Minnesota’s Week 1 girls top performers

The opening weekend of high school girls soccer in Minnesota saw more 100 matches across the state. Top-ranked Stillwater certified its ranking with a 9-0 blowout win over Moorhead. Meanwhile, preseason No. 5 Champlin Park was held to a 0-0 draw by Maple Grove. Here are PrepSoccer’s top performers from opening weekend. <strong>Goalkeeper</strong> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><strong>Kayla Matuzak, South St. Paul, Class of 2022</strong> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Packers goalkeeper came into 2021 after boasting some of the best stats by a goalkeeper in 2020, making more than 120 saves with a .904 save percentage. She started out her 2021 campaign with a clean sheet as SPHS shut out Stewartsville 4-0.</span></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <strong>Defenders</strong> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><strong>Mckenna Monson, Centennial, Class of 2022</strong> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Monson &amp; the Cougars stomped Coon Rapids 4-1 on opening day and followed it up with a 4-0 pummeling of Blaine in the second contest. Monsoon, a returning 2020 first-team all-state defender, helped lead the Cougars to two wins in two games with only one goal conceded in the process.</span></li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><strong>Bella Vannavong, Champlin Park, Class of 2022</strong> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Vannavong and the Rebels have started the season 1-0-1, but have managed to keep two clean sheets in the process. The senior defender played a vital role in keeping Maple Grove scoreless in their 0-0 draw.</span></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <strong>Midfielders</strong> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="30650" first="McKenna" last="Lehman"], Lakeville North, Class of 2022</strong> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lehman scored three goals for the Panthers in their 10-2 rout over Owatonna. Lehman also scored the opening goal for the Panthers in their 2-1 victory over Minneapolis Washburn. Lehman is a returning 2020 first-team all-state selection and is committed to the University of St. Thomas (Minn.).</span></li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="23282" first="Ava" last="Grate"], Rosemount, Class of 2023</strong> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Grate has led the Fighting Irish out of the gates in stunning fashion with four goals in three matches. In total, however, Rosemount is boasting a +20 goal-differential over three matches. Grate scored twice in the team’s first and third matches.</span></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <strong>Forwards</strong> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="23318" first="Lauren" last="Ahles"], Centennial, Class of 2022</strong> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ahles scored a brace for the Cougars on Thursday, Aug. 26 in their 4-1 rout of Coon Rapids. Ahles is a Northeastern commit.</span></li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><strong>Marissa Bonilla, Stillwater, Class of 2022</strong> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bonilla helped lead the Ponies to a 9-0 win over Moorhead. Bonilla was the Ponies leading goalscorer in 2020, notching 12 goals in seven games. She opened her 2021 account early on with a brace on their opening day. </span></li> </ul> </li> </ul>