ST. CLOUD, Minn.-East Grand Forks Senior High's bid for a state tournament berth-as well as an undefeated season-ended in overtime here Thursday.
Isabelle Morin's goal at the four-minute mark of overtime lifted Bemidji past Senior High 2-1 in the championship game of the Minnesota Section 8A girls high school soccer tournament.
Senior High closed with an 18-1-0 record. Bemidji advances to the Class A state tournament with a 14-5-0 record. Two of its losses were to the Green Wave, one of those in overtime.
"This one doesn't take away from the great season we had,'' Senior High coach Jessica Bina said. "It was a tough one. We were two evenly-matched teams. It was a heartbreaker for us, but you have to give Bemidji credit.''
Senior High had taken an early 1-0 lead when Nicole Schlenk scored from outside the box at the 6:47 mark of the first half, finishing on a corner kick off a Kora Jordheim assist.
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"We had momentum,'' Bina said. "We were really playing well. But we couldn't cash in on a couple of good scoring opportunities. We had a chance to bury them early.''
It stayed 1-0 until, with 21:32 left in regulation, Annah Schussman scored from long range on a direct kick for Bemidji to tie the score.
In overtime, Senior High couldn't score on a direct kick from long range and Bemidji took advantage. "We had a nice shot but couldn't get it in,'' Bina said. "(Bemidji) transitioned on us quickly. We couldn't make a play to stop them.''
Kenzie Whalen had 11 saves in goal for Senior High. Allison Beard stopped eight Green Wave shots.
