Oct. 26—BYRON — Beginning this week, the Byron girls soccer program will have been to the state tournament four times.
As dominant as its regular seasons and section tournaments have been, the Bears have yet to win a state game.
It has never looked more promising for Byron to end that winless streak than right now. The Bears are ranked No. 4 in the state in Class 2A, are unbeaten (19-0-0) and have set a school record for goals scored in a season at 93.
"I think this team really has the 'it' factor," said Byron coach Jeremy Baumbach, whose No. 3-seeded team is at state for the third straight year and will lead off at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, against No. 6 seed Becker, at Vaughan Field in Shakopee. "Not only is it one of the most athletic teams we've ever had, but they have great soccer savviness. Their skill level is big."
As has been true of all Baumbach-coached teams, this 2026 edition is stingy. It's allowed just six goals in 19 games. That includes beating No. 2 seed Northfield 2-0 in the Section 1, Class 2A championship match last week.
Last year they entered the state playoffs having only allowed four goals all season.
That they have nearly matched that total this year is remarkable considering Byron returned just one starting defender from a year ago, senior All-State player Ashlyn Kelm. The other three are new as starters.
"Our defensive play has been huge," Baumbach said. "We really stress it. In our film sessions, we really hone in on defense. If you only score one goal and the other team scores none, you are going to win 100% of the time."
In 12 of the Bears' 19 games, they've pitched shutouts. And they have done it with a new starter in net, senior Caylee Boynton.
Boynton has been stellar and has helped Byron outscore its opponents by an average of 4.9-0.3.
The Bears have both synergy and star power going for them. Three of their players have been named All-State, midfielder Leah Ellavsky, defender Kelm and senior forward and leading scorer Alyse Ayen (17 goals, 10 assists).
Sophomore midfielder Maegan Kelm has also had a breakout year, with 14 goals and 20 assists.
CANNON FALLS — They'd been waiting for this. Building toward this.
Now, here it is, the Cannon Falls/Goodhue/Randolph girls soccer team is headed to the state tournament for the first time in program history.
"Everyone is so pumped," said Bombers sixth-year head coach Erika Schwede, whose No. 8-seeded team takes on No. 1 Esko in the first round of the state tournament at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, at Spring Lake Park.
No doubt, this didn't come out of the blue. The Bombers enter the state tournament with an 11-3-2 record. But there was a time not so long ago when winning any game was a major struggle. The Bombers were 2-12-2 in Schwede's first year, 1-11-0 her second, 2-11-2 her third, 6-7-2 her fourth, then had a breakthrough season last year, going 8-2-5.
And now this.
They entered the Section 2, Class 1A final against Fairmont as the No. 2 seed, Fairmont the No. 1.
But Schwede is a big believer in her girls. She let everyone around her know it.
"At school, I was telling everyone that we were going to win," Schwede said.
They got it done thanks to their reliable senior forward Lola Christianson. Christianson scored the game's lone goal, the third-year starter taking a feed from all-Hiawatha Valley League center midfielder Ava Hernke — her 10th assist of the the year — and burying it into the back of the net from 20 yards out.
LA CRESCENT — Things are going more smoothly all the time for the La Crescent-Hokah soccer team and its coach, Jenny LaRue.
This is LaRue's fourth year as head coach. It's the second straight season the Lancers have qualified for the Class 1A state tournament.
La Crescent-Hokah got there by scoring — at least on paper — a pair of upsets. The No. 3-seeded Lancers beat No. 2-seed St. Charles/Lewiston-Altura 2-1 in the Section 1, Class 1A semifinals on Oct. 19, then downed top-seeded Winona Cotter 1-0 in last Wednesday's title game.
It sends the Lancers to their second straight state tournament and their eighth state trip overall. They'll take on No. 3 seed Breck at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, at Farmington.
La Crescent-Hokah had twice been on the losing end of things against Winona Cotter this year, falling 2-1 and 3-1 during the regular season.
A defensive adjustment might have made the difference in this last meeting. Instead of following prolific Cotter scorer Elli Threinen all over the field with a defender, as it did in its first two meetings, La Crescent-Hokah went with its standard defense this time, giving no one special attention.
It worked. The Lancers pitched a shutout and did it against a team that had averaged nearly five goals per game.
La Crescent-Hokah now takes a 13-5-1 record into the state tournament.
LaRue expects the Lancers' comfort level to be even higher at state this season. After four years with some of these girls, they know her well.
"When I first started as coach here, it was a new culture and a new program that I was giving them," LaRue said. "These girls know what to expect of me now. What they see is what they get. The level of expecting the things I expect — the grit, the effort, the controlling the controllables — they know that now. It's been fun to watch."
La Crescent-Hokah is led by a pair of All-State players, sophomore midfielder Kiera Timm with 26 goals and 15 assists, and junior goalie Ella Gates. Anna Wood is also a big contributor with 15 goals and nine assists.