Alex Eisen/MDN Minot High senior midfielder Cameron Bolinske (19) dribbles the ball up the field Thursday evening against Bismarck Legacy at Duane Carlson Stadium in Minot.

After 50 minutes of scoreless and rather uneventful soccer, Minot High senior Cameron Bolinske unloaded a half-volley rocket from roughly 25 yards out. The ball locked in on its target and sailed into the top right corner.

The powerful finish from the veteran midfielder nicknamed “The Hammer” put the Magi ahead, but Bismarck Legacy’s TJ Seidel responded with two late goals after the sun went down to steal a 2-1 road win at Duane Carlson Stadium.

“We started off more defensively than I would have liked, but we sure did find our groove in the second half,” MHS head coach Creighton Bachmeier said. “Once we established some counter-attacking soccer and maintained possession, we were able to get some quality looks tonight. Unfortunately, they have a kid who I’m pretty sure is going to be a first-team All-State player, and he ends up getting two.”

The Magi (1-1-0) were coming off a 2-0 season-opening win Tuesday night against Dickinson. The Midgets were playing the program’s first-ever varsity game.

Whereas Legacy (1-0-1) tied 1-1 with in-city rival Century to start the season on Tuesday.

Gunning for that first win, the Sabers pinned the Magi back into their own half for a majority of the contest. Minot had to settle for counter-attacks to generate quality scoring chances.

“The game plan early on wasn’t to be that way,” Bachmeier said. “(Legacy) was able to push some numbers high, and (Minot) midfielder Walter Markle was sitting deep. We had to make that adjustment in the second half.”

Minot’s two best scoring opportunities to net the opening goal in the first half came courtesy of Bolinske.

On back-to-back free kicks within a minute, Bolinske forced Legacy senior goaltender Lucas Weigel to make a pair of finger-tip saves — one pushing the ball wide of the far post and the other to clear the top of the crossbar.

The two teams remained deadlocked at 0-0 going into halftime.

With a reddish sun setting in the distance, Bolinske buried his wonder strike 10 minutes into the second half. Fellow midfielder Aiden Stewart laid the ball off to Bolinske for his first assist of the season.

“I thought Chris Long was going to get Goal of the Year and, two days later, he is outdone by Cameron Bolinske,” Bachmeier said. “That was as polished of a finish that you can get with power and precision. That’s a testament to all the extra work that he puts in.”

A Minot defensive breakdown with 17 minutes remaining allowed TJ Seidel to get in the middle of the box unmarked. Magi sophomore goalkeeper JJ Dufner had no chance to save the point-blank shot.

Seidel calmly slotted the ball in, evening the score at 1-1.

A frantic last 10 minutes produced the game-winning goal.

Seidel got behind Minot’s backline with a perfect run, composed himself and finished with a low-driven shot. There was under three minutes to play when Seidel sent the Sabers into a frenzy.

“When you play teams that are athletic in every spot, they throw waves at you,” Bachmeier said. “You have to be disciplined with the ball at your feet and a little calmer. There were too many times when we panicked.”

Minot takes its first road trip of the season down to Bismarck on Tuesday to face the reigning WDA regular-season champions Century.

Alex Eisen covers Minot State athletics, the Minot Minotauros and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.