Hints of red and orange on the trees can mean only one thing here in Minnesota: We’re nearing the halfway point of high school soccer’s regular season.

At the start of the year, we put together a look-ahead Dream Team of 22 must-see girls soccer players, but, of course, the list of talented student-athletes — and top-level teams — extends far beyond any preseason predictions.

Here are five players and five teams who have started the season on the right foot and caught our attention:

Players to watch

Kendall Grate

Rosemount • junior

Grate has scored 17 goals — at least one in every game for the Irish (7-1-1), this week ranked third in Class 3A. And the 2022 state champs’ schedule is no cakewalk, either. Grate has scored against three of last year’s 3A semifinalist teams.

Isabella Travis

Southwest Christian • senior

Travis, who helped the Stars reach their first Class 1A state title game last year, leads the state in assists, serving up 12 to her teammates so far.

Laina Peterson

Mankato East • sophomore

As a freshman, Peterson’s goal was the clincher for the Cougars’ third-place finish at Class 2A state, and she’s only blossomed more this fall, racking up 17 goals. Her 10 assists have helped all-state senior Taylor Schilling pile up 13 goals of her own.

Lauren Eggleston

Roseville • senior

The Raiders’ 6-foot goalkeeper has made a reported 87 saves while blocking 90.6% of shots faced, turning scores that were far more one-sided in 2024 into close competitions this fall.

Mollie Statsick

Sartell • junior

The speedy forward has scored 19 goals across the past seven games for the Sabres (7-2-0), plus added eight assists.

Teams to keep an eye on

Hill-Murray

No. 1 in Class 2A

The Pioneers (7-1-2) are looking to make it back to state for the first time since 2016 and have already picked up impressive results, such as beating Holy Angels 2-1. Sophomore Taylor Miller, sophomore Lucy Halada, junior Hadley Gutierrez and senior Nina Meyer (Charleston Southern commit) have frequently found the back of the net for Hill-Murray.

Stillwater

No. 2 in Class 3A

The Ponies (9-1) have shut out opponents six times in nine games, including wins over East Ridge, Maple Grove and Duluth East, all teams that reached last year’s Class 3A state tournament. Senior goalkeepers Reese Elzen (Wisconsin commit) and Parker Reardon tag-team behind a strong defense while senior forward Jenna Kurth leads the squad with nine goals.

Minnetonka

No. 4 in Class 3A

The three-time state champ Skippers (8-1-2) have a pair of senior scorers in Avni Udupa and Avalyn Irwin (Stevens Institute of Technology commit). Irwin has 13 goals while Udupa has 12, while has six assists. Minnetonka lost to No. 1 Wayzata 3-2 on Wednesday.

Rochester Lourdes

Tied-No. 3 in Class 1A

The Eagles (7-0-2) haven’t conceded more than one goal in a game this fall, not even against ranked opponents Breck, St. Paul Academy and St. Charles. Junior goalkeeper Claudia Pelowski has eight shutouts for Lourdes.

Esko

No. 2 in Class 1A

Twelve players have scored for undefeated Esko (8-0-0), and 13 have recorded assists, sharing the wealth as the 1A squad looks to make it four consecutive trips to state since their first appearance in 2022.