Mike Kraft/MDN Minot High junior forward Tayson Solper and Century’s Silas Kaldor battle for possession of the ball during the first half of a soccer match at Duane Carlson Stadium on Tuesday, Aug. 19. Solper netted a hat trick in the second half.

It was as if an entirely different Minot High boys soccer team emerged out of the locker room to start the second half in its West Region match against Bismarck Century.

Trailing by a goal after the first 40 minutes, the Magicians needed all of eight minutes to turn a deficit into a rout, scoring four second-half goals in a 5-2 victory over Century on Tuesday, Aug. 19, at Duane Carlson Stadium.

“At halftime we really just talked about having that mental mindset,” Minot High coach Jordan Foley said. “We’ve got to rise above a little bit. We have to make those corrections and own what didn’t go right. I think they responded really well and they came out flying in the second half. I couldn’t ask for more from them.”

Junior forward Tayson Solper netted a hat trick in the second half and the Magicians recorded the opening eight shots on goal to start the half. Solper has five goals through two games.

“He’s a menace when he gets near that 18-yard box,” Foley said. “He’s kind of a little bit of a bully out there. He’s strong, he’s fast, he’s putting himself in good positions. His teammates are doing a heck of a job getting him that rock when he needs it and they’re there helping to support him and he’s there to support them.”

Minot (2-0-0 West Region, 2-0-0 overall) pulled even 2-2 in the 44th minute on Solper’s first tally of the contest with a clean strike in front right into the heart of the net. The goal came less than a minute after a corner kick that needed to be saved by Century goalkeeper Nicholas Schlinger.

Grayson Steele became the first underclassman to score a goal for the Magicians this season, as the sophomore forward put his team in front with what would be the game-winner in the 46th minute.

Solper netted the next two for the hat trick on similar plays, receiving a pass to the right of the cage. The first came off the foot of Carson Fiske and despite Schlinger getting a hand on Solper’s shot, it wasn’t enough to redirect it off target. Solper’s third goal had no challenge, as he converted cleanly on an assist from Steele.

“He had a lot of freedom and space even before he received the ball and it was really good placement on the passes through those well-timed balls,” Foley said. “Tayson’s really able to respond and he puts it away really well.”

Minot had 17 shots on goal for the match, most coming in the second half. They also produced five corner kicks in the final 40 minutes as opposed to just one in the opening half, which came in the final two minutes.

“They were defensive in the way they were setting up and they were pressing a lot of numbers high on us, which left a little bit of gaps on the back side,” Foley said. I think our front four are really creative enough to find that space and operate and find where their three backs were shifting, and there was a lot of space for us to operate on the outsides.”

The Magicians got off to a fast start, taking the lead in the 4th minute off an untimely mistake by the Patriots. Century (1-1-0, 1-1-0) was whistled for a handball in the box, awarded Minot a golden opportunity with a penalty kick.

After dishing out a trio of assists in Minot’s season-opening victory against Dickinson, junior midfielder Dylan Oswalt was called on to take the penalty kick. The team captain made good on his chance, burying a shot into the bottom corner to his left side.

The Patriots controlled the rest of the opening 40 minutes, scoring a pair of goals to take a 2-1 lead into the break. Charlie Anderson squared the match in the 20th minute with a shot from 30 yards out that bounced in front amidst heavy traffic and snuck past Minot goalkeeper Ian Stewart.

Teagan Schlichenmayer put Century in front in the 25th minute, knocking in a loose ball in front off an initial shot from Jaxon Jahnke.

Stewart finished with 10 saves on 12 shots faced and Schlinger recorded 12 saves on 17 shots.

The Magicians welcome Minot North for a West Region match against the Sentinels on Thursday, Aug. 21, at 7:30 p.m.