Great effort in Amherst ends in another PK shootout loss

WIAA DIV. 3 GIRLS SOCCER

The Amherst/Iola-Scandinavia girls soccer team apparently brings out the best from the Medford Raiders at tournament time.

On Thursday, the teams played to a double-overtime tie for the second straight season in a WIAA Division 3 regional semifinal played in Amherst. This time, the fireworks were displayed by the teams’ offenses, rather than the lightning in 2021, in a 4-4 tie that was broken with the Falcons winning the penaltykick shootout 2-1.

Much like last year’s 1-1 tie, when the Falcons won the shootout 3-2 in six rounds, the sixth-seeded Raiders felt Thursday’s effort was their best of the season as they finished 4-14-2. The thirdseeded Falcons finished their season at 14-7-1 after falling 5-0 at second-seeded Ashland in Saturday’s regional final.

“They all gave 100%,” Medford head coach Tanya Tessmann said. “They played the entire game on overdrive. They never gave up. They were going for the ball. They were doing kicks fast when they knew there was going to be overtime. They were tired, but they did not let that stop them.”

Aided by the extra 20 minutes, Medford tied its season high with four goals and it came against a team that shut the Raiders out 3-0 back on May 6.

“We played really well,” senior co-captain Caitlin Doyle said. “It was probably our best game. No one’s upset because it was our best game. I’m really proud of us. It was a great game.”

Unfortunately for Medford, their shooting accuracy from the actual game left them in the shootout. Gabby Brunner was the only successful Raider out of five, hitting the low left corner in the second round to put Medford up 1-0. Falcon goalie Ella Thompson made a sliding save on Lydia Pernsteiner in round one, got enough of Doyle’s high shot in round four to stop it and was in perfect position to make the save on Sierra Tessmann’s last-gasp shot in round five. Kayla Szydel’s shot in round three flew just over the crossbar.

The Falcons didn’t connect until round three of the shootout. Saige Peterson missed the net in round one and Jenna Pinter hit the crossbar in round two. But Claire Lewallen got one under the crossbar mid-net in round three as Raider goal keeper Sophia Brunner guessed low to her right. Moving to her left, Brunner got her fingers on Alyssa Tap’s low shot in round four, but the ball still found its way inside the post and into the corner of the net. Lia Peterson hit the post to Brunner’s right in round five.

While the Falcons got four goals in 100 minutes of play, the Raiders would not have gotten the game to a shootout without the play of their sophomore keeper, who made 10 saves, several of which had some difficulty to them. She made a diving save to stop a breakaway by Lili Barthel at the 7:00 mark, made another diving save on Hannah Wall’s shot at 17:55 and made an incredible quick-reaction save just 30 seconds into the second overtime when the Falcons had sent in a perfect centering pass to Wall, who got a shot off at point-blank range.

“She did amazing,” coach Tessmann said. “She came out (of the box) and made the whole team and myself a little nervous at times, but she made the plays, got right back up and played a hard game.”

Offensively, the Raiders certainly did not play like a team that was shut out 13 times during the season.

Just 55 seconds in, Pernsteiner got a good pass onto Gabby Brunner’s foot, but her shot was saved by Thompson.

At 2:21, the same two seniors connected for the game’s first goal. Brunner, approaching from the left sideline centered to Pernsteiner, who knocked the ball in for a 1-0 lead and some early momentum. The Raiders continued to get shots and scoring opportunities over the next 20 minutes. The Falcons, though, controlled the last 20 minutes of the opening half.

They tied the game at 1-1 when Barthel slipped a hard shot inside the post to Brunner’s right at the 24:24 mark. Barthel took a pass from Mia Cope and was able to get a shot through Brunner from a tough angle along the end line to give Amherst/Iola-Scandinavia a 2-1 lead at 33:11. That was the halftime score as the Falcons survived a couple of late pushes by Medford deep into their territory.

The home team had the first good shot of the second half with Wall just missing the left post off a Barthel assist at 47:05. A Pernsteiner shot was stopped at 48:40 and Barthel had a good look sail wide right at 52:25.

Pernsteiner got her second goal of the game at 53:37 to tie it. The ball got to her out of midfield scrum, she carried it down the right side and booted it in from about 20 yards. “We had good passing,” coach Tessmann said. “The girls did amazing keeping their shape. We got them offsides a couple of times. It was definitely a physical game. The refs were letting them play. When one goal was scored we knew the game was nowhere near done because it could’ve been anyone’s game yet.”

That score fired up the Falcons, who answered with heavy offensive pressure in the next five minutes and paid it off with Tap’s goal at 57:40, which came on a 20-yard lob that got over Brunner and found the net.

The Raiders weren’t able to convert on a couple of corner kicks, but they got their big break with just under five minutes left in the game. A foul just inside the boundary of the 18-yard goalie box gave them a penalty kick. Gabby Brunner took it and buried it, going to her left, to knot the game at 3-3 and ultimately send it to the two 10-minute overtime periods.

Pernsteiner had the first good look in period one, but sent it high. But Medford capitalized on another break at 83:30 with a handball 23 yards away from the goal. Tessmann’s arcing shot was misplayed by the defense and bounced its way in to give Medford a 4-3 lead.

Right off the ensuing kickoff, Amherst made a big push and Sophia Brunner defl ected a well-placed shot by Barthel. The Falcons couldn’t pounce on a loose ball in front of the net about a minute later but, at 85:39, Barthel got her hat trick, scoring off a perfect feed from Tap.

Brunner made a nice save in the final minute of the period on Pinter and the Falcons came close to scoring on a corner kick with 10 seconds left, but the period ended with the teams still tied. Brunner’s big save to start the second period was the closest shot either team had in those 10 minutes.

The Raiders bid farewell after the game to a big core group of seniors. Gabby Brunner, Doyle, Pernsteiner were varsity players for four years and were key pieces on the 2019 sectional final team. Szydel, Kelsey Jascor, Emma Eckert, Maddie Eckert, Maddie Williams arrived on the scene later on and Eszter Nagy joined as an exchange student this year.

The Raiders, though, should bring back a sizable group that saw lots of varsity minutes this spring.

“We’re losing a lot of seniors but the ones we’re keeping is an amazing group of girls,” coach Tessmann said. “They’re going to be juniors so we have a couple of years left with them. We’re really looking forward to next year.”

Medford defender Talyn Peterson jockeys for possession of the soccer ball with Amherst/Iola-Scandinavia’s Tara Thompson during the first half of Thursday’s WIAA Division 3 regional semifinal.PHOTOS BY MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS

Medford wing Gabby Brunner makes a nifty move to cut inside of Amherst/Iola-Scandinavia’s Mia Cope and carry the ball out of the Falcons’ offensive end during Thursday’s second half.

Medford goalkeeper Sophia Brunner gets her fingers on the ball but can’t quite stop it from going into the net during the penalty-kick shootout that decided Thursday’s WIAA Division 3 regional semifinal between the Raiders and Amherst/Iola-Scandinavia Falcons. This successful kick was made by Falcon Alyssa Tap.MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS