First-ever state championship sets up Brandon Valley for a successful future
BRANDON, S.D. (BVM) — After a 1-0 loss to Harrisburg on Sept.15, the Brandon Valley girls soccer team did not give up another goal for the rest of the season.
“We’ve always been a defensive team,” Lynx head coach Jacob Shoup said. “That’s what our girls love to do.”
They used that defense to shut out the last five teams they faced on their way to winning their first-ever state championship and repeating as Metro Conference champions. The state championship was one that the Lynx believed they could win following a disappointing finish to the 2019 season.
“The expectation was high for sure,” Shoup said. “Coming off last season we felt like we left some of our better games on the table.”
The expectations may have been high, but early into the offseason, COVID-19 made everything more difficult. Many of the girls who played club soccer lost their club season and summer training with the high school was filled with added regulations.
“It was definitely different,” Shoup said. “The biggest thing was the mental toll it was going to take on the kids, just a lot of uncertainty in general.”
The Lynx tried to just focus on the upcoming season and be prepared when they were given confirmation that they could play.
“A lot of what we did throughout the summer and through the season was just reminding each other how grateful we are to have the opportunity to be here today,” Shoup said. “Just being thankful for today.”
Once play did begin, there were some wrinkles the coaching staff and the team needed to iron out.
“We knew we had a great team. It was just trying to figure where all of these things fit together,” Shoup said.
One of the biggest was how Brandon Valley was going to use its impressive depth. Along with their nine returning seniors, seven of whom were starters, the Lynx also had a strong junior and sophomore class. Just on the defense alone there were at least eight girls who could start in any of the four starting positions.
Figuring out who would start, who played best together and how substitutions would go was something that needed to be done in games rather than at practice. Due to COVID-19, there were also limitations on how and when the team could interact. Many of the team-building events that would normally take place during the season weren’t possible this year. That led to the slow development of team chemistry.
“That was probably the biggest challenge of the year from a coaching standpoint with trying to build the team culture and the team camaraderie,” Shoup said.
However, once the Lynx got these problems taken care of, they quickly reached their full potential. The depth that at first seemed to be a problem allowed Brandon Valley to play a fast-paced, technical passing game. The girls moved the ball around quickly without worry of tiring out because they knew they had fresh legs on the bench that were just as capable as them.
The team camaraderie quickly solidified and the girls quickly bought into their roles on the team and were ready to make sacrifices to achieve the team goals they had. The seniors in particular stepped up as leaders.
“Our team was led by nine seniors that were incredible,” Shoup said. “Their leadership and experience, to be able to lean on that through this crazy season, was invaluable.”
It especially showed up in the state semifinals when Brandon Valley faced off against O’Gorman — a team that these seniors knew well.
As freshmen and sophomores, this senior class had lost twice to O’Gorman in 0-0 playoff games that ended in shootouts. Getting one last chance to settle the score meant a lot to this team. Beating them 2-0 was beyond satisfying.
“When we got done with that game it almost felt like we had won the state championship,” Shoup said.
They hadn’t of course. That would come four days later when the Lynx beat Roosevelt 2-0 in the championship.
Looking towards the future, Brandon Valley has some key positions to replace before it can think about defending the conference and state championships.
Losing seniors like Julia Kreutner, Emma Haas, Kennedy Nuebel and Mya Chan will be hard enough. The Lynx also have to completely replace their starting midfield.
Luckily, the junior is strong with players like all-conference defender Zoey Mandery. The Lynx also have an extremely strong sophomore class that is made up of about 15 girls. Led by first team all-state defender Tyrese Zacher and Emma Kirlin, the leading scorer off the bench, the sophomore group will be a big reason for future Brandon Valley success.
“We’re going to be a good team for years to come,” Shoup said.
