The key word for this season this year is effort.

The Garretson High School/Dell Rapids High School girls soccer team started off with a hard-fought loss to Vermillion on a hot, muggy evening, but the team turned around the next day and beat Groton Area for the first time ever.  The team came out strong the next week with a win over Huron, but fell flat against Tea Area a couple days later.  The team did their best to bounce back from the loss, but came up short the next week against Sioux Falls Christian.  Later that week, the team drove down to Dakota Valley, ready to turn the season around.  The girls fought hard on the uncharacteristically warm Saturday and came out on top.  However, that next week brought more heartache as the team succumbed to a loss against Mitchell.

The girls put forth a tremendous effort in their next game against West Central, but the second half was ultimately their demise as they fell once again.  However, the team was able to regroup and pull together for a win two days later against Worthington, MN.  After having five days of rest from games, the girls came out ready to play Vermillion the next week.  With 110% effort for the full 80 minutes, the girls avenged their first loss of the season with a 0-0 tie.  The high from this tie carried over into the next game of that week, and the team once again beat Groton Area, this time on their own field.  The final game of the season was against Sioux Falls Christian.  The girls played their hearts out, but unfortunately came up short in a 1-2 loss to the Chargers to end the regular season.

However, it was enough to land the team the #5 seed in the playoffs – – a feat which has never before occurred in the history of the Garretson soccer program.  On Tuesday, October 2nd, the team will have one final opportunity to defeat Vermillion.  With 100% effort, the team can bring forth strong passes, good runs, and lots of shots, which could land these girls with their first playoff win against a team who has created in this program motivation and a desire for more.

With a win over Dakota Valley on Saturday, August 25th, the Garretson/Dell Rapids Blue Dragon girls soccer team set a school record for most wins in a season.

The Blue Dragons started their week last week with a match against Sioux Falls Christian on Tuesday, August 21st.  Though the team came out firing on all cylinders in the first half that resulted in them trailing 0-1 at halftime, the energy fell flat in the second half, and the Chargers defeated Garretson/Dell Rapids 4-0.  The JV match ended in a 0-0 tie.

The team was able to move past the disappointing loss to Sioux Falls Christian and put in some hard practices to prepare for the match against Dakota Valley.  The team traveled to North Sioux City to take on the Panthers.  With the high temperatures that day, the girls fought through the heat to earn a 2-1 win over Dakota Valley.  Madison Ljunggren (9th) and Raegan Altman (8th) had well placed shots that gave the team the win.  The Blue Dragons ended the day with a 6-0 JV match win.

Garretson/Dell Rapids (3-3 record) is now gearing up to face Mitchell on Thursday, August 30th.

Coming off a big win August 11, the girls were excited for another well-fought match on Thursday, August 16th.  The girls came out with strength and determination and pulled out a 5-0 win against Huron.  With 38 shots throughout the match, the girls were confident in their playing abilities and were creating opportunities with great passing and teamwork. Riley Altman, junior, scored two goals, including one penalty kick; Paige Sterud, freshman, added one goal to the mix; Jordyn Williams, 7th grader, had another great goal inside the box; and Jayden Clark, junior, had goal from the defensive line.

After the game Thursday against Huron, the girls were ready to play Tea on Saturday, August 18th, though they knew it would be a hard-fought battle.  Though the girls played aggressively and fought hard, they couldn’t seem to get any breaks.  Kayla Genzlinger, freshman, had a phenomenal game in goal. Without her hard work, the outcome of the game would have been much worse.  As it is, the girl lost the battle 0-9 against Tea.  The proudest moment as a coach was to see every girl put forth 110% effort throughout the entire game.  No one gave up, and no one started blaming other people.  The team (2-2-0) as a whole took the loss well and is gearing up for our game against Sioux Falls Christian on Tuesday, August 21st and Dakota Valley on Saturday, August 25th.