SHAKOPEE — There were no nerves in Winona Cotter’s state tournament debut.

Or, if there were some, they didn’t show in the Ramblers’ play.

Cotter’s star power shone through, early and often, in a convincing 5-0 victory against St. Cloud Cathedral in the Class 1A boys soccer state tournament quarterfinals at Shakopee West Middle School on Tuesday.

No. 4-seeded Cotter won its 13th consecutive match to improve to 18-2 overall. No. 5-seeded Cathedral finished the season 13-6-1 overall after allowing the most goals it has surrendered in a match this season.

The Crusaders entered the state tournament having allowed an average of 1.2 goals per match.

Cotter, though, averaged 5.4 per game and allowed just 0.7 per match through its first 19 matches of the season. That average will get slightly lower after the Ramblers earned their 11th clean sheet of the season and third of the postseason.

Sam Schmidt stopped all five shots he faced to preserve the Ramblers’ shutout.

Cotter has been strong on both ends of the field, outscoring its opponents a combined 17-1 in four postseason matches.

The Ramblers opened the scoring early in their first-ever state-tournament match, as Gavin Kammerer put them ahead 1-0.

Sawyer Wunderlich Teske and Emmett Fitch added goals in the first 22 minutes to give Cotter a commanding 3-0 halftime advantage.

The Ramblers didn’t back off after halftime, as Wunderlich Teske and Kammerer added their second goals of the night to make it a 5-0 game.

That’s how the score ended, as Cotter spoiled Cathedral’s sixth consecutive trip to the state tournament. In 15 total trips, the Crusaders have not won a state championship.

Drew Donnenworth, Alejandro Lavin and Dave Hanson all had one assist apiece in the victory.

Cotter hasn’t been beaten since a 2-1 loss at Rochester Lourdes on Sept. 12. The Ramblers avenged that loss by beating the Eagles 3-1 in last week’s Section 1-1A championship match. Cotter’s only other loss this season came against St. Croix Prep Academy, 1-0 on Sept. 5. St. Croix Prep is in the opposite half of the bracket at state, so Cotter could have a chance to avenge that defeat in either the third-place or championship match.

The Ramblers will face top-seeded Holy Angels (19-0-1) or eighth-seeded St. Peter (10-7-2) in the state semifinals at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Holy Angels and St. Peter are scheduled to meet in a quarterfinal match at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Shakopee.

CLASS 1A STATE QUARTERFINAL
Winona Cotter 5, St. Cloud Cathedral 0
St. Cloud Cathedral#0#0#—#0
Winona Cotter#3#2#—#5
St. Cloud Cathedral: no scoring.
Winona Cotter: Drew Donnenwerth 1 assist; Alejandro Lavin 1 assist; Sawyer Wunderlich Teske 2 goals; Emmett Fitch 1 goal; Dave Hanson 1 assist; Gavin Kammerer 2 goals. Goalie: Sam Schmidt 5 saves.