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MHS soccer seeks vengeance in the WDA title game

BISMARCK — The hopes of an undefeated season were ruined the last time the Minot High School girls soccer team went up against Bismarck St. Mary’s.

The top-seeded Majettes (11-1-1) certainly haven’t forgotten what happened two weeks ago and want some redemption Thursday in the championship game of the first-ever Class A girls soccer West Region tournament.

“I think it’s going to be a very quality game,” MHS coach Matt Pfau said. “I think it’s a good thing for us that it is (against) the one team that beat us this year. We will be plenty motivated to play. We just have to be ourselves. I thought we made some mental mistakes when we played them (two weeks ago). We gave them goals where we could have cleared the ball with our heads and we didn’t. So, we just have to fix some things going into the game.”

The No. 2-seeded Saints (7-3-2) won the previous contest 3-1. Poor aerial defense and the speed of Saints sophomore forward Abigail Kopp caught the Majettes off guard.

“In the loss, we came out really flat. It looked like we had been napping all day,” MHS junior defender Claire Weltz said. “We have to come out a lot hungrier than we did last time. Nobody likes to have their (undefeated) season wrecked, so it’s time to settle that score.”

This time around, Pfau hopes for a more offensive game to counter the defensive style of the Saints.

“We have been good offensively and defensively, but I feel like when we are good offensively that’s when we are at our best,” he said. “And I think St. Mary’s is a little bit of the opposite. They have a very good, disciplined defense and they try to win 1-0. So, they put numbers in the back and stop you. It will be an interesting clash.”

The Majettes leading scorer this season has been junior midfielder Allison Lepp with 14 goals and five assists. The speed on the wings with Maliah Burke and Brooklyn Casey has also been effective for MHS this season. Target freshman forward Lainey Sandberg, who has been battling an injury, should also be 100 percent and ready to go, according to Pfau.

“We have grown a lot as a team this year,” senior striker Carly McCuaig said. “Not just as individuals, but as a whole team. We have a young team, but we are making ourselves something. For me personally, it’s kind of coming full circle now. I was on varsity as a freshman and it was the same thing. We have always been that close to getting (a No. 1 seed at the state tournament) and this year it is there again.”

The Majettes have been the No. 2-seeded team out of the West Region for the past four seasons. A victory Thursday evening (8 p.m.) against St. Mary’s at the Sanford Sports Complex in Bismarck would snap that runner-up streak.

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