, eight assists).

In a 2-1 overtime win against Byron in the section final, Andersyn Changamire tied the game 20 seconds into the second half and Adele Changamire scored the winner in overtime to send the Bulldogs to their first state tournament.

Marshak explained that against Byron, Becker kept eight players behind the ball before finding Andersyn in the midfield who would feed Adele as a striker to create chances off the counterattack. “It was almost like an 8-1-1 system and you'd expect a team that does that to just try and play long balls but they were connecting passes and it was an unusual mix,” Marshak said. “There were times tonight my midfielders were looking around, 'Who do I mark?' because they didn't have players in those positions. It's just something we don't see a lot of. We see a lot of park-the-bus (defensive), especially in our (Tri-Metro) conference. It creates an interesting equation.”

Raasch said they felt the pressure of trying to contain the Changamires. “The biggest thing was just to work together. Having two elite players trying to score on you for 80 minutes is a lot of pressure to take in but we face a lot of good front lines.

“You are going to make a mistake but having someone else there to cover up until you work back. Make sure we have each other's backs to defend together.”

With a full week between state tournament games, Marshak said training included using the JV team as a scout team set up in Becker's style of play to rehearse how to get out of danger or to anticipate what they might see.

“It was pretty effective based on how we handled it tonight,” Marshak said.

“They have those two extraordinary players you have to account for and our players took the preparation very serious and understood the assignment and really performed,” Marshak said after the Stars denied Sartell's 38-goal scorer Mollie Statsick in the quarterfinals and then the Changamires Nov. 5. “The team defense was fantastic.”

Meyer, whom Marshak refers to as the team mom who keeps everyone organized in their position and role, anchors a backline that includes Eloise Danberry and freshman Morgan Borrell in the middle of the defense along with another freshman, Nora Froehle.

Marshak believed Blake and Hill-Murray were the top of the heap in Class AA in the state. “And the coaches and I kept saying, let's try to be the best of the rest and see where that lands,” he explained as perennial power Mahtomedi dispatched Hill-Murray in the Section 4AA semifinals. Mahtomedi came up short against Blake 1-0 in the other state semifinal Nov. 5.

“And here we are with a chance to play Blake for a championship on Saturday,” Marshak said. “It was an excellent match over at their place, very good first half. I think we're looking forward to another shot.”