Wolverine Girls Soccer playing in regional final Thursday
The #11 (1A) Dike-New Hartford girls soccer team is playing in its third regional final in its third season as a program Thursday. They’ll travel to take on #4 Gilbert, needing one win to qualify for the state tournament.
The Wolverines have dominated their way through the postseason, earning an 8-1 win over GC-GR and a 5-0 win over Clear Lake. At 10-6 overall, the Wolverines have faced more adversity this season than last, but senior Camille Landphair says her team deserves the opportunity because of their hard work.
"Our identity has definitely changed from last year," Landphair says. "I've had to change my role many, many times. We've changed formations and lineups throughout the season. I think we've finally figured it out, and it has shown."
Head Coach Kat Bering says the team is peaking at the right time, due in large part to multiple scoring threats stepping up.
"There's a lot of people finding the scoreboard," Bering says. "That's huge. When you only have one person finding the net, that's a problem, because they can shut that down. When you've got multiple people finding it, getting in the mix, assisting, that's huge for us because they have to shut down all of them, and you can't do that. Then just having our brick wall in the back, we talk about that all the time. Over the last three years, we've had amazing defenders, and we still have a brick wall back there. Goalkeeper Miranda Tyler is a gamechanger."
The 11-5 Tigers advanced with two shutout wins, 9-0 over East Sac County and 8-0 over Garner-Hayfield-Ventura. A prolific offense has scored nearly five goals per game, led by senior Sydney Lynch’s 24.
A Wolverine victory would earn the program its second consecutive state tournament appearance. Thursday’s game will air on 99 The Wave. Pregame coverage will begin at 6:50 p.m., and the opening kickoff is scheduled for 7:00.
