Page 14 Stillwater Ponies Fall Sports Preview • Friday , September 6 , 2024 stillwatergazette . com
GIRLS SOCCER
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said . “ We have 18 returning players from a team that went 12-4-2 last year , and our new players we expect to contribute as well . We will need to have good goaltending and be a physical presence on the field . We will need to be able to defend well , and dictate how we want to play the game .”
Notable — The Ponies have won five section championships in the past six seasons and 13 overall dating back to the program ’ s first section crown in 1989 . Stillwater has made 12 state tournament appearances , but was denied an opportunity after winning the section title in 2020 when the state tournament was not held due to the pandemic — a season in which the Ponies outscored their opponents by a combined 54-5 .
Stillwater ’ s inaugural section championship came in 1989 under coach John Greenberg . Hall of fame coach Andy Olson took over in 1991 and the Ponies qualified for state in his first season and again in 1993 , 1994 , 1997 , 1998 , 2001 and 2010 . Under Huber , the Ponies added section titles in 2018 , 2019 , 2020 , 2021 and 2022 . Stillwater ’ s three state championships occurred in 1994 , 1998 and 2021 . The Ponies also placed second in 1997 and 2001 .
• Former Ponies coach Andy Olson was inducted into the Minnesota State High School Soccer Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2004 .
• Stillwater won nine straight conference championships from 1993 to 2001 and added five additional league titles in 2010 , 2016 , 2020 , 2021 and 2022 for a total of 14 .
• Two Stillwater players have been honored with the Minnesota Ms . Soccer Award . Kyndra ( Hesse ) de St . Aubin was
Sophomore Maddy Bonilla returns for a Stillwater girls soccer team that finished with a 12-4-2 record a year ago .
STILLWATER PONIES GOOD LUCK IN THE 2024 SEASON !
the team ’ s first player to win the award in 1998 and Amanda ( McMahon ) Maxwell made it two in a row for the Ponies while taking home the honor in 1999 .
• Ponies coach Mike Huber was honored with the United Soccer Coaches Association Minnesota High School Girls Large School Coach of the Year Award in 2020 and 2021 . He was named Central Region Coach of the Year in 2020 , which also made him one of nine finalists for the National Coach of the Year Award .
• Similar to the past few years , Stillwater will face a challenging schedule this season . In addition to ranked conference opponents Woodbury ( 4th ), White Bear Lake ( 7th ) and East Ridge ( 9th ), the Ponies are also scheduled to face second-ranked Edina , fifth-ranked Lakeville North , sixth-ranked Centennial and 10th-ranked Andover .
• Last year ’ s Most Valuable Athlete Brooke Nelson went on to win the Jim McLaughlin Scholarship Award , which is presented each year to a female and male senior-athlete at SAHS based on character , leadership , citizenship , scholarship and athletic ability .
• Assistant coach Dusty Dennis , who was named the Section 4AAA Assistant Coach of the Year in 2021 , is also the cohead coach for the Stillwater gymnastics team that has qualified for state six of the last eight seasons , including a state championship in 2018 , state runner-up showing in 2019 and fourth-place finishes in 2022 and 2023 . Recently retired SAHS Activities Director Ricky Michel returns to the soccer staff as the goalkeepers coach .
• Former Ponies playing college soccer include : Dara Andringa ( Wisconsin ), Lexi Huber ( St . Thomas ), CJ Fredkove
See Girls soccer , Page 15