Women’s soccer: Warriors tied with Tech despite late addition – Brainard Dispatch

BRAINERD — Brainerd’s Emma Shelfo’s shot from the box with 10 seconds left in overtime was saved by St. Cloud Tech’s Abby Wright to keep the Central Lakes Conference tied at 1-1 on Tuesday, Sept. 6, at Adamson Field.

The Wolves, who were independent at the break, showed their energy in the second half and scored a goal with a score of 21:13.

“The result is good, a tie is a lot better than a loss,” Warriors head coach Grant Gmeinder said. “I think what we talk about when we play is that it’s more difficult to create chances than to score goals. And we’re creating chances so they start going into the net.

Molly Pohlkamp passed the ball to Lily DeRosier for Brainerd’s lone goal.

“We had a great game,” DeRosier said. “Molly had a great cross and I was there to bury it.”

DeRosier, a freshman, provided the energy the Warriors lacked in the first half, Gmender said.

“She brings that energy and spirit to the team just by the way she competes,” Gmender said. “You look at the way you score that goal and suddenly everyone brings that same energy and spirit. I thought she deserved that goal the way she played.

DeRosier says the energy she brings comes from being fierce.

“I think being aggressive hurts the team,” DeRosier said. “It makes us more motivated to get every ball and try and win.”

Molly Burkstrand scored St. Cloud Tech’s goal at 23:06 of the first half.

“Obviously the first half was disappointing, but as disappointing as the first half was, we were more proud of what they did in the second half,” Gmeinder said. “After we scored a goal, he came back and turned his knee to get some energy and flipped the field. I thought we controlled the second half and created chances.

The Warriors outshot the Tigers 10-4 thanks to Brainerd’s Gracelyn Dickinson making three saves and Wright netting nine.

“Both back lines made it really tough,” Gmeinder said. “There weren’t many quality chances. It was very difficult to create for both teams.

DeRosier said the contest was not as disappointing because of the play they played in the second half.

“Coming back from a fantastic first half and going into overtime with a good second half is a win in our book,” she said.

The Warriors are off Wednesday and travel to Sartell Thursday for Central Lakes Conference and Class 8-4A play.

“The biggest thing is to play with that energy every game,” Gmender said. “We didn’t have enough to start the game today and it’s very difficult to produce on the road.”

Key: Both defenses are tied for one goal.
ConferenceSilver 1-0-1, SCT 1-0-1
in generalSilver 2-1-1, SCT 3-1-1
next to: Brainerd at Sartell 5 pm Thursday, September 8.

CONRAD ENGSTROM can be reached at 218-855-5861 or conrad.engstrom@brainerddispatch.com. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/the_rad34.