Spartans out to get on track

Cordell Sinding isn't sure which Fargo North girls soccer team he will coach at the Class A state tournament, which starts today in Fargo.

Is it the one that stood atop the East Region standings for most of this spring?

Or the one that lost two of its last three matches and ended up with a No. 2 seed from the East?

"The thing about our team is we could be outstanding and we could be average," Sinding said.

North (14-3-1) plays Bismarck St. Mary's at 6 p.m. today in pool play at the Pepsi Complex.

All three of the Spartans' losses came in May and North allowed nine goals in the last three games after allowing nine goals in its first 15.

"I think it shows that everyone caught up to us and we slacked off a little bit," Sinding said. "I think it sets us up that we need to be ready and that we can't be overconfident. We have to come in with a little bit of fire."

Sophomore forwards Sam Johnson (14 goals, 15 assists) and Sue Obermiller (12 goals, 9 assists) lead the Spartans offense.

"They are really comfortable when they are around the net," Sinding said.

While Fargo South enters the Class A state girls soccer tournament as the No. 3 seed from the East Region, the Bruins are one of the hottest teams.

South is unbeaten in its last eight games (7-0-1), beating East No. 1 seed Grand Forks Red River and North in that span.

"I think we are playing at the level we need to be at for state," South coach Paul Linson said. "The team chemistry has gotten better and we have just played together as a team."

South (11-5-2) plays Bismarck at 6 p.m. today at the Pepsi Complex in pool play. The Demons beat the Bruins 3-1 the last time the teams met.

"We welcome the challenge," Linson said. "I think it's one of the most wide- open state tournaments we've seen in a long time."

Poor health slowed West Fargo at the start of this spring.

But Packers coach Jim Flores said the team is as healthy as it's been all season entering the Class A state girls soccer tournament.

Junior midfielder Miranda Utter, a key player, is back near full strength after being slowed for the first half of the season with mononucleosis.

"It was very difficult because we didn't have any cohesion in the first half of the season," Flores said. "Once we got healthy at the end of the year, we came on strong and that is encouraging entering the state tournament."

The Packers play No. 1 West seed Bismarck Century at 4 p.m. today at the Pepsi Complex in pool play.

Kyle Carr of Linton has been named Gatorade baseball player of the year for North Dakota. Carr plays for Bismarck High since Linton doesn't have a high school program.

The 6-foot-5, 195-pound senior signed at the University of Minnesota.

Readers can reach Eric Peterson at (701) 241-5513 or epeterson@forumcomm.com