Pirate Girl’s Soccer falls to Pelican Rapids in Overtime

The Crookston Pirate Girls Soccer team lost 2-1 to Pelican Rapids in double overtime in the first round of the Section 8A Girls Soccer Tournament.

FIRST HALF –
The Vikings started with the ball, but it was Crookston’s offense that got going early. A steal from the Pirates near midfield led to the Pelican Rapids defense clearing the ball to the sidelines. The ensuing throw-in led to a Brooklyn Waldal goal from the far sideline to give the Pirates an early lead. “Maddie Harbott made a great pass to set Brooklyn up,” Pirates head coach Sarah Reese explained, ” And she hit a great shot.” The teams would trade possessions, and each side would fire off a couple of shots. Johnson made two head-on saves for Crookston, and a Mady Knutson shot was picked up by Vikings goalie Ashley Zavala in the 10th minute. Anna Heldstab had a chance for an empty net shot after the goalkeeper missed on a save in the 15th minute, but stout Viking defense prevented the attempt. The Viking’s offense had a great chance to score in the 25th minute, but a shot was missed from the crossbar of the goal. It bounced back into the field of play, but Makayla Tahran was able to send it out of bounds. Pelican Rapids’ Chelsea Blakeway had a penalty kick in the 26th minute after she was tripped, but sailed her shot out of bounds and wide right of the net. Sadie Funk had another attempt for the Vikings in the 30th minute, as she crossed over a Crookston defender to set up a shot. Funk’s shot was low and fallen on by Johnson. A stalemate for the rest of the fist half occurred, as both teams played contested defense to drain the clock.

SECOND HALF –
Crookston’s offense started the second half similarly to the first: with a takeaway that led to a breakaway. Anna Heldstab had space on the far side, but was unable to fire a shot thanks to Hani Basheer chasing her down for the stop. The Vikings offense made it to their offensive third moments later, but it was Brooklyn Waldal with the clearing kick. Heldstab had another open shot at a goal for Crookston in the 45th minute, but mistimed a kick as it rolled to the sidelines. Moments later, Madi Knutson had a breakaway on the far sideline. Her shot was saved low by Zavala in the 47th minute. Ellie Carlson had a chance to tie it for the Vikings, but another diving save from Johnson stopped the goal in the 49th minute. Carlson was able to fire another shot off a pass from Sadie funk, but she shot right into the chest of Johnson. Coach Reese raved about Johnson’s night in the net, “Naomi made some incredible saves tonight,” she said, “she had a diving jump save at one point, and most high school goalkeepers can’t do that,” Sadie Funk would get a steal from a JoJo Wallace pass attempt in the 55th minute, but she too shot into Johnson’s chest from left of the net. The next several minutes took place in the Vikings offensive third. In the 62nd minute, a centering ball to Hamada Ibriham for Pelican Rapids was shot and missed wide right of the goal. Pelican Rapids finally scored in the 73rd minute, as Hamada Ibriham snuck one past the diving Crookston keeper jumping for a save. With the game tied at one, the Pirates would not score despite several late chances, which forced overtime. “A lot of the game was played in the middle third. It felt like an even game throughout,” said Reese.

1st OVERTIME –
The defenses were the story of the first 10 minute period. Both offenses had opportunities to score, but great goalkeeping in critical moments kept the game alive. Mady Knutson had a shot for the Pirates that was saved in front of the net in the first minute of overtime. The Vikings had a chance on a corner kick that bounced off the crossbar and into Johnson’s hands. Johnson made another save late, as Funk sent one into her chest. “Although nobody scored, we had a lot of good chances on offense, and we have to be happy about that,” Reese added.

2nd OVERTIME
The Vikings started with the ball, and a corner kick early in the period was saved by Johnson. The Viking offense was opportunistic, however, as Sadie Funk broke up a pirate pass in the 18 foot box, weaved through defenders, and sent the dagger into the bottom right corner of the net with just four minutes left in the period. “I’m super proud of the girls tonight,” Reese said postgame, “even though we didn’t win, we have a sense of comfort in knowing that we left everything we had on that field.”

Crookston finishes the season with a 2-9-2 record.