Austin had two soccer teams qualify to play in the championship games for their respective age groups at the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association State Tournament after regional play Wednesday night.

The Austin Arsenal, the 17-and-under boys' team, won their bracket Wednesday night by defeating Bloomington 3-0. Other games in their bracket included defeating the Maple Grove kickers Tuesday night and losing to Inver Grove Heights 2-1 Saturday.

The Austin Arsenal, part of Austin Youth Soccer Association (AYSA), finished first in the South District of the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association league for automatic qualification to the state tournament.

The Austin Arsenal is coached by Paul Krapf and his assistant is AYSA President Scott Oesterle.

The Austin Striker, U14 boys, defeated Chanhassen-Chaska 2-0, to qualify to play in the championship game this Saturday for their age group. Results of other games in their bracket include defeating Fridley 4-0 and South St. Paul 3-0.

The Austin Strikers, also part of the AYSA, finished a close second to Winona in the South District of MNYSA and qualified for the state tournament by finishing first in the South District Tournament.

The Strikers finished the regular season with an 11-2-1 record. They will play Winona (11-1-2) in the championship game, also part of the South District of MNYSA. Austin played Winona twice during the regular season, defeating them 2-0 in one game and tying them 1-1 in the other.

The Strikers are coached by Steve Modaff and his assistant Vernon Lippert.

The MNYSA state tournament consists of eight teams, two from each district, divided into two four-team brackets. The four teams in each bracket play a three-game round-robin format. The team with the best record in each division advances to the championship game to play the winner of the other bracket.

Teams qualify to play in the state tournament by either finishing first in their district regular season play, such as the Arsenal, or finishing first in the districts season ending tournament, such as the Strikers.

More information about Minnesota Youth Soccer Association can be found on the Web at: www.mnyouthsoccer.org.