Ending on a High Note

By Pat Rupp

Farmington closed the books on its 2022-23 regular season in style with a wire-to-wire 5-1 South Suburban Conference win over Rosemount Saturday afternoon at Schmitz-Maki Arena.

The win was the fourth straight for the surging Tigers who enter next week’s Section 1AA tournament as the No. 5 seed in the eight-team field.

“This was another solid win for us,” Farmington coach Jon Holmes said. “We are really putting the puzzle together. We have stayed disciplined and have been relentless in our effort.

“It’s been sort of  an ‘against all odds’ season for us. We’ve gone through a lot with all of the close losses in games where we have dominated play but we’ve stuck with the process and found the path to success.”

In Saturday’s season finale, neither team managed a score until Jenna Goblirsch (from Morgan Mitchell and Lexi Giller) found the twine with fewer than four minutes remaining in the first period.

Then came what Holmes said may have been the turning point of the game. With just seconds remaining in period one Kenna Kadrlik made it 2-0 with her team-leading 19th goal of the season.

“That was the back-breaking kind of goal that had gone against us much of the season,” Holmes said. “That was a huge turn in our favor.”

Kennedy Meier put the home team up by three scores midway through the second period on assists from Madison Kadrlik and Josie Empey. The goal was Meier’s second in as many games and her seventh of the season.

Rosemount scored right out of the gate in the third period but Goblirsch (from Amelia Goblirsch and Addison Trapp) netted her second of the game four minutes later to all but seal the deal.

Later, senior Meghan Stoa brought the home crowd to its feet, scoring her first career goal on an empty-netter in the closing minutes.

“What a way to end the season and her career at Schmitz-Maki,” Holmes said. “That was a highlight for sure.”

As has been the case most of the season, Farmington outshot the opposition, this time by a 47-26 count.

Tiger goalkeeper Addison Moudry turned away 25 shots to register her sixth win of the season.

Farmington will take a 9-16 record , but more importantly its four-game win streak, into Wednesday’s section opener at fourth-seeded Northfield.

“We need to continue to play with that little chip on our shoulder,” Holmes said. “We still have some things to prove.”

Other opening Section 1AA games include:

No. 1 Lakeville South vs. Bye

No. 7 Rochester Mayo at No. 2 Lakeville North

No. 6 Rochester Century at No. 3 Owatonna

Hat Trick for Kadrlik; Tigers Beat Raiders

By Pat Rupp

Senior Kenna Kadrlik scored three times and the Tiger defense turned in another solid effort in a 3-1 non-conference victory over Hastings Tuesday night at Schmitz-Maki Arena.

The win was the second straight for Farmington (7-16) which is trying to build some momentum heading into next week’s Section 1AA playoffs.

“This game started out like so many of our losses this season,” Farmington coach Jon Holmes said. “We buzzed the net in the first period but had nothing on the scoreboard….We did the same thing in the second but still only had one goal to show for it.”

The Tigers outshot the Raiders 25-5 over the first two periods but led just 1-0 heading to the final break. Kadrlik netted the first of her thee goals late in the second on an assist from linemate Abby Gehrke.

Hastings tied the count just 1:06 into the final period to set up what looked like another nail-biter of a finish.

“When they tied it up we didn’t have any type of letdown,” Holmes said “We dug a little deeper and kept the pressure on them.”

That pressure produced two more Kadrlik goals, her team-best 16th and 17th of the season. Gehrke picked up another assist on the first score with Madison Kadrlik recording one on the second.

“Kenna had some awesome chances and it was good to see rewarded tonight,” Holmes said. “That line of her, Abby (Gehrke) and Alexa (Bricko) has really been finding the net lately. They’ve been accounting for a very high number of our shots all season.”

Farmington outshot Hastings (9-15) by a wide 37-14 margin with Tiger netminder Addison Moudry notching her fifth win of the season with a 13-save effort.

Holmes credited his much improved defense with keeping the puck away from Moudry.

“They stepped up and owned their roles,” he said. “They are locking things up, getting bodies and pucks outside the scoring areas of our zone.”

The Tigers will try to make it three in a row Thursday night when they entertain Metro South in a South Suburban Conference game at Schmitz-Maki Arena. A Saturday home matinee against Rosemount will close out the regular season..