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The No. 3 seeded Packers peppered No 6 Red Wing throughout the night as they won 3-0 to keep their season going in a Section 1AA quarterfinal in Art Hass Stadium Tuesday. 

The Packers out-shot the Wingers (2-14-1 overall) 30-2 and they had two shots deflect off the post in the win.

“We knew that we needed to come out and be aggressive,” Austin head coach Jens Levisen said. “We’ve been getting better each game and we just had to come out and make something happen. We had lots of shots and kids were getting after it.”
The Packers took a 1-0 lead just 12 minutes into the game when sophomore Leo Hernandez found the net and they didn’t score again until Kaleb Tedesse scored with 36:03 left in the game. Poe Reh added an insurance goal to make it 3-0 with 9:48 left in the game.

Hernandez had taken on a much bigger role this season after learning the ropes as a freshman on varsity last season.

“I’m a little bit more trusted on the field now and I feel I can trust my teammates more than I did last year,” Hernandez said. “I’m more comfortable playing with these guys. I just want to keep it going.”
The Packers (6-10-1 overall) will now play at No. 2 Faribault in a Section 1AA semifinal at 5 p.m. Friday. Austin tied with Faribault 1-1 on Sept. 29.

The Packers are now playing a second round road game for the second consecutive year after being the favorites in their section for a long stretch of time. But Austin isn’t worried about being the underdogs and the team has found its footing.

“We just had a different energy tonight. It’s do or die now and it’s win or go home,” Austin senior Joe Ewing said. “We want to keep the dream alive and do what we can to keep going.”

Dane Mitchell had two saves for Austin.