Nov 24, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings followers look on earlier than the sport towards the New England Patriots at U.S. Financial institution Stadium. Obligatory Credit score: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports activities.
In a matter of days, Minnesota will see its latest women’ flag soccer champion topped.
After formally commencing play in 2024, the second season of highschool women flag soccer will wrap up on Monday, June 8, at TCO Stadium in Eagan.
Minnesota’s Quick-Rising Sport Will get One other Showcase
The game, whereas drawing some massive names, like current Vikings retiree Harrison Smith, shouldn’t be fairly on the stage of official sanction within the state of Minnesota. However this 12 months noticed a significant step ahead within the recreation’s development.
As Alyce Brown of USA At the moment writes,
The Minnesota Vikings shall be internet hosting their second annual highschool women flag soccer state championship Monday, in partnership with the Minneapolis Star Tribune. 13 qualifying faculties will play for a state title at TCO Stadium in Eagen, Minn.
It’s the end result of this 12 months’s Minnesota highschool women flag soccer season, run by a league the Vikings piloted in 2024 and formally launched in 2025. The 2026 season noticed exponential development for the league, with participation greater than doubling from 51 groups in 2025 to 106 groups in 2026.
However with the expansion of highschool women’ flag soccer on the rise, that is beginning to change into an thrilling time for the gridiron. So, which groups are collaborating on this 12 months’s championship? And what’s the present standing of women’ highschool flag soccer? Let’s take a more in-depth look.
Women’ Excessive College Flag Soccer In Bloom In Minnesota
First off, let’s focus on the bracket for the upcoming occasion on Monday.
As already talked about, 13 groups will participate within the competitors, which begins at midday Central Time, with eighth-seeded St. Cloud Tech dealing with ninth-seeded Park Cottage Grove. The opposite recreation at midday shall be fourth-seeded St. Louis Park Excessive College taking up the quantity 13-ranked Rogers Excessive.
Minnesota Vikings followers react from the stands throughout a house recreation towards the Detroit Lions at U.S. Financial institution Stadium. On Oct. 20, 2024, supporters created a loud ambiance for the NFC North showdown as Minnesota hosted one in all its division rivals in a matchup with important implications within the convention standings. Obligatory Credit score: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Photos.
The 1 o’clock recreation will function seventh-ranked Eden Prairie squaring off towards the quantity ten seed Minnetonka, and at 2 p.m., sixth-seeded Centennial will do battle towards quantity 11 seed Waterville-Elysian-Morristown [try saying that three times fast].
Two video games will begin at 3 p.m., with the winner of the eight vs 9 matchup enjoying the top-seeded Washburn Excessive College [Minneapolis], and the winners of the four-13 battle and the 5-12 matchup enjoying one another.
The 4 pm window sees the winner of the seven-ten recreation doing battle towards second-seeded Rosemont, whereas the victor of the six-11 showdown will get a date with third-seeded La Crescent-Hokah. All 4 winners of these video games will meet in two semifinals that kick off at 5 p.m., and the championship recreation that includes the 2 semifinal winners will begin at 6 p.m.
Women Flag Soccer On The Rise In The U.S.
Nonetheless, Minnesota shouldn’t be the one state seeing elevated participation in women’ flag soccer at the highschool stage.
As Brown references, “Flag soccer shouldn’t be but an formally sanctioned highschool sport in Minnesota, making the Vikings-backed league the state’s primary pathway for women flag soccer. The Minnesota State Excessive College League tabled a proposal Tuesday that might have granted the game ’rising standing,’ the subsequent step towards turning into an official highschool sport, they usually plan to evaluate the proposal in October.
Oct 19, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; A basic view of the Minnesota Vikings helmet earlier than the sport towards the Philadelphia Eagles at U.S. Financial institution Stadium. Obligatory Credit score: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Photos
The game will make its Olympic debut on the 2028 Los Angeles Video games, and its recognition at the highschool and faculty ranges has been skyrocketing because the Video games get nearer. It’s at the moment an official highschool sport in 23 states, with 16 of these sanctioning it inside the previous two years, and quite a few extra are at the moment working pilot packages.”
So, the Vikings aren’t the one workforce choosing up on and capitalizing on the development of women’ highschool flag soccer. Maybe this might imply an excellent greater and even brighter future for the game.
