The Le Mars Community girls soccer team won their postseason opener over Sioux City West with a final score of 6-3.
The Bulldogs had beaten Sioux City West 7-1 earlier in the season, but that did not mean the second go-around would be easy. Especially considering the Bulldogs were playing a few girls down with some on the sideline injured. Head coach Kayla Koopman says everyone made sure their confidence heading into the game was measured.
The Bulldogs scored their first goal of the game with just three minutes gone in the first half. They would score two more goals in the half with all three first half goals from Zoe Wittkop. Coach Koopman says finding the back of the net was nice, but she was not pleased with the lack of aggressiveness shown by the offense in the first half.
The second half featured three goals for each side with Zoe Wittkop scoring two for the Bulldogs and Jaelyn Marienau scoring the other. Wittkop finished with another strong performance scoring five goals in the win. Coach Koopman says what separates Zoe is her ball handling which allows her to do so much in the course of a play.
With Wittkop being one of the best goal scorers in the state, it is usually no question where the opponent’s gameplan is focused. That will be no different on Tuesday when the Bulldogs battle Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson in the regional semifinal. Coach Koopman says they will need to continue to keep moving the ball around like they did in the win against West to have a chance against the Yellow Jackets.
Kickoff in that region semifinal will be Tuesday, May 21 at 7:00 PM in Council Bluffs.
