Tag Archives: Jens Levisen

Packer soccer team is headed to Class ‘A’ state tournament for first time in school history

By Rocky Hulne | Austin Daily Herald

Originally published 08:46 p.m., October 24, 2009

ROCHESTER — One amazing goal got it started, and another stellar score put it away as Austin clinched it’s first trip to the Class ‘A’ boys state soccer tournament in school history.

Section Champs!2The No. 2 seeded Packers beat top seeded Rochester Lourdes 2-0 at RCTC Saturday.

“This win is absolutely huge and we have an amazing team here,” Austin keeper Ryan Rasell said. “It’s probably the best that’s ever come through Austin.”

Junior midfielder Ronaldo Rubio gave the Packers (14-5 overall) all the momentum they needed when he booted a 30-yard goal from the corner that arced over the head of Lourdes keeper Will Elder to make it 1-0 Austin in the 15th minute.

“It was a ridiculous shot and it was great to get a goal in the first half,” Austin midfielder Jacob Brehmer said. “We capatlized on our opportunities and our defense played great.”

Rubio insisted that he was attempting a shot and not just trying to get the ball in the zone. But he was feeling some nerves.

“I was a little bit nervous and I didn’t actually think I would play this great,” he said. “It was very exciting for me.”

Jacob AustinvsLourdesSoccerBrehmer gave the Packers all the breathing room they would need in the 55th minute when he bent a 20-yarder from the right side that landed into the left side of the net.

“They’re a heck of a team and they’re really ferocious, so I knew I had to kick it when I did, even though I normally can’t shoot from far out,” Brehmer said. “I just kind of swung at it and it went in.”

The Packer defense did a solid job of keeping Lourdes from getting any easy shots, but the penetration of Joe Charlesworth created some problems for Austin. Rasell made a diving save on a shot by Charlesworth with 10:24 to go in the match and Rasell stopped a header by Jon Tousley of Lourdes (14-5-2 overall) with 8:09 to go.

Jacob 2 AustinvsLourdesSoccer“I went for everything,” said Rasell, who had 14 saves. “If I thought I could get it, I went for it and everything seemed to stick this game. I held on to everything. I assumed there would be a lot of tough shots, so I prepared myself for it.”

Austin’s depth gave them fresh legs and it helped it close the match out as the Packers were able to keep posession for most of the second half.

“Every player on the bench can step in and play any role without a problem,” said Austin head coach Jens Levisen.

Jacob3AustinvsLourdesSoccerAustin has 14 seniors that will be enjoying their first trip to the state tournament. While many of them were on the U17 team that won state over the summer, this adds to that accomplishment.

“Our whole team has been playing amazing, it’s so fun to be part of this great group of guys,” Brehmer said. “The number of fans we had was ridiculous and it’s one of the best games of soccer I’ve played in.”

Austin, which had 11 shots on goal Saturday, will play No. 2 seeded Simley (17-1-4 overall) in the first round at the state tournament. The match will take place Friday at 7:30 p.m. and will be held in Roseville Area High School.

6th Straight Win for Packers

By Scott A. Kolb
Post-Bulletin, Austin MN 

Youth Soccer Night at Art Hass Stadium provided the perfect setting for the sixth straight win by the Austin Packers.

With a lot of younger players watching from the stands, the Austin boys put on an offensive show in a 5-1 win over Rochester John Marshall.

The Packers scored three goals in the first half to put the visiting John Marshall Rockets in a deep hole for this Big Nine Conference game. The comfortable lead allowed the home fans to enjoy an extended halftime with the little soccer players getting a chance to play on the big field.

When the halftime fun was over, the youngsters shook hands with the Packers as they took the field for the second half. The kids all received a team poster and then they got to watch the big boys continue their offensive display.

“I’m glad we had a nice turnout with the young kids and it looked like they had a good time,” Austin coach Jens Levisen said. “This was a fun night for the players in our youth program and they got the chance to meet the guys on the varsity. Hopefully, the way we played in the game inspired them to continue developing their soccer skills.”

Passing to the open man and getting a flurry of good shots enabled the Packers to dominate the Rockets in the conference win. Henry Darling, who recently returned from a suspension, got the Packers rolling with an early goal.

Getting a shooter like Henry Darling back made the Austin offense even more dangerous. Darling scored another goal in the second half as the Packers won their third straight Big Nine game.

“I noticed in the first half that I could get away from their defenders and my teammates hit me with some nice passes,” Darling said. “I’m getting back into the groove of the game and scoring two goals always helps your confidence. Their defenders got kind of frustrated in the second half and started grabbing a lot, but we got through it with a win.”

Dante Ortiz made it a 2-0 lead for the Packers midway through the first half. The goal by Ortiz came off an assist from Jacob Brehmer.

