By Bruce Karnick

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The soccer alumni games are a surefire way to know high school sports are starting back up in the fall. These two nights of soccer at Todd Field are usually the first two sports events of the fall and high school season. That means soccer is the unofficial ‘kickoff’ to fall sports!

The girls played Thursday night and they did not disappoint. The Raiders ultimately defeated the Alumni, but the score was not reported. It’s more about the fun and supporting the program than keeping score for many of the returning ladies. The rain came in, off and on, all night during the game, but they were troopers and played even in the heavy rainfall.

The Alumni game for the girls has been organized by Angela (McDowell) Zeyen for the past 12 years.

“We had over 25 Alumni return this year,” said Zeyen. “It is always a fun time. I know I always have fun. I will eventually turn it over to my daughter Victoria. Organizing the alumni game is how I give back to the girls’ soccer program.”

The important piece to Zeyen is to keep the Alumni game tradition alive for everyone to enjoy.

The boys played Friday and before the game started, they had a small ceremony honoring a local area soccer coach, Jim Niemann. The program had a small writeup on Coach Niemann: “Jim was a beloved coach for multiple soccer organizations over the years, including but not limited to Hastings High School, Dakota County Tech, Woodbury Academy and Minnesota Thunder Academy. Jim Niemann was the HHS Boys Raider Soccer coach for 10 years (1996 – 1999 and 2002 – 2008). During his time with Raiders, he achieved two conference championships, two section final appearances and coached multiple allstate and allconference players.”

Shane Lanning, assistant coach for the boy’s team said this regarding Coach Niemann, “We were honored to have Jim’s four kids – Chris, Jake, Caitlyn and Lucy join us on the field for pregame photo and tribute. Jim’s son Jake Niemann, from the Class of 2011, played in the alumni game and had an immediate impact with two goal assists.”

The Alumni team is always tough to beat, many of the returning players are still active in athletics in college and that seems unfair to the Raiders, but it is still a great time for both teams. The Alumni jumped out to a 20 lead and alumni keeper coach Lanning kept his Raiders out of the net causing many frustrations like he does every year.

The alumni won 41 with Alumni goals scored by: Austin Evenson, Class of 2011 (scored two), Kristian Sebion, Class of 2012 and Logan Boogren, Class of 2019. Keepers on the Alumni side Shane Lanning, Class of 1998 with no goals against and Carter Homb, Class of 2022 who allowed one goal against.

Scoring for the Raiders Varsity team was senior Nick Wenish.

There was a total of 34 Alumni that joined the game ranging from class of 1987 – 2022. The game unfortunately ended early with severe weather that rolled in, but that just meant the teams and fans could get a head start on the move over to Green Mill for postgame social!

The Alumni game is a fundraiser for the Raiders to help offset some of the inseason costs. If you would like to donate to the team, find them via Venmo @hastingsboyssoccer.

Raider sophomore Jed Carlson and Alumni Caden Harder fight for the ball as they head into the corner. Photo by Bruce Karnick

Alumni keeper and Raider Coach Shane Lanning pauses for a moment to let the field reset during the alumni game. Lanning loves to have fun at the alumni game but takes his role as keeper very seriously, often earning a shutout during his time in net. Photo by Bruce Karnick

Raider senior Austin Miller looks for an open man in the middle of the field in an attempt to break the shutout for the Raiders.

Photo by Bruce Karnick

The boys alumni team featured players from last year all the way back to the late 80’s and early 90’s. Photo Submitted

25 former Raider soccer players joined the girl’s junior varsity and varsity team for the annual alumni game at Todd Field on Thursday. The ladies played through a solid downpour but had a great time doing so. Photo from the Hastings Womens Soccer Alumni Facebook Page.