Glen Strandberg
Sports Editor

All season long, the Forest Lake boys soccer team proved it wasn’t intimidated by anyone and could play with most everyone.

With the difficult Suburban East Conference schedule behind them, the Rangers begin the Section 7AA playoffs with a chance to go beyond the first round.

The boys finished the year with a 4-0 loss against Duluth East, but that was preceded by a 3-1 victory over Roseville and a solid performance against White Bear Lake (10-4-4), in what would turn out to be a 3-2 Bears win.

Head coach Aaron Tilsen pointed out that despite the 4-0 score, his group played well against Duluth East, who is the second-ranked team in Class A.

In the two-goal victory over Roseville, the Rangers would take a 1-0 lead into halftime and then get two more after the break to lock up the team’s third conference win of the season.

Richie Egbert, Brian Conley and Brett Stolberg all scored, as Tue Xiong and Egbert would also pick up assists.

The loss to White Bear occurred when the Bears went up 2-1 in the first half, and Forest Lake couldn’t make up the difference as both team’s scored after intermission.

Egbert accounted for one Ranger goal and Xiong scored the other.

With the postseason ready to begin, Tilsen noted that the Rangers were hoping to land the No. 3 seed in the section, but that went to Blaine, based largely on the playoff history of both programs, rather than this season’s results.

With the No. 4 position, Forest Lake hosts St. Francis on Thursday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. These two met back in August, with the Rangers grabbing an ugly 2-1 win on the road.

“The boys and I know that to gain respect and improve the program, the wins that matter come in sectional play,” Tilsen shared. “We are hoping for a good result Thursday and a chance to play No. 1 in state Anoka on Saturday.”

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