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Maple Grove girls soccer ready to defend state title if given the chance
Entering as the five-seed in the 2019 MSHSL state girls soccer tournament, Maple Grove beat both the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds to win their first-ever state championship. (Photo: Ben LeVahn)

Maple Grove girls soccer ready to defend state title if given the chance

MAPLE GROVE, Minn. (BVM) — Last fall, the Maple Grove High School girls soccer team turned a huge page in their program’s history. 

Entering as the fifth seed in the Minnesota High State High School League 2A state tournament, the Crimson beat reigning state champion Minnetonka the first round. They then faced topranked Champlin Park in the semifinals. 

The Crimson finished their tournament run with a 2-1 victory over Centennial in the state final. It was the first state championship in the program’s history. 

At this point, every girl that plays Crimson soccer only knows that at the end of the year, we go to the state tournament (and play in championships),” Maple Grove head coach Ben LeVahn said. “It was a cool distinction to be able to make that the mindset and end target has shifted from hoping to make it to expecting to make it.”

The win capped off a three-year streak of making it to the tournament. Maple Grove was the runner-up in 2017 and in 2018 the Crimson lost in the first round to the eventual state champs. During this time they were also threetime sectional champions.

“It really did feel like a community win,” LeVahn said. 

The Crimson will have some hurdles to jump over to defend their title. The first was actually being able to have a fall season. Over the summer, high school activity associations around the country were discussing if fall sports would happen with the COVID-19 pandemic still going on.

“I ended up having a little different perspective,” Levahn said. I’m the president of our coaches association in Minnesota. I was able to get some insider information, but not enough to make me feel like anything was confident.”

It was only recently that Minnesota announced it would go forward with fall sports, with the exception of volleyball and football which have been moved to the spring.

“I wasn’t confident we were going to have something,” LeVahn said.

The summer ended up being different than any before for Maple Grove. Unable to conduct their normal practices and camps, the Crimson have some catching up to do.  

“We turned over a large number of starters from our team last year,” LeVahn said. “There are definitely going to be some growing pains, but we just have to get through them as quickly as we can.”

With many starters graduating and offseason practice time being limited, Maple Grove will have to rely on the culture they have created over the years and strong leadership.

“Last year was our third year in a row being in the state tournament and three years ago we were in the finals and lost with seven seconds left,” LeVahn said. “I’ve got two seniors this year that have been a part of all of those teams so if there was ever a year I’ve got enough experienced leadership, that’s going to be critical, this is that year.”

Tryouts began Aug. 17 and from there the Crimson will have to get prepared for conference play. As part of the Northwest Suburban Conference, they play in one of the best conferences in the state. Last year alone, three of the four teams in the semifinals were from their conference.

The state championship was an all-Northwest Suburban event as well. 

The top of the conference is not the only worry for Maple Grove, which has to take each team seriously. 

“We lost to Coon Rapids in the last game of the year and that ended up being the best thing that could’ve happened for us,” LeVahn said.

It cost the Crimson a conference championship, but proved to be a valuable wake-up call right before the postseason.

Besides playing in a competitive conference with a young team that has had little practice this summer, Maple Grove will also be trying to defend their title during a pandemic. It has affected how LeVahn and other coaches across the state plan their practices. 

“It does feel a little bit like my first two years where I’m having to think through every step where for the most part there’s a lot of stuff that’s just rinse and repeat,” LeVahn said. “This will be my 19th year as varsity coach and I have to go back to full creation mode.”

Luckily, the coaches are working together to help each other. They are currently sharing different ways to help meet health and safety regulations. 

“It’s not a competitive advantage, it’s a safety advantage,” LeVahn said. 

Working together, coaches can ensure that the best practices are put into place while also tailoring their procedures to their facilities. 

It will be a challenge, and everyone knows that nothing is guaranteed this fall, but for now, the players and coaches are just happy to be back playing the game they love.