Sioux Falls Christian defeated Dakota Valley 2-1 on Saturday in Rapid City to win the ‘A’ girls state championship.
Both of these teams seemed to have each other’s number throughout the match as both struggled to find an advantage.
It took until the midway point of the second half for the scoring drought to break. Sioux Falls Christian scored first on an ‘own goal,’ as a result of a corner kick from Kenley Anderson that deflected off of the Panthers an into the net. Five-minutes later, Millie Squier of Dakota Valley tied it up.
The match remained tied through regulation and two overtime periods, which led to a shootout. In the shootout, Sioux Falls Christian won the title with a 4-3 advantage during penalty kicks – queuing the celebration for the Chargers.
"Our goalie (Nealie Stanford) is phenomenal at penalty kicks. She spends a lot of time just working on it in practice. What are the small tells you can get when a player is running up,” explained Sioux Falls Christian head coach Ethan Poulter. “We practice PK’s at the end of every practice for the past couple of weeks, in case something like this happens.”
Dakota Valley and Sioux Falls Christian played twice in the regular season, each winning one. This led up to one final showdown on the state’s biggest stage.
“We knew it was going to be a real tough game coming in,” said coach Poulter. “They’re awesome competition and that’s what makes these games the most fun, so it was exciting.”
In a game that saw multiple momentum shifts with a thrilling finish, it was Sioux Falls Christian repeating as the state champions.
