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Eagles fall to Scarlets in shootouts in section playoffs

By Ari Selvey 3 min read

NEW ULM -- It came down to the fifth Mankato West penalty shot, but Briel Kindgren's made kick gave the Scarlets the victory over New Ulm in the second round of the Section 2AA Girls Soccer Tournament.

Regulation ended with a 1-1 tie, and neither team was able to score in the two 10-minute overtime periods. West was able to make four of its five penalty shots to advance to the section finals.

"I think the girls played very very well,” New Ulm head coach Jonathan Johnson said. "Of course, not the outcome we wanted, but they played really hard and really well. Just moving the ball and moving off the ball, everything was working as planned pretty much.”

Despite the loss, New Ulm wraps up a historic season where it scored a school-record 94 goals as a team.

"In all my years of coaching, this is probably the best team I’ve had to work with,” Johnson said. “As far as conditioning and skill and attitude, everything, just a great bunch of kids. I’m proud to be their coach.”

A strong wind prevailed throughout the game, with it working against the Eagles in the first half. West had several chances from distance, assisted by the wind, but New Ulm goalkeeper Greta Berger was able to prevent any first half goals, despite some close calls and strong shots by the Scarlets. The scoreless night continued into the second half, with the wind ebbing a bit but still remaining a factor. Yessania Fernadez broke up a breakaway attack by West with 20 minutes left in regulation, chasing down the ball and clearing it without any damage. New Ulm had a close call of its own with 10 minutes to play, but West defender Annie Essay cleared the ball in front of the

Finally, with just 8:55 left in regulation, New Ulm broke through, with a long shot from Morgan Zimanski putting the ball next to the net, where Jesalyn Skoglund was able to clean it up with a low shot that just passed between the West goalie and the right upright for a goal. New Ulm's lead was short lived, however, as West rallied to score a goal with 5 minutes remaining as Lillian Caya scored to make it a 1-1 game. The Eagles had one more chance on a free kick by Marlena Kral with two minutes to go, but it was saved as the game went into overtime.

New Ulm gained an advantage in the first overtime period as West's Maggie Hardy picked up a red card in an emotional moment with 2:46 in the period, but New Ulm was unable to capitalize as the Scarlets held on until the final buzzer to send the game to penalties.

Berger saved the first West shot attempt in shootouts, and Kral hit her shot to give New Ulm the advantage. But Piper Kapolczynski's shot missed just right and Zimanski's shot was saved as West hit four consecutive goals, including Kindgren's game-winning shot.

New Ulm finishes its season with a 12-4-2 record.

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