Whenever the Austin boys soccer team has its eyes on making it to the state tournament, and that has been quite a few times in the past six years, it can pretty much assume that Rochester Lourdes will be the final road block waiting for it in the Section 1A title game.

The dominance of Lourdes can easily by portrayed by looking at the Brehmer family, who have been very active in soccer for the Packers. Austin grad Jacob Brehmer, who is the oldest boy in the family, is the only Brehmer to actually be on a team that beat the Eagles, and that was back in 2009 when the Packers made their only trip to the Class A state tournament. Since then, Lourdes has had Austin’s number. Austin grads Noah Brehmer and Nick Brehmer both lost to the Eagles in the Section 1A title game their senior years and Austin sophomore Josh Brehmer was a backup keeper on Austin’s squad that was knocked off 1-0 in OT to Lourdes last week.

Jacob remembers winning Section 1A fondly, but he wishes his brothers could’ve shared that joy by beating Lourdes.

“We always end up playing them. We always have the intentions to beat them,” Jacob said. “It’s kind of a family joke that I was the only one to do it. But I still feel bad for [my brothers]. It’s kind of cool being the team that advanced the furthest [from Austin]. But at the same time you want what’s best for your brothers and Austin in general. It’s tough to see them lose every time.”

In all, the Packers have had their season end to Lourdes four times in the last six seasons and the Packers are 0-11 against Lourdes since that win in 2009. The Eagles have won the Section 1A title in five straight seasons and they won the Class A state title in 2010.

Austin’s 1-0 loss in OT against Lourdes last week is as close as the Packers have come to beating Lourdes since 2009.

Austin head coach Jens Levisen said he remembers Lourdes being the team to beat when he played soccer while attending Albert Lea High School. Now Levisen has had to learn how to coach against the Eagles.

“They’re that team to beat. They’re that one that we’ve got to keep coming after and try to figure out how to break through that,” Levisen said. “We’ve seen that we’re right in there. That’s motivation for me as a coach and it’s also motivation for players to see how they can develop as a player and an athlete in the offseason.”

Austin never played Lourdes in the regular season until the Packers beat them in the postseason in 2009. Since then, the teams always play in the regular season.

Lourdes head coach Tom Kane said the Eagles always look at Austin as one of the teams that is in the mix for the top seed in Section 1A.

“We know when we play during the season that means the winner is the top seed. We have been fortunate to win those games and get that top seed. Jens does a great job preparing his teams for us so we always know it will be a tough game,” Kane said. “I also think Austin has helped him with the turf fields and dome. That should serve him well in developing a strong base.”

Jacob still has pride in the team that he played on that was able to get to the state tournament. Now he has two more years to wait to see if his youngest brother Josh can get past Lourdes and get to a Class A state tournament.

If the Packers do get past the Eagles, it’s likely going to take a mammoth effort. One like they almost had in last last week’s crushing overtime loss.

“You could tell that they were well coached and they had a good system in place,” Jacob said of Lourdes. “They’re very well disciplined and they have talented players. It seems that has continued.”

For local sports updates, follow Rocky Hulne on twitter @RockyHulneADH.