Vermillion defeated James Valley Christian 3-2 on Saturday night in Yankton for the ‘A’ boys state soccer championship. Late game heroics by Ian Job was the difference maker in the Tanagers claiming their first sanctioned state title.
Near the midway point of the first half, it was Gavin Waldner who scored first to give James Valley Christian an early lead. That score would hold going into the halftime break.
Vermillion finally found success on offense with 28-minutes to go in the match when Ian Job tied it with a goal.
Six-minutes later, the Tanagers took the lead This time, on a penalty kick goal from James Nissen. The Viking weren’t done yet, however. Gavin Waldner scored for the second time of the night to tie the game at 2-2 with just under 17-minutes to play in regulation.
With just under a minute to play, and with ice in his veins, Vermillion’s Ian Job kicked the game-winner
GOAL! Ian Job gives the Tanagers a late lead. #SDSoccer24 #SDPreps pic.twitter.com/zSg4viJ7cS
— SDPB Sports (@SDPBSports) October 20, 2024
“He’s a difference-maker,” said Curt Nelson, Vermillion head coach. “James Valley has a really good play-maker, difference-maker, and Ian’s one of ours.”
“It feels amazing, couldn’t feel better than this moment right now,” said Ian Job. “It’s meant everything. I’ve made life-long friends. We’ve come through so many differences, we’ve had our accomplishments – it’s been an amazing time.”
It was an emotional game with both teams feeling like they could win it. For Vermillion, it was all about not letting the moment get too big down the stretch.
“We just needed to keep our composure. We were doing the right things, creating chances, and the boys just staying calm. We were in a couple games like this early in the season, and keeping our composure, realizing there was forty more minutes was really key,” explained coach Nelson. “Thankfully, we kept creating chances and were able to get a couple goals in there.”
This is Vermillion’s first sanction title, but they did win a state title in 2012 as part of the South Dakota Soccer Association. That 2012 win was Nelson’s first year as a head coach for the Tanagers.
“It’s a long road back. Very different situations with me coming in as a first-year coach, going undefeated, winning a state title,” Nelson stated. “This one, we were grinding for a long time, doing a lot of things throughout the community, total village effort to get this team where it’s at today and it feels really good. We had tons of support this week. The community was here. This is going to be huge for everyone in the community. We’ve got four-year-olds playing VYSL that will cherish this moment just like these boys.”
Vermillion has three seniors on this year’s roster – Aaron Bingen, James Nissen, and Michael Roob.
