Tuesday night the Cloquet-Carlton, Esko, and Duluth East girls soccer teams all won their respective section titles to earn a state tournament berth.

In Section 7AAA, Duluth East shutout Centennial 1-0 behind a Lilly Kuettel first half goal. The Greyhounds (16-3) now advance to state for the first time since 2010.

“It was really special because it’s a team effort, and I feel like speechless because of it. We put in all this hard work and it finally paid off,” sophomore forward Lilly Kuettel said.

“It’s super fun and I’m super proud of everybody on this team and I love them all to death. I’m just so proud of everybody and we just worked so hard and I’m so happy that we made it,” senior goalie Maggie Winesett added.

“Oh, it’s great. It’s been a long time, it’s probably been too long and happy for the kids. They put in a lot of hard work so it’s well deserved,” Duluth East head coach Steve Polkowski said.

In Section 7AA, Cloquet-Carlton held on to defeated Hermantown 2-1 in penalty kicks. Makena Smith scored for the Lumerbacks in the second half, then the Hawks’ Kaija Markovich tied it up. After a scoreless overtime, Cloquet would win the PKs 4-2 to earn the official 2-1 win. The Lumberjacks (15-2-1) are now six-peat section champions and on their way back to their fourth straight state tournament. Hermantown finishes their season 9-9-1.

“It doesn’t get old, it’s still very fun. It’s a different group each time, it’s a different team, the personality is a little different. It’s never easy though,” Lumberjacks head coach Dustin Randall said.

“I could tell the nerves were high from everyone. I think just everyone calming down and trying to at least play defense and not necessarily get a goal, but keep it from going in the net really helped us,” goalkee[er Rylee Senich added.

In Section 7A, Esko also needed penalty kicks to take down Duluth Marshall 1-0. After 100 scoreless minutes, Esko prevailed in the PKs 3-2 defending their section title for the third straight year. They now sit 12-3-1 entering state. Duluth Marshall closes out their season 9-4-4.

“So excited. The shootout really was like tough and stuff but after that, when our goalie Hannah Homer saved it, it’s just amazing. And since it’s my senior year continuing on and going to state, that’s the best feeling that has ever happened,” senior Kaitlyn McConnell said.

“Soccer in northern Minnesota is now becoming more recognized, right? We’re competitive with teams down in the cities. Not only us, but Marshall too,” Esko head coach Sharon Lahti added.

State seedings are expected to be announced Saturday, October 19. The state tournament runs October 22-November 1.

Also on Tuesday, the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton and Duluth Marshall boys soccer teams won their section titles. For those highlights, click here.