By MAYAN PAZ
Tiger Media Network
File photo
On a sunny afternoon, fans gathered at FHSU Soccer Stadium on Sunday to send off the senior members of the FHSU women’s soccer team in their senior-day match against Rogers State. While the contest ended in a 1-1 draw, the celebration for the team’s seven seniors was a motivating factor for the team.
For senior forward Sydney Cotter – who has scored 6 goals and assisted 4 goals this season – the crowd of supporters helped her and the team get motivated.
“It’s definitely more motivating and adds a lot of motivation on the field, and it creates more energy and everything,” she said. “So I think everyone, having more fans and stuff, definitely brought more energy to the field and hype for us to keep working hard.”
Cotter and the other senior members stayed on the field after the match to be honored for their time with the Tiger program.
The match lost any relevance for postseason implications before it began, as FHSU (3-11-2, 1-8-2) was already eliminated from postseason contention; however, a Northeastern State victory earlier in the day also eliminated Rogers State (2-7-7, 2-5-4) from qualifying for the conference tournament.
The difference in energy between the teams was well felt at the beginning of the match. The Tigers, featuring some seniors who usually start on the bench, were energized by the crowd’s enthusiasm, whereas the Hillcats had lost their motivation to win just seconds before the kickoff.
The Tigers applied pressure on the Hillcats early on, and after 8 minutes, senior Jordyn Bredenberg infiltrated the opposition’s box and drew a foul after taking contact from a Hillcat defender. A penalty was called by the referee, and striker Chaley French stuck the ball in the net with a powerful strike, which left the RSU’s goalkeeper no chance, scoring her 6th goal of the season and giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
Even with the lead, the Tigers kept the energy level up and kept trying to make threats on the RSU’s goal. Cotter was the main initiator of chances for FHSU, and came very close to scoring one of the prettiest goals of the season a few minutes before half-time, as she broke through in the middle of the field, dribbled passed four defenders, and struck the ball from outside the box. Unfortunately, that attempt was stopped by the woodwork, and the score remained 1-0 for the Tigers at the break.
FHSU had 7 shots in the first half compared to just 2 for the Hillcats.
In the second half, the Hillcats’ lack of energy seemed to also infect the Tigers. Both teams were playing a back-and-forth game of long balls, resulting in plenty of throw-ins and changes of possession. The Tigers still seemed in control of the match, but Cotter, who consistently kept making threats on goal, couldn’t find the target.
With only two minutes left, a moment of distraction in the Tiger defense resulted in a golden opportunity for RSU, which Kenzie Macklin converted, tying the score. This goal also determined the final score of the match, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
FHSU ended the game outshooting RSU 13-4 and also had 9 corner kicks to just 2 for RSU.
Cotter addressed her misfortunes in front of the goal after the game, but also concluded that the team is proud of the effort they gave, holding RSU off for almost the entire match.
“I definitely was a bit unlucky, hitting the post and getting some sailing over, but I just kept working hard,” she said. “Unfortunately, we gave up a goal in the last couple of minutes, but we worked hard, and that’s all I could ask for from everyone on the field.”
FHSU will conclude its season at 7 p.m. on Wednesday against UNK at FHSU Soccer Stadium.