The Crookston Pirate Girls Soccer team took on the Pelican Rapids Vikings in a Section 8A Quarterfinal match in very windy conditions. The Pirates overcame the wind and won 3-2 to advance to the Semifinals.
FIRST HALF –
Both teams put shots on goal within the first few minutes of the match. Pelican Rapids’ Ellie Carlson fired a shot on goal that Pirates keeper Reese Swanson saved in the 2nd minute. Two minutes later, the Pirates recorded their first shot as Maddie Harbott gave it a go, but her shot sailed wide of the net. In the 9th minute, Cassie Solheim also saw her shot drift just wide of the net. Five minutes later, Carlson pulled her shot just wide of the near post. The Pirates would win a corner kick just past the halfway point of the first half, and Maddie Harbott took the corner. The ball ricocheted back to her, and she blasted it high in the air and, with the aid of the wind, put it over the keeper’s head and into the net for the match’s first goal. Ten minutes later, in the 34th minute, the Vikings would strike as Sadie Funk made a run, cutting through the Pirate’s defense, and fired a shot past the keeper to tie the match at 1. With the half winding down, Crookston’s Mady Knutson blasted the ball from roughly 30 yards out and scored with only 27 seconds left in the half to give Crookston a 2-1 halftime lead.
SECOND HALF –
Pelican Rapids would have the wind at their backs in the second half, but the Pirates rode their momentum from the late first-half goal from Knutson. Both Knutson and Brooklyn Waldal started the second half with shots that had to be saved by Pelican Rapids keeper Toni Banton. In the 49th minute, Crookston won a corner kick, and Joslyn Wallace could get a boot on, but her shot went wide. The Pirates controlled possession in their third for most of the second half before Cassie Solheim scored in the 61st minute to give Crookston a 3-1 lead. Pelican Rapids responded with a shot from one of their captains, Emily Ahmed, but her shot went wide. The Vikings fired the ball down the field and had Funk chasing the ball, but Crookston’s keeper, Reese Swanson, came out of her net and made a sliding save just outside the 18 to deny the Vikings a scoring chance. In the 71st minute, Pelican Rapids had a throw and, with only a few swift passes, found Chelsey Blakeway on a breakaway, and she scored to bring the game to 3-2. The Pirates’ defense made it hard for the Vikings to break through after the Blakeway goal, controlling the ball and making it hard for them to break into their third. As the horn sounded, Crookston captured the win 3-2 to advance to the Semifinals.
Crookston improves to 5-7-3 on the year and will travel to East Grand Forks in the Section 8A semi-finals at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. KROX will have the RiverView Health pre-game show at 11:00 a.m. Pelican Rapids concludes their season with a 4-6-2 record.
Coach Sarah Reese’s Post-match interview:
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| Crookston | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Pelican Rapids | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Scoring –
22:53-Crox-Maddie Harbott
33:27-PR-Sadie Funk
39:33-Crox-Mady Knutson
60:21-Crox-Cassie Solheim
70:27-PR-Chelsey Blakeway
| SAVES | 1 | 2 | Final |
| Reese Swanson – Crox | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Toni Banton – PR | 4 | 5 | 9 |
