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Meet the 2025 Strib Varsity All-Minnesota girls soccer team

Strib Varsity

Strib Varsity broke down stats, sought input from coaches and studied scores to cut the list to 25 talented athletes.

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By Cassidy Hettesheimer

The Minnesota Star Tribune

High-scoring forwards, crafty midfielders and tough defenders make up this year’s All-Minnesota girls soccer team — a list highlighting some of the many talented players who took the field this fall.

Some will keep playing through this week’s state quarterfinals; others have wrapped up successful seasons or high school careers. The non-exhaustive team was crafted through discussions with coaches and consideration of individual and team achievements.

Though statistics are updated through section tournaments, players were selected at the start of the postseason.

Clockwise from top left: Livi Abboud-Young (Blake), Mikaela Caverly (Edina), Harlow Berger (Mahtomedi), Lauren Craig (Wayzata) and Savannah Backberg (Stillwater). (Star Tribune staff/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Livi Abboud-Young

Blake • junior • forward

Committed to the Gophers, Abboud-Young is a tenacious finisher who can take over games for one of Class 2A’s strongest squads. Her 29 goals and eight assists helped Blake grind through its schedule undefeated.

Savannah Backberg

Stillwater • senior • defender

The four-year starter at center back was pointed to as a key piece of the Ponies’ stalwart back line by opposing coaches. Stillwater held opponents to eight goals this year, and as a bonus, Backberg, a threat on long free kicks, added seven goals of her own.

Harlow Berger

Mahtomedi • senior • goalkeeper

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Standing 6 feet tall, the St. Thomas commit can get just about anywhere protecting the reigning Class 2A state champions’ net. Berger, saving a reported 95.2% of shots faced, recorded seven straight shutouts through Metro East conference play.

Mikaela Caverly

Edina • junior • midfielder

Committed to Kansas, Caverly has been a longtime playmaker for Edina and was tasked with more defensive work this season, in addition to netting three goals. She helped the Hornets post eight shutouts and step up defensively late, as 14 of their 17 games were decided by a goal or were draws.

Lauren Craig

Wayzata • junior • midfielder

Craig is crafty in tight spaces and clinical in front of the goal, making her the driving playmaker and finisher for the defending Class 3A champs. She led both the Trojans and a competitive Lake Conference in goals with 23 and in assists with 19.

Clockwise from top left: Lauren Hust (Rochester Lourdes), Lauren Eggleston (Roseville), Maddyn Greenway (Providence Academy), Olivia Halunen (Woodbury) and Kendall Grate (Rosemount). (Star Tribune staff/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Kendall Grate

Rosemount • junior • forward

Grate’s shift into a new position didn’t slow her offensive output, with 24 goals and four assists — and seven multi-goal games — for one of this fall’s top Class 3A teams.

Maddyn Greenway

Providence Academy • senior • forward

Greenway’s a scorer, no matter the sport or surface. The Kentucky women’s basketball commit is a dynamic, athletic forward for last year’s Class 1A state champion, and her 52-goal senior season set a new state career scoring record for the Ms. Soccer winner.

Lauren Eggleston

Roseville • senior • goalkeeper

Opposing coaches with some of the state’s best scorers at their disposal recognized just how key Eggleston was to keeping Roseville in close games. She recorded double-digit save counts in 11 games, stopping 91.6% of shots faced and earning five shutouts.

Olivia Halunen

Woodbury • senior • defender/midfielder

Halunen can do it all for the Royals: lock down attackers 1-on-1, distribute the ball and add an additional scoring threat on set pieces. The South Dakota commit scored seven times and assisted four, while helping Woodbury to 10 shutouts.

Lauren Hust

Rochester Lourdes • senior • defender

Hust, a 6-foot center back, brings speed and size to an Eagles back line that conceded only five goals and shut out 13 opponents this fall.

Clockwise from top left: Emma Kvant (St. Michael-Albertville), Bella Naples (Chanhassen), Addy Judson (Holy Angels), Rylee Lawrence (Stillwater) and Lilly Kuettel (Duluth East). (Star Tribune staff/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Addy Judson

Holy Angels • senior • defender

A well-timed tackle and a dangerous set piece are just two tricks in the arsenal for the future Ole Miss player. Judson, a center back, scored five goals and helped the Stars defense shut out nine opponents.

