June 15, 2021
Late October nights in Minnesota tend to be cold and dark. Soccer players competing in section tournament games, played under the lights, bundle up any way they can.
Panther’s soccer standout Helga Midelfort-Vognar ‘03 remembers playing for the section 4A championship on one of those nights in October 2002. “Each person on the field was giving 100% to the point of exhaustion, watching the clock tick down. The entire parka-wearing bench was on their feet, carrying the field players with their voices and enthusiasm,” Midelfort-Vognar remembers. “When that buzzer finally sounded and the official’s whistle blew, one last rush of adrenaline propelled us towards each other in the middle of the field. WE WON! Sweat, tears, and teammates all piled together celebrating MPA’s first trip to state.”
For Midelfort-Vognar, that 2002 season was the satisfying culmination to four years of hard work. Helping to lead MPA to a 13-3-4 record and the section 4A championship as a senior, Midelfort-Vognar was named to the Tri Metro all-conference first team for the second year in a row, earned her fourth varsity letter and was named team’s most dedicated player.
It was a truly magical season for the Panthers. “We didn’t have super star players who won games for us, we won because we worked together as a team,” she says. “We trusted each other and we backed each other up. We counted on our teammates to support us so we could challenge ourselves to try harder and take more chances.”
Also a talented runner, Midelfort-Vognar earned three varsity letters in track and field and appears on the top ten list in three different events.
Midelfort-Vognar continued her soccer career at Carleton College in Northfield, MN. She was a four year starter for the Knights, earning varsity letters from 2003-2006 and helping lead Carleton to the MIAC conference championship in 2006.
“The most important way that MPA prepared me for collegiate soccer was by showing me the importance of teamwork,” Midelfort-Vognar remembered. “I learned that a team is greater than the sum of the individuals involved. It was with this mindset that I entered college, and it was this mindset that allowed me to succeed in college.”
A strong student dating back to her time at MPA (she earned MPA’s distinguished academic achievement award from 1999-2002), Midelfort-Vognar graduated from Carleton with a degree in biology and earned an All-MIAC academic achievement award in each of her four years in Northfield. She went on to veterinary school at the University of Minnesota and is now a veterinarian at Life Care Animal Hospital in St. Paul.
