Tad Utter is a marked man.

The Minnetonka senior midfielder and St. Mary’s College (Md.) commit is a focal point for opposing defenses, especially after leading the Skippers in goals last season.

“Everyone knows who Tad is,” Minnetonka coach Aaron Olivier said. “He is a well-known name in the state, and people know that you have to stop him.”

That includes Woodbury, Minnetonka’s opponent in the season opener on Friday. Despite the Royals’ best efforts, Utter could not be stopped. He started his season off with a bang, scoring three goals - including two from long range - to propel the Skippers to a 6-4 victory at Woodbury High School.

“[On] one of [the goals], the goalie was cheating a bit to one side, and I saw that and just fired it on net,” said Utter, who finished his junior year with 23 goals. “In a close game, you have to take advantage of that.”

Utter wasn’t the only Minnetonka player to exploit openings in the Royals’ defense. Junior attackman Brendan Ryan also scored three goals, all coming in close quarters. 

While Woodbury’s defense was focused on Utter, it also recovered quickly in an attempt to close down the Skippers’ offensive attack. As a result, the Royals forced Ryan to get his shots off quickly.

“We had a lot of room because of what Tad does for us,” said Ryan, who had only one goal last season. “We hope that continues because if he is getting all of that attention, we are going to have a lot of chances.”

Olivier said the victory was not the prettiest of games, but it was a road win in the season opener and a game Minnetonka can build on.

“I hope a lot of our turnovers were first-game jitters,” he added. “We had a lot of unforced turnovers that we need to clean up, and we have practice right away in the morning, so we will get after it.”

Those turnovers allowed Woodbury to make a late-game rally after the Skippers built a 6-1 lead early in the fourth quarter. The Royals fought back to close the deficit to two with three goals - including two by Gavin Thomas - in a five-minute span midway through the final quarter.

It was the only struggle Minnetonka had in what was otherwise a solid performance on defense.

“I was really happy with our defense,” Olivier said. “They got a few at the end, again because of some turnovers and penalties. But we are big back there, some long sticks, so I think we will be pretty tough all season back there.”

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Minnetonka’s Brendan Ryan and Tad Utter each scored three goals in the Skippers' 6-4 win against Woodbury on Friday at Woodbury High School in the season opener for both teams.

Minnetonka took a 6-1 lead early in the fourth quarter on Utter's third goal, but the Royals mounted a comeback with three goals - including two by Gavin Thomas - in a five-minute span midway through the final stanza to trim the deficit to two.

The Skippers then held Woodbury scoreless for the final 4 minutes, 30 seconds to preserve the victory.

The Skippers (1-0) travel to Edina on April 16 for their next game, while Woodbury (0-1) has to wait to host Roseville on April 20.

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