October 16, 2024 was a day for the Spartan history books, as both the SPA boys’ and girls’ soccer teams were crowned Section 3A champions and both will head to the Class A State soccer tournament for the third year in a row.

Both victories were single-goal nailbiters in a doubleheader played at Two Rivers High School. In the first matchup, the #1-seeded boys’ beat #2-seed Minnehaha Academy 1-0, followed by the #2-seeded girls’ team upsetting #1 seed Visitation 1-0.

The double-section championships cap off another strong regular season for both teams. The boys posted an 11-3-1 regular-season record, earning the #1 seed in Section 3A. In section play, the Spartans defeated Twin Cities Academy 2-1 in the quarterfinals and Hiawatha Collegiate 1-0 in double overtime in the semifinals, setting up an IMAC conference showdown against rival Minnehaha in the Section Championship game. In the championship game, both teams would remain scoreless in the first half until Masumi Kouakou ’25 scored the lone goal midway through the second half, assisted by KiKi Sullivan ’27. This is the team’s third year in a row and 20th appearance overall at State.

The girls capped off their 7-7-2 regular season with the #2 seed in Section 3A. They marched through section competition, defeating Minnehaha Academy 4-0 in the quarterfinals and St. Croix Lutheran 1-0 in the semifinals, setting up a showdown with Visitation in the Section Championship game. The lone goal against Vis in the championship came from Clare Ryan Bradley ’26 early in the first half, giving SPA the win and a return ticket to state. This is the girls’ third straight appearance at State and the team’s 9th State tournament appearance overall.

The Class A MSHSL State Soccer Tournaments begins the week of October 21. The boys were seeded #1 in their Single A Tournament with the girls receiving a random draw to play St. Charles in the opening round of the Girls’ Tournament.