A season ago, Owatonna went into the final week of the regular season looking to keep its perfect record in Big 9 Conference play intact, while Northfield was looking to build some positive feelings heading into postseason play. Now, the roles are reversed.
The Huskies, entrenched in the middle of the Big 9 standings, can play spoiler to Northfield, which enters the week with the league title already clinched and is two wins away from a perfect conference record, in our Top Game of the Week.
Wednesday's contest will mark the second time these teams meet this season. The Raiders defeated Owatonna 14-9 on May 6.
The Huskies (4-7, 4-4) will need contributions from their offensive stars if they're going to pull off the upset. That includes senior attackman Tommy Wall, who netted four goals in the first matchup against Northfield.
Wall and senior midfielder Mason Oland are tied for the team lead with 18 goals. Oland scored twice against the Raiders earlier this month.
Northfield (9-2, 8-0) can look toward not only finishing its conference slate perfect, but get to full strength as it aims to make some noise in the Section 1 tournament, which has been owned by Lakeville North and Lakeville South in recent years.
Senior midfielder Dawson Foster has been key to the Raiders' perfect conference record. He tallied five goals in his team's 8-1 win against Rochester Mayo on May 13.
In the first matchup against Owatonna, sophomore midfielder Nick Orosco was the star, with four goals and two assists.