Holy Angels, the 2024 champion in Class 2A boys soccer, began its pursuit of the 2025 Class 1A state championship Tuesday with an 8-1 quarterfinal victory over Tri-City United at Shakopee West Middle School.

The Stars wound up in Class 1A after the school’s enrollment fell at the same time as the cutoff for Class 2A rose. They improved to 18-0-1 with the victory and advance to play the winner of a Thursday quarterfinal between fourth-seed Southwest Christian, ranked ninth in the class by the coaches association, and fifth-seed Duluth Marshall. The semifinals will be played Tuesday and the championship Friday, all at U.S. Bank Stadium.

James Parish scored three goals Tuesday for Holy Angels while Taylor Scrafford scored two. Angel Ruiz Gomez scored for Tri-City United (15-6).

Holy Angels, ranked No. 1 in 1A by the coaches association, had to survive a difficult section tournament that included No. 4 Minnehaha Academy and No. 7 St. Paul Academy. The Stars defeated second-seeded Minnehaha Academy 5-1 in the section final.

On the other side of the state bracket, Stewartville, ranked third by the coaches association, is seeded second and St. Cloud Cathedral third. Stewartville will take on Mounds Park Academy on Wednesday, and Cathedral will play a Thursday quarterfinal against Cristo Rey Jesuit. Cathedral holds the No. 5 ranking.

Other scores:

Class 2A

Blake 5, Duluth Denfeld 0: Top-seeded Blake advanced to a semifinal against the winner of Wednesday’s game between fourth-seed Northfield and fifth-seed Sartell. Blake (17-1-2), ranked first in Class 2A, got two goals and an assist from Landon Bell in the quarterfinal.