Rachel Burzinski and the Austin girls soccer team got an early taste of their upcoming playoff road on Thursday.

Friday, October 15, 1999

Rachel Burzinski and the Austin girls soccer team got an early taste of their upcoming playoff road on Thursday.

In a 6-2 loss to Rochester Mayo at Wescott Field, the Spartans kept constant pressure on the temple of the Austin defense, scoring all six goals from near point-blank range.

"It felt like there were 20 of them out there," said Burzinski, the senior defender, who showed no fear in mixing it up with the Spartans furious forwards. "No matter how many of them we marked, it felt like there was always one more person."

Century’s six goals came from three sources, senior Katie Metzroth, junior Amanda Johnson and sophomore Kristi Boese. Each of the girls had two goals.

Austin’s Jamie Nieland matched her counterparts, scoring both of Austin’s goals. The Packers made repeated forays into Mayo territory, but were unable to match the Spartans’ offensive might.

"That’s the way it’s been going this year," coach David Ingalls said of Austin’s short-but-sweet spurts. "They packed us in and got us in a defensive mode.

"All of the Rochester schools are good passing, ball control teams."

Ingalls said Austin will face a similar test against Century on Tuesday’s Section 1AA playoff opener.

The playoffs begin Saturday, with No. 9 Owatonna visiting No. 8 Rosemount. The winner of that match will play at No. 1 Eagan during Tuesday’s full slate of action. In other games, No. 2 Century hosts No. 7 Austin, No. 3 John Marshall hosts No. 6 Mayo and No. 4 Lakeville hosts No. 5 Winona.

Century beat Austin by six goals earlier this year, but Ingalls insisted his team is far improved from that first game of the season. Austin’s 7-6-1 mark in the tough Big Nine is proof that the Packers (8-6-2 overall ) have come a long way since.

"We really played with a lot of heart," Burzinski said of the Packers’ effort against Mayo.

Austin boys fall to Mayo

The Austin boys soccer team finished its regular season on Thursday, falling to Mayo in Rochester 5-2.

The Spartans led 1-0 at the half before Austin tied it 1-1 early in the second half. The Spartans then reeled off three straight goals to take a commanding lead.

Vlad Blagojevic and Drew Oesterle scored for Austin (4-9-3, 4-8-2 and seventh in the Big Nine).

Two players combined for all of Mayo’s goals.

"We couldn’t keep their tops guys contained," Coach David Graham said.

Graham and Co. begin the Section 1AA playoffs on Saturday against Owatonna at Wescott Field.

Tennis

Austin girls advance to section finals

All of the Austin Packers advanced to the second and final day of Section 1AA individual tournament.

In Thursday’s three-team sub-section, Laurie Alonso and Amy Kelly advanced in singles.

In doubles, it was the teams of Amber Dolphin and Emily Bue along with Mindy Neilon and Chelsea McColley.

The other schools competing were Albert Lea and Rochester Century.

Alonso was the top dog in singles with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Kelly.

"It was nice," Austin coach Deb Hoyt said. "All I had to do was sit back and watch. They were hitting the ball really hard and had some good long points."

Dolphin and Bue were tops in doubles.

The next round of play, the Section finals, takes place Wednesday starting at 9 a.m. at the Rochester Athletic Club. The top two singles players advance to state as do the top two doubles teams.

Volleyball

Austin wins third straight

Austin defeated Rochester John Marshall 15-1, 15-8, 15-12 at home on Thursday. The win was the Packers third straight Big Nine victory, evening Austin’s conference mark at 4-4.

Austin improved to 13-11-2 overall.