Minot High’s MaKella Brekke (6) and Bismarck Legacy’s Emmy Schumacher (13) battle for positioning as they look to play the ball during the second half of a WDA match on Wednesday, April 22, at Duane Carlson Stadium. Mike Kraft/MDN

Coming off a torn ACL she suffered nearly a year ago, Minot High’s Jayva McKibben had to ease her way back into the flow of the game both from a physical and mental aspect.

The senior forward entered the season on a bit of a minutes restriction from the coaching staff as a precaution while she rounded into form. Now, with the caution tape removed, McKibben is back to doing what she does best: scoring goals and helping her team win matches.

McKibben scored her fourth goal in three games, netting an early marker in the third minute of Minot High’s 2-0 victory over Bismarck Legacy on Wednesday, April 22, at Duane Carlson Stadium in their second match in less than 24 hours. McKibben scored the lone goal for the Majettes in a 1-1 tie against Mandan the night prior in a rematch of last year’s state title match.

“There’s been some ups and downs, but overall, I’ve had a really good support system,” McKibben said. “The team’s been great. My coaches have been great and it’s knowing that it’s little goals into the big goals. I feel like I’m settling in and getting more confident in myself, more confident that my knee is strong and game after game slowly getting that confidence back, which again my teammates have been really good with helping me through.”

McKibben wasted no time getting the Majettes (6-1-1 overall, 6-1-1 WDA) on the scoreboard, scoring her fifth goal of the season in the third minute. McKibben took possession of a throw-in from teammate Cayley Gibbons, turned and fired a low-angle shot that Legacy’s Rayne Hertel couldn’t get a foot on as it got past both her and goalkeeper Berlynn Felchle.

A quick start was exactly what Minot High coach Matt Pfau was hoping for after playing the night before.

“We definitely wanted to come out and throw that first punch per se and get the lead early and go from there,” Pfau said. “That was the emphasis in the locker room before the game was to play with the lead today. We would have liked it to be more than two, but two was enough today and we’ll take it.”

McKibben’s fifth goal of the season tied her for the team lead with Aleah Gibbons. She netted her first goal of the season three matches into the year against Bismarck Century and has scored at least a goal in each of her last three contests, including two against Bismarck High.

“She’s really turned the corner,” Pfau said. “For her, it was a mental thing. There’s going to be contact and you’re going to get hit and you’re going to fall and just being able to get up knowing it’s going to be OK again was her biggest challenge and she’s got to that point and she’s scored back-to-back days for us now. She’s starting to come around to the player we’ve known the last five years for us.”

Jayva McKibben wasn’t the only McKibben to score a goal for the Majettes on Wednesday, as freshman Ainsley McKibben added Minot High’s second goal of the match in the 25th minute. Ainsley McKibben was in the right place at the right time to knock home a rebound in front of the net to put the Majettes up 2-0. Aleah Gibbons took the initial shot from 10 yards out that Felchle got her hands on. But the deflection came out to Ainsley McKibben, who buried the shot into the back of the net.

“It was just crashing the net and making sure the ball got into the back of the net,” Ainsley McKibben said. “We were all pretty tired, but we all knew we needed to go in hard this game and make sure we didn’t let up because we needed those three points.”

Ainsley McKibben has four goals on the season, including a hat trick against Bismarck St. Mary’s. The sister duo has combined for nine goals and five assists this season.

“They’re both very competitive kids with one being a senior and the other a freshman,” Pfau said. “I’m guessing there’s a lot of talk at home too about what they can do to help each other. They’re also very complimentary of each other and both great kids.”

The Majettes controlled the pace of play throughout the match. They fired 34 shots in the match – 18 finding their way to Flechle. The Sabers (1-6-0, 1-5-0) had just one shot on goal. Minot High had all 13 of the game’s corner kicks.

Felchle finished with 16 saves.

Kynsli GIllmore stopped the one shot she faced to earn her fifth shutout victory of the season in net for the Majettes. Minot High has conceded just three goals in eight matches.

Gillmore was much busier the night prior, as the Majettes hosted defending state champion Mandan.

The Braves handed Minot High its first regular-season loss since 2019 earlier in the season, shutting the Majettes out in the process.

Jayva McKibben netted the lone goal for the Majettes in the sixth minute and the Braves converted a penalty kick in the second half as the two teams played to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday, April 21, at Duane Carlson Stadium.

The Majettes struck first off a centering pass from Kaylee Jackson. The sophomore midfielder dribbled down the left side of the pitch, bringing Mandan’s Gabby Frohlich out of her net to cut off a shooting angle. Jackson fed a pass past Frohlich and two defenders to Jayva McKibben, who buried a shot into the empty net.

“Just a great cross, crashing back side,” Jayva McKibben said. “We’ve been really good about that this year. I just know that the ball is going to be coming and knowing where to run.”

Minot High led 1-0 at the break, but the Braves netted the equalizer on a penalty kick in the 43rd minute after the Majettes were whistled for a penalty in the box when Sarah Helderop was taken down. Helderop converted the penalty kick, just beating a diving Gillmore to the right-side post to square the match.

“They are a very good team,” Pfau said. “We knew it was going to be a battle. I think the tie was appropriate. We always feel like we should have won, but they hit a couple crossbars and we had a couple chances late in that game. We just have to learn from it. The goal is to qualify for the state tournament and after that we’ll go from there.”

Helderop’s penalty kick was the first second-half goal the Majettes have conceded all year.

The Braves held a 9-6 edge in shots on goal. Gillmore made eight saves and Frohlich finished with five.

While it wasn’t a win and three points like the Majettes were hoping for, they will take the draw and the point that comes with it as every point is important in securing a spot at the state tournament next month.

“They wanted to win, but they were happy with the tie, especially because we lost the first time,” Pfau said. “It was a step in the right direction and if we have the chance to play them in the state tournament, hopefully we beat them then because that would be the most important one.”

Minot High travels to Jamestown on Tuesday, April 28, for a 7 p.m. match.