BROOKINGS – The Bobcats have always struggled to put in the win column against a Sioux Falls school and Thursday was more of the same as Washington scored the winning goal with 12 minutes to play for the 2-1 decision.
“How do you take away the fact that (Washington) is the team that is being touted as the best in the state with the best player in the state and we’re tied until the end – they’ve got great players all over the place,” said Bobcat head coach Nathan Tritle. “How can you not look at 2-1 and say Washington must have played badly, but no, they played pretty well – we are the ones that stepped up our game and played the best soccer.
“We’ve been working pretty hard on possessing the ball and looking for the easy and safe pass – we’re starting to see the dividends of that – we’re getting fewer opportunities, but we’re getting better opportunities.
“So now it’s Step 2 – go in and put the ball in the back of the net – I think our creativity is increasing. We have Addi Reed back – she had a left-footed volley that went off the post. We have Alexis (McGuire), Ava (Burns) and Emily (Rystrom) attacking those back lines, so the girls – and the coaches – just have to have faith that at some point, the storm is going to break and we’re going to do something, because we are a good team.”
The Warriors led 1-0 at halftime as Carlie Kray ran down a long pass behind the Bobcat defenders and beat keeper Grace Mork in a one-on-one battle.
Brookings tied the match a minute into the second half on an unassisted goal by Alexis McGuire, but it was Kray again with the game winner in the 68th minute as Washington improved to 7-1 on the season.
The Bobcats held a 19-11 edge in shots with both teams totaling seven shots on goal as Mork tallied five saves in the loss.
Brookings, 3-5 overall, plays host to Aberdeen Central on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The Golden Eagles sport an unblemished record with five wins and two draws.
