Totino Grace and Prairie Seeds, two longtime rivals and high-ranking teams in the world of Minnesota high school soccer, came together last night to decide who would move on to the state tournament (it would be Prairie Seeds, which won the match 2-1), and also to whale on each other indiscriminately.
The game was just wrapping up when tensions—which date back to last year's game between the two teams—boiled over. KARE 11 (which made their own video) reports:
Prairie Seeds Academy Coach Youssef Darbaki, who is well known in Minnesota's soccer community, agrees with Smith, calling the ending very unfortunate. Darbaki, who lost his voice during that game, couldn't grant an interview, but did say after talking to his players, he believes that some harsh and intensely personal words that were exchanged may have led up to the ugly ending.
One Seeds player involved in the altercation was playing in front of 2 college coaches; all told there were 7 college coaches in the stands to watch the game and potential recruits. Now, Maple Grove Police are also watching the end of that game on tape.
The forensic work by Channel 12 in Minnesota is pretty excellent—someone over there had a lot of fun spotlighting, rewinding, and running things back in slow-motion. Highlights include the tricky duck-and-pull by #2 in blue, best visible at the 2:23 mark, the strong haymaker by #10 in white to kick things off, and a goalie in green, at 2:52, really putting his all into kicking someone who's already the ground. The way he runs away afterwards might be the best part of a video with a lot of good parts.
High School Soccer Sectional Ends In Brawl In NW Metro [Kare 11]