Lilly Kuettel

Duluth East • junior • forward

Kuettel made a dangerous duo paired with sophomore Darby Friday, helping Duluth East to back-to-back trips to Class 3A state. With 25 goals and 18 assists, she is quick, always moving and provides a dangerous press to opponents’ defenses.

Emma Kvant

St. Michael-Albertville • senior • forward

Class 3A’s Ms. Soccer spends her springs setting state meet records in the 400 meters and looks to run track after high school. But Kvant puts that speed to use for the state-bound Knights on the soccer field, too, scoring 22 goals with eight assists.

Rylee Lawrence

Stillwater • senior • forward

The North Dakota commit’s 16 goals and 13 assists led one of Class 3A’s best teams to state, thanks to well-timed runs and a high soccer IQ.

Bella Naples

Chanhassen • senior • midfielder

The Gophers commit helped Chanhassen punch above its size in Class 3A, reaching its second-ever section final with one loss. Naples, with explosiveness and a long-range strike, scored 27 goals and tallied eight assists.

Clockwise from top left: Marley Murdock (St. Croix Prep), Ellen Neuharth (Holy Angels), Ashlyn O’Malley (Rogers), Ana Oenning (Eagan) and Kate Payton (Minneapolis Southwest). (Star Tribune staff/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Ellen Neuharth

Holy Angels • senior • midfielder

Another player committed to the Gophers, Neuharth is the versatile engine powering a talented Stars squad. The Class 2A Ms. Soccer honoree scored 25 goals for Holy Angels, including four in their section championship game.

Ana Oenning

Eagan • senior • defender/midfielder

Voted by coaches as the top player in the South Suburban, St. Thomas-bound Oenning shifted from outside back to central midfield with her technical touch. The Wildcats posted 10 shutouts and conceded more than one goal only once this fall.

Ashlyn O’Malley

Rogers • senior • forward

O’Malley, headed to play soccer at Southern Utah, is an aggressive attacker with strong field vision who led the Royals to their section title game with 32 goals and 15 assists.

Marley Murdock

St. Croix Prep • senior • forward/midfielder

The Pennsylvania commit shows calm collectedness on the field, creating her own chances, to the tune of 28 goals, and chances for others, leading to 15 assists. She’s led the Lions to their program’s two first trips to state.

Kate Payton

Minneapolis Southwest senior • forward

Payton’s 23 goals and 18 assists were already an impressive haul, but even more so considering the South Dakota commit’s biggest moments tied or won close games against teams such as St. Paul Central, Holy Angels and Blake.

Clockwise from top left: Bella Travis (Southwest Christian), Avni Udupa (Minnetonka), Laina Peterson (Mankato East), Carolyn Voss (Wayzata) and Mollie Statsick (Sartell). (Star Tribune staff/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Laina Peterson

Mankato East sophomore • forward

Peterson scored in bunches for Mankato East, with five hat tricks this season — including in the Cougars’ section title game. She finished with 31 goals and led her team in assists.

Mollie Statsick

Sartell • junior • forward

The Central Lakes Conference Player of the Year is a strong, quick attacker whose 37 goals this season set a school record and helped Sartell book its first trip to Class 2A state in a decade.

Bella Travis

Southwest Christian • senior • midfield

Travis’ 26 assists led the state this year, despite her playing at a defensive midfield position and tasked with helping the Stars defense, which held opponents to seven goals all season. Travis scored 13 of her own goals and was the Class 1A team’s go-to on set pieces.

Avni Udupa

Minnetonka • senior • forward

Udupa put her 1-on-1 skills and on-the-ball creativity to good use for the Skippers, bagging 19 goals and 15 assists as one of the Lake Conference’s most technical attacking players.

Carolyn Voss

Wayzata • sophomore • defender

Voss, one of the state’s top defenders as a sophomore, has helped lock down the wings in seven shutouts for the undefeated Trojans. She added three goals and five assists from the outside back position.

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About the Author

Cassidy Hettesheimer

Sports reporter

Cassidy Hettesheimer is a high school sports reporter at the Minnesota Star Tribune.

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