Fakrudin’s hat-trick lifts Owatonna

Searching to keep the hot streak going into the playoffs, the Owatonna Huskies had one final test with Rochester Century. For senior Abukar Fakrudin, he was planning on keeping not only the Huskies streak alive, but built onto one of his own. 
In a rain shortened game, the Huskies kept their streak alive Thursday night, defeating the Cougars 3-1 behind Fakrudin’s third career hat trick on senior night at the Owatonna Soccer Complex. Head coach Bob Waypa said the mindset of his players really shaped the evening. 
“Our strikers and our midfielders refused to lose those 50-50 balls,” he added. 
The Huskies picked up right where they left off Monday, dominating not only the time of possession but the stat sheet as well. Just six minutes into the contest, Fakrudin scored after being set up by a nifty pass from fellow senior and captain, Dan Keller. 
With the Huskies up 1-0 early, Nate Smith was looking to add to the total. The speedy junior managed to get behind the Cougars defense after receiving a feed from his brother, Nick. Unfortunately, the Century ‘keeper managed to get a paw on the shot, deflecting it just wide of the net. 
The Huskies offense was consistently making great runs into the final third but were stymied on every attempt. By the twenty minute mark of the half, Owatonna’s attackers registered five shots on goal. One attempt under the two-minute mark was the closest the team was to adding another goal. Keller fed a strong lead ball to Nick Smith, but his shot sailed high over the net, keeping the score at 1-0 heading into the half. 
The second half was all Fakrudin as just two minutes into the half, he managed to record arguably the goal of the year. After Nick Smith pushed the ball deep into the Cougars zone, he sent the ball to the backside of the defense where the senior leaped to head the ball into the back of the net. The pair of Smith and Fakrudin would record the final goal for the Huskies just minutes later. Only this time, Fakrudin was able to easily put the ball on net. 
The Cougars attempted to mount a comeback, scoring on a long drive with just 19 minutes left, cutting the lead to two. However, the comeback and ultimately the game was halted due to heavy rains and lightning that was sweeping into the area. 
Afterward, Fakrudin has that there are really two things on the minds of the team heading into the playoffs. 
“We’re going to be focused on playing as a team. If we can continued to do that, we have a great shot to continue to win,” he added.