HIP CHECK — Rochester Lourdes’ Bryn Billmeier (21) maneuvers her hip to move Fairmont Area’s Bella Schroeder (2) away from the soccer ball during Section 2A semifinal action Saturday at Rochester Community and Technical College’s facility in Rochester. Fairmont Area’s Macy Smith (right) and Rochester Lourdes’ Michaela Schommer (7) watch the physical action. (Photo by Charlie Sorrells)
ROCHESTER — The Class A No. 7-ranked and No. 1-seeded Rochester Lourdes Eagles converted a staggering 27-5 shots-on-goal edge into a 6-1 Section 2 semifinal soccer victory over the No. 4-seeded Fairmont Area Cardinals on Saturday.
Rochester Lourdes (11-4-1) advances to the 5 p.m. sectional championship game on Thursday against No. 3-seeded Pine Island/Zumbrota-Mazeppa at Wescott Field in Austin.
The Wildcats gained the Section 2 finals by upending No. 2-seeded Stewartville, 2-1, in Saturday’s other semifinal.
Ironically, Fairmont Area eliminated Rochester Lourdes by a 3-2 decision in the 2021 Section 2 championship match in Austin.
The Eagles, however, avenged last fall’s season-ending loss by building a 2-1 halftime advantage over the Cardinals on the goal-striking spikes of senior forward Amelia Gossman on Rochester Community and Technical College’s artificial turf on Saturday.
Gossman, who netted one goal during Lourdes’ 4-0 regular-season triumph over Fairmont Area back on Sept. 10 at Jeffery Kot Soccer Complex in Fairmont, staked the Eagles to a quick 1-0 margin only 54 seconds into the postseason clash.
Gossman fielded a skidding lead pass from midfielder Bryn Billmeier, rushed the right wing and hammered a liner by Cardinal netminder Madi Stromberg for a 1-0 lead.
Fairmont Area senior striker Anna Utermarck, however, needed only 23 seconds to answer by drilling a right-post shot into the twine for the equalizer. Kate Busche delivered the assist to Utermarck.
Gossman then recaptured the lead for the Eagles by taking flight to skip over a sliding challenge by Stromberg inside the box. Gossman demonstrated her agility and athleticism by maintaining her balance after her running leap to tap home the loose slow roller with 26:28 remaining before intermission.
“Same story as the last time — we were within striking distance at halftime, but they (Eagles) hit us with a scoring run over a 9- or 10-minute span during the early stages of the second half,” Fairmont Area head coach Matt Nielsen said in reference to Lourdes’ 1-0 halftime lead back on Sept. 10. “Just too much speed on their part.”
Midfielder Rebecca Cook, who netted a goal in the two teams’ regular-season clash, hovered in the box before tracking down a loose soccer ball near the right doorstep for a punch-in goal and 3-1 Lourdes lead at the 25:26 juncture.
Striker Rose Otto, who hit the scoring column in the regular-season game, worked the center of the field and fired a riser at Stromberg, who batted away the initial blast. Allison Restovich rebounded the carom and kicked it into the webbing for a 4-1 lead with 23:10 to go in regulation.
An alert Otto then widened the Eagles’ edge on the scoreboard by settling an overpass near midfield, slipstreamed a Cardinal defender and drove the ball down through the heart of the defense for a twine-finder only 20:46 left in the playoff outing.
Nadia Bretton capped Lourdes’ point production by tapping home a turf-bounding overpass on the doorstep with 16:54 left in the contest.
Elayna Anderson and Utermarck combined to march the soccer ball downfield, but Eagles’ netminder Addison Lange made a shot-blocking sweeping slide on Anderson to deny a goal at the 9:40 juncture.
Emma Scheppmann later launched her pass into the offensive zone to eventually create a free-kick situation for the Cardinals, but Abby Cihoski’s 35-yard blast was snared by Lange during the final 3 minutes of regulation.
“I was pleased with the way the girls were able to get a couple of shots on goal during the late stages of the game and played hard to the final buzzer,” said Nielsen. “Madi produced another great performance in net for us today.”
Stromberg turned in a yeoman’s day’s work by recording a game-best 21 saves for Fairmont Area, while Lange needed only four stops between the pipes to gain the win.
Fairmont Area ended its season with an 8-10 overall record.
Fairmont 1-0–1
Lourdes 2-4–6
Scoring Plays
1st Half
RL–Amelia Gossman (Bryn Billmeier), 39:06.
FA–Anna Utermarck (Kate Busche), 38:43.
RL–Amelia Gossman (unassisted), 26:28.
2nd Half
RL–Rebecca Cook (unassisted), 25:26.
RL–Allison Restovich (Rose Otto), 23:10.
RL–Rose Otto (unassisted), 20:46.
RL–Nadia Bretton (unassisted), 16:54.
Shots-on-goal: Rochester Lourdes 10-17–27; Fairmont Area 2-3–5. Corners: Rochester Lourdes 6; Fairmont Area 2.
Saves: Madi Stromberg (FA) 21; Addison Lange (RL) 4.
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