Farmington, Minn. - More goals. Less injuries. Shorter games. Farmington girls' soccer has the pieces in place for a great season.
Goalkeeper Ayden Gagner is a returning All-Conference player and in her fourth year on the varsity. The squad has plenty of experience, some gained due to battling through injuries in 2022. The team returns many of its attacking players.
Senior forward Taitym Voth says FHS grew last season, "I feel it was super challenging for us at the middle part of the season. We all worked together and when we did have a few injuries, some of the younger kids stepped up. We immediately brought them to our team. We all worked together."
Coach
Aaron Johnson says the roster got a workout, "[It] kind of hurt us. I don't think that we reached our full potential. But it did give us a chance to play a lot of different girls, which then I think is going to help us for this year. We have a lot of girls back." That includes about a dozen seniors.
He says defense is a strong suit. The team held their opponents to a goal or less ten times last season. Three of those were shutouts. "We have Ayden Gagner, our goalkeeper. She's been on the varsity since her freshman year. Started as a sophomore. She's very good."
He adds, "We've got most of our scorers – our forwards, attacking midfielders – back from last year. So it should be good. I think we have a lot of good athletes up top. A lot of people that can score."
Senior center/midfielder Emma Zimmerman is optimistic, "I feel like we're going to be a competitive team. We're going to bond really well this year and work as a team together."
She says the offseason was productive, "We played a lot of games. Even though we weren't in touch as a team, we all played for our club teams, and it was a good season for all of us, I've heard." That leads to anticipation, "I look forward to all the team bonding we're going to do. Meeting the new girls during summer practice was fun. Just preparing for the season and starting to win games."
Voth mentions keys to success, "It's just the simple things you have to work on, and make sure we're all working as a team right away before we step on to the field. And try to win those first games…Communication is a big key we have to work on again this year. And I feel just being loud and being energetic and bringing people up. That will help us."
The Tigers were held to one goal or less 11 times in 2022. Johnson is hoping for an improvement of fortune, "The last few years we've just struggled to score when we need to. Like last year in the section semis we gave up a goal, lost 1-0 (to Lakeville South) …This year I think we're going to have to be able to score."
All that scoring will have to happen in regulation during the regular season as the Minnesota State High School League eliminated overtime, "When you play three games in four or five nights, sometimes going to overtime is a hassle. I think it's probably good to just have a tie."
Voth thinks that could lead to a quicker start in games, "It's not a super big deal. But also, I feel like that's more reason for us to be competitive right from the start and not wait until the second half."
Johnson is thrilled to welcome back
Rob Carpentier to lead the junior varsity, a former Farmington head coach who's spent time at Cristo Rey Jesuit in Minneapolis and Mankato Loyola, "It's good to have him back in Farmington. He'll be a great addition to our program."
Conference opponent Rosemount is the defending state champion. Johnson believes they have graduated some of that club, though he says they have good young players. He looks at Eagan as a top South Suburban Conference team as well. Zimmerman says recent matchups with Eagan have been very close and the Lakeville's always offer a challenge. Voth feels Rosemount is a big rival, "They're really competitive. We all know each other through club soccer. So, it's just like kind of fun to play them and see who wins."
Lakeville South won the Section 1AAA crown a season ago. The Cougars and North Panthers have dominated the section with one or the other advancing to state the last 17 years. The three years before that Lakeville reached state before South opened.
Zimmerman likes the enclosed feel of Tiger Stadium. She is excited about being on Student Council and the activity planning that comes with that. Voth has committed to play for North Central College (Naperville, IL), "The school was just a perfect fit for me. It was just the exact size. It was just perfect."
Northfield drops from the section, but the Tigers go to the Raiders to open the season on Thursday, August 24. New Prague replaces them at playoff time. FHS opens the home season on Saturday, August 26 against East Ridge.
Farmington plays two more home non-conference matches with Rochester Century (Tuesday, August 29) and Hill Murray (Friday, September 1) before beginning the SSC slate at Apple Valley on Wednesday, September 6.
Johnson says the team is ready for opening kickoff, "I think we have a really good group of girls. They've worked really hard all summer. Got a big group of seniors."
