BV wins Metro behind 1-0 win
By:
Staff report
Jill Meier/BV Journal
Gemma Symington works to keep the ball from her Roosevelt defender in BV’s 1-0 Metro Conference win.
The Lady Lynx soccer team carved out a 1-0 victory against a tough Sioux Falls Roosevelt team Sept. 29. But the victory was more than just a notch in the win column. It also determined this year’s Metro Conference champs.
The No. 4-ranked Rough Riders came into the game with just one loss to date to take on No. 8 Brandon Valley. The win pushed the Lynx up to the No. 4 slot, giving them homefield advantage for Tuesday’s playoff game against No. 13 Sturgis.
“(The victory) was not only big because of determining the conference championship, but it would also heavily change the playoff standings for both teams,” Lynx coach Jacob Shoup said.
BV came out humming from the start and got on top early with what Shoup defined as the team’s “most beautiful goal of the season.”
It started in the back with possession as the Lady Lynx moved the ball from one side to the other, then switched the field very efficiently through the midfield and found the switch to outside defender Zoey Mandery.
Mandery passed the ball to Payton Smedsrud who played a quick slip ball to Kennedy Nuebel, who was sprinting down the sideline, and had the opportunity to play a wonderful cross to some oncoming runners where midfielder Emma Haas scored with a one-time shot.
“It was absolutely textbook and how you wish they looked every time,” Shoup said.
The goal was Nuebel’s seventh assist of the season.
Roosevelt didn’t fold, however, and managed a few solid opportunities of their own. The Lynx were fortunate to avoid a handball in the box toward the end of the first half, which allowed BV to take the 1-0 lead into the break.
The second half was a back and forth battle that featured up and down action from both teams. Late in the game, the Lady Lynx were focused on maintaining their 1-0 lead when BV fouled a Rough Rider on the end line. Roosevelt ran a set piece, like a corner, and the ball bounced around BV’s end line “for what felt like an eternity,” Shoup said.
Thanks to BV senior defender Sage Bultje, who ended up horizontal on the ground with the ball sandwiched between her legs, the Lynx were able to get it out of trouble to claim the hard-fought 1-0 victory.
The win garnered the Lynx their second consecutive Metro Conference title, along with elevating the team to the No. 4 slot in the standings, which guarantees two home playoff games, pending a first-round victory.
“We like our chances as we head into the playoffs and know that we are playing as good as we have all season,” Shoup said.
The second playoff game is set for Saturday with the opponent yet to be determined.
