Mpls South Soccer Star Shatters State's Single-Game Goalscoring Mark

It is the single-greatest night on a high school soccer field in Minnesota prep history.

Minneapolis South's Elliott Cassutt netted ten goals Tuesday night against Patrick Henry, breaking his own state-record of seven that he shared with another player.

"I got a lot of support from the guys," he said. "I didn't want to be the guy like, 'Just give me the ball' but there were opportunities where somebody would have had a clear shot at the goal, and they decided to pass it off to me for a finish."

"Some guys might be like, 'Why pass to Ellliott, I was wide open" but they said, 'I want him to get these 10 goals', so I was kind of like, 'Thanks man!'.  It's kind of nice."

South's coach Tamba Johnson realizes some people will see the headline an think his team - and Cassutt - ran up the score.  He says all the goals were in the run of play, with players under no direct orders to get the ball to his player he deems as the most talented in the state.

"Once he was close enough it was like, 'Oh well... might as well do it'," Johnson says. "It was one of those things. He's a senior, so why not go for it. I believe in just letting kids play, as long as they're not being cocky about it and no one's trying to do things they wouldn't (normally)."

Cassutt is also the record holder for goals in a season - the 46 he scored in his sophomore season when he admits teams weren't aware of him as much as they are now.

But neither his season nor single-game records are the legacy he hopes to leave when this, his senior season, is complete.

"After all the personal accomplishments I've made," he says, "I've never played in the state tournament before.  It would be a nice way to end my high school career.

Cassutt, who also tops his class academically, plans to attend prestigious Amherst College next year.  In addition to very strong academics, Amherst has a nationall-ranked Division III soccer program.