BROOKINGS – “Unlucky!”

An often-overused soccer term, but an apt description of the Bobcats’ 2-0 Eastern South Dakota Conference loss to Brandon Valley on Saturday at Fishback Soccer Park.

The Lynx scored their first goal in the 33rd minute when Chloe Askdal fired a shot from the endline that Bobcat keeper Grace Mork got a hand on, but the rebound went left into the net to five Brandon Valley the 1-0 lead.

The Lynx continued to keep Mork busy and finally got another past the sophomore keep with 17:20 to play in the match on Julie Kruetner’s goal, and the ‘Cats couldn’t counter as they dropped to 2-4 overall and 2-2 in the ESD.

“I thought we were more evenly matched than 2-0 – I would say they deserved the win, but maybe not the shutout; maybe not two goals,” said BHS head coach Nate Tritle. “I thought after the first goal, we lost our composure and started booting the ball long instead of creating chances through short possession.

“We worked hard all over the field; their goals were unlucky for us, but they created their own luck. They are a good team – I don’t understand how this is only their second win. I think we have a young team: our bad games keep getting better and better; our good games keep getting better and better – and that’s what you see in a young team. Towards the end of the year, it’s going to be fun to see these girls peak – when you have consistent effort, eventually all of the pieces fall into place and you start playing total soccer.”

The Lynx held a 22-9 edge in shots, with a 10-3 advantage in shots on goal as they improved to 2-4-1 and 2-1-1 in the ESD.

Brookings, which dropped to 2-4 overall and 2-2 in conference play, travel to Mitchell on Tuesday to face the Kernels in a 6 p.m. matchup.