St. Cloud Tech Girls Soccer Rides Record Individual Performance to State Tournament

(KNSI) – St. Cloud Tech girls’ soccer standout Molly Burkstrand sits alone atop the Minnesota record books with 61 goals this season.

Now in her fifth year, coaches and teammates expected something special from her but they didn’t predict a season for the ages. Head Coach Katie Boardman humbly suggests that the Tigers have outdone the targets they set before their first match.

“We joke, because I think our mid-season, our end of season goal was 25 goals as a team, and we have like 115 goals or something as a team. So, just little things like that. So, we definitely surpassed our expectations.”

The official tally is 104 goals. That is three times as many as the Tigers managed in 2023. Tech is 15-3-1 and state tournament bound. All three losses were to AAA schools, a level above where Tech is slotted by the Minnesota State High School League. Seeding is not out yet but Boardman believes her squad can stack up against anyone.

KNSI News met up with Boardman and Burkstrand after a practice Thursday morning. We asked Boardman when she knew this squad was special.

“Our first few games were against teams that last year we either tied, or lost to, or were really close with. And then we came out and we kind of blew them out, and we were like, ‘Whoa. What’s going on here? Something’s happening.'”

Boardman says the team had secured the number one overall seed in Section 8AA but she felt most experts did not view them as the favorites. Tech took down Alexandria Tuesday night, 2-1, in Cold Spring in the title game. And yes, Burkstrand scored a goal.

In the section semifinal, Burkstrand had eight goals, but “It definitely has not hit yet,” she laughed. She is shrugging off her achievements, both from game to game and for the season as a whole, saying the team comes first. “Every goal I score, it just feels like another one. I don’t know. It doesn’t feel any different than it did last year, or the year before.”

Humbly, she attributes her success to gradual improvement, making quicker decisions and being fast with her touches. She revealed what conditions she likes best to try and score, which offer some hints as to how she has become so proficient offensively.

“Probably left foot. Teams don’t expect it. I feel like my left foot’s more accurate than my right foot. My right foot is probably stronger, but probably left foot. Left foot shots from just inside the box, like the 18 [foot line].”

Not only is she scoring, but her teammates are enjoying extra opportunities. Collectively, they have scored 43 goals this season, which is more than last season. They have also improved on their mark of 9-4-4 from a year ago.

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