The Benilde-St. Margaret’s girls’ soccer team defeated the St. Peter Saints 2-1 at Park High School on October 26. Senior forward Maria Michels scored both Red Knight goals including the game-winner which occurred in the second round of sudden death overtime.
The Red Knights dominated the first half and had plenty of scoring chances on Saint’s goalie, senior Maria Siebels. Maria Michels scored the game’s first goal on an assist from sophomore Mimi Burns giving the Red Knights a 1-0 lead going into halftime.
The second half started with the Red Knights controlling the ball, but Saint’s midfielder Tori Wilking put a free-kick over senior goalie Annie Michels and tied the game. “I realized that our best chance of scoring again was to not freak out and just play our game,” senior captain and defender Anne Arnason said.
The score remained deadlocked throughout the second half and the tied game went to overtime. Senior captain and forward Dana Buckhorn came within inches of winning the game in the first overtime, but missed the opportunity. “It was frustrating knowing we were the better team and it took 90 minutes to prove it,” Buckhorn said.
In the second overtime, freshman forward Aleksa Tataryn hit the crossbar and moments later Maria Michels slipped by the defense and put in the winning goal with five minutes remaining in overtime.
This win qualifies the Red Knights for the State semifinals for the second consecutive year where they will play the South St. Paul Packers and look to make it to their second straight Class A title game appearance. “This is what we have been working for everyday for a year, so now it’s all in,” Buckhorn said.