The offensive forays into the JM end of the field never ceased as Austin fired a total of 23 shots on the night. The Packers would add another goal to their lead late in the first half.

Larson #1

Larson #1

Jacob Larson had the assist on the opening goal by Darling and his passing set up another scoring opportunity inside the final seven minutes of the half. Alex Klock took the pass from Larson and beat the JM keeper for a three-goal lead at the break.

 

“We worked the offense pretty well in the first half and got a lot of good looks,” Larson said. “We did a decent job of using the short passes to get the ball to the fast guys on the outside. The strong offense kept the ball in their end and allowed us to play good defense.”

Packers goalie Ryan Rasell spent most of the game watching his teammates kick the ball around the other end of the field. Rasell only faced a total of five shots and had four saves. He almost recorded his fifth straight shutout, but the Rockets got a goal in the 68th minute.

By that time, the Packers had already put the score out of reach. Physical play became a characteristic of the second half as each team was issued a pair of yellow cards.

The tide turned for good against the Rockets when Ortiz got behind the defense for an open shot with 25 minutes left to play. Ortiz was knocked down by a JM defender and Austin was awarded a penalty kick.

Tim Horn took the penalty shot for the Packers and nailed it for a 4-0 lead. Just a few minutes later, Horn got the assist on Darling’s second goal. This gave the Packers an insurmountable five-goal lead.

“We have a lot of different guys that can score goals and that’s what makes our offense tough to stop,” Levisen said. “The defense can’t just key on one guy, because we keep moving it around the field. The guys trust each other when they make a pass, and everybody keeps looking for shots. The team is attacking and playing well.”

Austin (7-2, 3-2 Big Nine) travels to Rochester Mayo for a key conference showdown on Tuesday night.

Packers come out firing in 5-1 win over Rockets

From the Austin Daily Herald (Rocky Hulne):

The Packer offense keeps rolling.

Austin's Howie Underwood kicks the ball from Rochester John Marshall's Taylor Kloss during the first half Thursday night at Art Hass Stadium

Austin's Howie Underwood kicks the ball from Rochester John Marshall's Taylor Kloss during the first half Thursday night at Art Hass Stadium

The Austin boys soccer team won its sixth straight match with a 5-1 win over Rochester John Marshall at Art Hass Stadium Thursday.

Austin (7-2 overall, 4-2 Big Nine) got the ball rolling when Henry Darling scored one of his two breakaway goals on a deep lob by Jacob Larson in the 11th minute. Darling is finally starting to get his legs back into it after re-joining the Packers a few matches ago.

“I haven’t played very well the past few games and I’m still getting back in the groove of things,” the senior forward said. “At the beginning of the game I wasn’t sure how fast their defenders were, but I kind of noticed I’d be able to get away with (my speed) early on.”

The Packer offense fired off 23 shots Thursday and it has scored at least three goals six times this season. That trend continued against JM (0-8-1 overall, 0-4-1 Big Nine) as the Packers cruised.

Dante Ortiz knocked in a rebound of a miss by Jacob Brehmer in the 19th minute and Alex Klock scored on a 15-yard shot from the center on an assist from Larson in the 34th minute.

“A lot of times in high scoring games you like to run the long ball a lot,” Larson said. “We did a good job of making short passes, getting it to our fast guys and capitalizing on all of our opportunities.”

Austin's Francisco Torres settles the ball along the sidelines Thursday night in the first half against Rochester John Marshall at Art Hass Stadium.

Austin's Francisco Torres settles the ball along the sidelines Thursday night in the first half against Rochester John Marshall at Art Hass Stadium.

Austin took a 3-0 lead to the half and Ortiz instigated some more Packer offense in the match’s 55th minute. He got to the goal and drew a penalty, which set up a penalty kick that Tim Horn knocked in. Horn set up Austin’s last score on an assist to Darling.

Lucas Djehdian scored in the 68th minute for the Rockets.

While they stayed up on the scoreboard, the Packers also kept their cool against a physical John Marshall team.

“Their defenders definitely practice grabbing at you when you run by,” Darling said. “It was frustrating, but we got through it. Scoring helps and it gives you more confidence.”

Austin head coach Jens Levisen was pleased with how his team handled themselves. Austin goal keeper Ryan Rasell, who had four saves, was knocked to the ground late in the contest, but nobody retaliated for Austin.

“They’ve really done well (with keeping they’re cool),” Levisen said. “You always wonder if when they’re challenged are they going to do what they’re supposed to or default to instinct where it’s ‘this guy hit me, I’m going to hit him.’ They don’t do that and they keep their composure. That will take them a ways.”

The night was youth soccer appreciation night and the Packers represented well to the youngsters.

“I’m glad we had a good turnout with the kids,” Levisen said. “I remember when I was in high school and it meant a lot to the kids to come out and just shake hands with the varsity guys. All of them were so jazzed to be there. It’s a fun thing.”