BV boys soccer matches wits with Yankton
By:
Jill Meier, Journal editor
To sum up Brandon Valley’s Sept. 1 soccer match at Yankton, one could say was “even Steven.”
Except for the final score – 4-2 – the game’s final stats were nearly identical.
Both teams took 11 shots. The Lynx fired eight shots on goal, while Yankton delivered nine.
BV was charged with 11 fouls and the Bucks, well, they had 13.
And when it came to protecting the goal, the Lynx’s Ayden Spier got a hand on six saves, which was matched by six saves by the Yankton goal keeper.
Lynx head coach Chris Limmer said the Bucks took advantage of a four on three situation early on in the game when a Yankton midfielder beat his opponent in the middle of the field and found himself with several options. His choice was their striker, who delivered a nice through ball and slotted it into the far post.
The remainder of the first half was pretty even with both teams creating a few scoring opportunities during which time BV fired off five shots to Yankton’s four.
BV struck first in the second half, coming about six minutes in. The Lynx made a free kick pay off, serving into the penalty area from Aidan Mitzel, who was positioned about 35 yards out from goal on the right side of the field. The Bucks defense initially cleared the ball out, but to BV’s fortune, the ball fell to Dylan Smedsrud. The Lynx senior defender took a touch and chipped the keeper from about 30 yards out, tying the game at 1-all.
Yankton responded quickly. Within two minutes, the Bucks came down the Lynx right side and played the ball all the way across to an attacker on the far side, who headed a perfectly placed shot inside the far post.
The Bucks tacked on two more goals by the midway point of the half to take a 4-1 lead.
Trailing by three goals, aggressive play by BV’s Lawson Lambertz earned him his second yellow card of the match, which resulted in a red card. BV would also have to play a man down for the remainder of the game.
But the Lynx weren’t fazed by the handicap. Ironically so, BV was able to gain control of the game later on, and the result was a goal with 6:30 to go. The score was a result of a long free kick on goal by Eli Kirlin and picked up by Mitzel on his run across the face of the goal, which was enough to freeze the goalkeeper, who watched the ball fly past him and into the goal.
This week, the Lynx (2-2-2) will look to regroup from injuries and other recent difficulties when they host Brookings on Tuesday and Aberdeen Central(4-2-1) at 5 p.m. Friday.
