Patrick Haslam beats three Faribault defenders with a pass across the top of the box.
The Mayo Spartans finished the season as the Soccer Conference Champions, and it wasn’t even close.
Mayo High School’s Boys Varsity Soccer won the conference by a landslide, only losing one match the entire season. The Spartans won 83 percent of the games in our conference; whereas, Century won only half of their matches as runner up. The Mayo Spartans beat Faribault 6-0, Redwing 8-0, Winona 5-0, Albert Lea 8-1, and according to MaxPreps, they only lost once to John Marshall 0-1, showing how difficult it was to beat the Spartans.
The Mayo Boys Soccer team have had a great run the past 3 seasons, winning Class 3A, Section 1 titles, and securing a State semifinal appearance in 2021, as well as taking a Big Nine Conference title in 2022. This season solidifies their spot as one of the best in the state, as they were ranked 13th in Minnesota, and among top 800 nationally.
Kymani Chitulangoma volleys a shot from distance during the Faribault victory.
Kymani Chitulangoma of the Spartans got a “Player of the Week” article on KTTC on September 18th, 2023. Tim Jennings, head coach of the Spartan Boys Soccer, stated in an interview with KTTC, “This is a unique situation.” Kymani scored back-to-back-to-back hat tricks and an additional goal, all in just one game. That week, he had scored 10 goals; for those who are unsure, a “hat trick” is the term for scoring three goals in one game. That may have been one of the best performances seen in this 2023-2024 season!
The Spartans were so difficult to score against, that it took five games for anyone to score a single goal on them; that happened when Mankato West scored one goal before losing 5-1. The Spartans didn’t lose a match until over a month into the season, when John Marshall scored only one goal, resulting in a loss of 0-1 for the Spartans. The Spartans immediately bounced back by destroying Albert Lea by a score of 8-1 five days later. This season, the Mayo Spartans’ Boys Varsity Soccer team were without a doubt the best in the conference, and one of the top in the state. They were an enemy to all other teams, a force to be reckoned with on the field.
Bode Young megs a defender to avoid pressure.
In the 2024-2025 season, the Spartans are likely aiming for the top. Many on the team train every day in preparation to face the best this state has to offer. If this season’s results tell us anything, they are on the way up, and there is no stopping them. Kymani Chitulangoma will be graduating this year, meaning we all should be on the lookout for a new star player. If there was ever a time for the Spartans to fight, the time is now!
Cheer on the Mayo Spartans for the Class AA Section 1 2024-2025 season starting in mid to late August, and keep a look out for announcements regarding the dates and locations.
All photos courtesy of Mr. Tom Perry
