The Le Mars Community girls soccer season opened the 2026 season on Monday night with a 1-0 victory at home over Sergeant Bluff-Luton.
The Bulldogs went 1-15 last year, so this is a very strong statement to make early in the season. First-year head coach Menkem Mehri says the players came motivated this year to be better than they were last year.
Le Mars did not wait long to get their first tally on the board in the new season. Five minutes in, Kynlee Schmidt found the back of the net for her first goal of the new season. Schmidt says she knew if she got a look that she needed to take advantage of it.
Schmidt was Le Mars’ top goal scorer last year netting four in 2025. She says that experience gave her the confidence to fire early in this new season.
Despite not scoring for the remainder of the game, the Bulldogs kept the intensity up on the offensive side. Coach Mehri says he enjoyed seeing everyone get involved in trying to add to the lead.
On the defensive end, pitching a shutout is a great accomplishment this early in the new season. The effort was led by goalkeeper Grace Westhoff who made four saves in net. Coach Mehri says she has shown some strong improvement already in this first game of the year.
Le Mars starts the year 1-0 overall and against MRAC competition. Schmidt says creating offensive chances consistently will help keep the record above water later in the season.
The Bulldogs return to the pitch on Thursday with a home matchup against Spirit Lake Park/Okoboji. Coach Mehri says self-improvement is more important early in the season, and it is important regardless of opponent.
Start time on Thursday night is 6:30 PM at Jim Lorenzen Field.
