When the soccer season reaches the postseason, nothing is guaranteed as one loss can bring the season to a screeching halt at any time. Tuesday night, the St. Peter girls soccer team left no doubt who would be moving on in their match against the Marshall Tigers as they completely dominated the action in all phases of the game, turning a 3-0 halftime lead into a 4-0 victory to advance to the section semifinals.
“We came in ready to fight, in sections, if we lose, we’re out,” said defensive anchor senior Sam Madden after the win. “So that definitely gave us the push to play hard today.”
The match also held historic significance as junior striker Keira Friedrich scored all three first-half goals for the Saints, tying and then breaking the St. Peter single season scoring record of 24 which was previously held by Danielle Larson in the 2009 season. Friedrich scored her 23rd, 24th and now record 25th goals in thrilling fashion with a lot of help from her teammates.
“It’s super exciting when we can connect on some of those passes and breakthrough, it creates great opportunities,” said Friedrich. “Then I just have to stay focused and not shoot it over the net.”
The first goal of the night came on one of those passes when Liliana Prunty pushed the ball ahead of the back line of the defense where Friedrich met it perfectly before smashing the ball right to left, off the fingertips of the keeper and into the net.
Just over 10 minutes later, as the Saints kept the pressure firmly on Marshall, Friedrich took a ball on the left side of the field after a deflected throw in. She made a pair of defenders overcommit before spinning past the last line of defense and placing a kick into the corner of the net, giving the Tiger keeper no shot to make a save.
The record-setting goal would come in the 27th minute of the match as Navaeh Rezmerski put another perfectly placed pass between a pair of defenders that Keira took in stride before blasting another shot into the goal.
When the first half came to a close, it was clear where the match was headed and the Saints wouldn’t let up throughout the second as Prunty would score a goal of her own, assisted by June Elias, with 18:06 remaining. When all was said and done, the ball couldn’t have been in the St. Peter half of the field for more than 10 minutes as the Saints relentless pursuit of the ball and killer instinct defense never gave Marshall even a dream of a quality shot on goal.
“A big part of it is definitely trusting your teammates,” Madden noted of the defensive strategy. “Like, if I were to make a mistake, I know that there are very good defenders behind me and I have an amazing goalie who’s always there.”
The win sets up St. Peter to face one of only two teams to defeat them in the regular season, the Mankato East Cougars. When the two squads met last month in St. Peter, the Cougars controlled the action, winning 5-0. The Saints however know that doesn’t mean a thing when the teams meet this Thursday, as asides from missing several key players that afternoon, including Madden who was out due to injury, the players know what is on the line.
“Mainly we have to be mentally ready. Like you said, East was a very tough game,” said Madden. “But coming in mentally tough knowing that, again, if we don’t win, it’s our last game, and as seniors, that definitely hits way harder.”
The match with Mankato East will take place Thursday, Oct. 10, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m., at the Caswell North Soccer Complex. It will be the second match of the night as the Mankato West Scarlets will face off against the New Ulm Eagles at the same site beginning at 5 p.m.
But for the Saints, all that matters is the opportunity to keep moving forward.
“I think there’s a reason you play the game and the rankings don’t mean that much,” Friedrich stated. “You gotta play the whole game to see how it goes, but I think it’ll be a good one.”
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