Woodbury boys soccer: Minneapolis Southwest slows Royals’ roll

Woodbury got a reality check Saturday.

Despite maintaining a shared lead in the Suburban East Conference, the Royals got a first-hand look at one of the state’s top teams in a 3-0 non-conference loss to Minneapolis Southwest.

“They pretty much dominated the game,” head coach Joe Quintavalle said. “They don’t have any weaknesses.”

The loss put the Royals’ overall record at 3-2. Woodbury’s 2-0 SEC record kept it in a conference with Stillwater.

Southwest, the 2010 state runner-up Lakers returned nearly all their players this year and continues to be a Minnesota powerhouse, Quintavalle said.

“I don’t know who’s going to beat them this year,” he said of sixth-ranked Southwest.

Quintavalle said the game was instructive to his young Royals squad – which includes eight underclassmen – in some facets of the game. He said he talked with his players afterward about how well Southwest utilized passing over dribbling, among other things.

“That’s a game where we realized it’s going to be a long ways to go,” he said.

The loss followed Woodbury’s road victory over Park – its first against the Wolfpack in two years.

“I challenged them to come out and play their best game of the season, and I think they came out to play,” Quintavalle said of the Thursday, Sept. 8 game.

The Royals opened scoring with 27 minutes left in the first half on a goal by senior midfielder Davis Johnson off a Tanner Carlson free kick. Senior forward Clenten Ndonwie assisted on the goal.

Woodbury’s lead grew to 2-0 after a goal that came with 15 minutes left in the half by sophomore midfielder Luke Hauswirth.

Park countered in the second half on a goal by standout R.J. Alowonle.

“They have a really good team this year,” Quintavalle said of Park (1-3, 1-1 SEC).

The Royals head into the week fielding only one goalkeeper on the roster. Freshman goalie Jacob Simon sustained a concussion during pregame warm-ups before the Park match.

Woodbury faced Cretin-Derham Hall Tuesday, the results from which were not available as of press time.

The Royals play host Thursday to Hudson, before traveling Saturday to Wayzata.

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