The Holy Angels Boys Soccer team has had an undeniably aggressive fall season. These boys can successfully instill fear within their opponents far before kickoff. The team continuously builds camaraderie on and off the field through service such as their time at the MOCA Teal Strides Walk or through outings like paintball and MN United games.
This season the captains were four outstanding seniors: Carter Hermanson, Noah Hermanson, Aidan Smith, and Ryan Welsch. Aidan has played at AHA for five seasons now, coming full circle from an 8th grader on varsity to captain. Aidan states “My biggest takeaway from being a part of the soccer program over the last five years is how welcoming everyone has been to me. Coming in as a young kid who really did not really know anyone lead to some built up fear. That immediately changed when I stepped into the locker room the first day, everyone introduced themselves to me and told me how excited they were to have me on the team. This bond between past and present players on the team is part of what makes our program so special.”
Carter and his co-captain and brother, Noah, are a lucrative team on the field. Noah works exceptionally from the back line with a seemingly never-ending work ethic. Noah and Ryan are both paired defensively keeping the backline on lock along with their fellow defenders. Ryan says he and the team find motivation in their exceptionally hard games and practices by, “taking a look at what the team has done well while also finding ways to improve.” Welsch says that, “We as a team were able to step back and realize there will be another game where we can better demonstrate our capabilities and to do so we must fully trust in each other”. The boys ended their regular season with 10 wins, 3 ties, and 2 losses. The boys, however, were not done yet.
Carter Hermanson walks away from his final season with the program with a new title, “Mr. Soccer” for the 2021 season. He is also the new record holder for most goals scored during his time here, surpassing the original fifty-goal record. Additionally, Carter, Noah, and Aidan were all named “All State” players. The boys advanced through sections with a starting goal by Shalim Montez-Hernandez followed by a clutch goal from junior Benny Solomon in the final section game versus Richfield. They entered into the state tournament with desire to finish what they started as reigning champions.
