The Girls’ Soccer team entered the State A Quarterfinals as fifth seed with a 4-5-3 record, their hopes high that they would prevail. Unfortunately, the game was lost in the final few seconds with a surprise goal by Rapid City’s St. Thomas More.
The quarterfinal games were played at the Dakota Fields in Rapid City, with nearly perfect game temperatures and little wind.
Garretson and St. Thomas More played first in the Tuesday, October 8 brackets, with Sioux Falls Christian facing off against Vermillion later that day. The championship game will be held between Tea Area and West Central on October 19.
The Garretson versus St. Thomas More game looked like it was destined for overtime, as it stayed at 1-1 until the final 20 seconds. The ball went out of bounds, and Vivian Hurd with St. Thomas More got a shot. From more than 30 yards out, her kick sailed over the head of Garretson’s goalkeeper, ending the game 1-2 in favor of St. Thomas More.
St. Thomas More got the first goal nearly right away, but Garretson kept them away from the nets until the last moment. With six minutes left in the game, Garretson was able to score a goal off an error made by St. Thomas More. With the two teams tied, the final six minutes played hard. Unfortunately, with twenty seconds left until overtime, the Blue Dragons sent the ball out of bounds, giving it over to St. Thomas More, and the game-winning shot was successfully taken.
#28 Jayden Clark goes up against St. Thomas More’s Gabrielle Robbins in the Quarterfinals played on October 8. Photo by Kent Bush, Rapid City Journal #2 Rachel Kindt chases after St. Thomas More‘s Grace Blote in an attempt to steal the ball. Photo by Kent Bush, Rapid City Journal
