Eagles fall to Saints rally

Staff photo by Ari Selvey
New Ulm’s Kaelyn Eikanger (5) controls the ball during a Big South Conference girls soccer game against St. Peter Tuesday at New Ulm High School.

NEW ULM — Though the New Ulm Eagles jumped out to a 1-0 lead, St. Peter came away with a 4-1 victory during a Big South Conference girls soccer game Tuesday.

“They were connecting their passes,” New Ulm head coach Jonathan Johnson said. “The first half we did a fairly good job of that. Our first half was way better than our second half. St. Peter has always been tough with their passing. Just connect four, five, six passes in a row and moving it up and down the field.”

The Eagles are at the tail end of a brutal part of their schedule where they have played five games over seven days, with their next game coming against Marshall on Thursday at home.

“That’s just the way the ball bounces I guess,” Johnson said. “They’re tired, they’re sore, but they still played hard. They gave everything that they could give out there, and unfortunately we got one out of the deal and St. Peter got four.”

Johnson added that the game presented an opportunity for the team, as they could soak up strategies that the well-coached St. Peter was using.

“It’s always a learning experience when we play St. Peter,” he said. “Because they’re a well-versed team, they have been for years. Our girls always pick up some of the things they do and incorporate it into their own personal skillsets. It’s always good, I just wish that the score would be turned around. We’ll get them yet.”

New Ulm goalie Ellie Dake had 17 saves on the day.

New Ulm’s Jesalyn Skoglund scored the first goal of the game, collecting an assist from Piper Kapolczynski in the fourth minute. The Eagles maintained that lead for 15 minutes until St. Peter’s Keira Friedrich capitalized on a turnover near the net for a goal. The Saints took the lead in the 35th minute with another goal by Friedrich, assisted by Adeline Letts.

St. Peter scored quickly in the second half, with Letts collecting a rebound for a goal in the 44th minute. St. Peter capped it off with a goal by Liliana Prunty in the 73rd minute. St. Peter had several more chances late, but Dake made some strong and aggressive saves to keep the score at 4-1.