The Cotter High School girls soccer team continued its impressive run in the Three Rivers Conference with a 12-0 victory over Caledonia on Tuesday. The Winona High School boys soccer team, meanwhile, suffered a heartbreaking loss to Rochester Century in overtime.
Cotter girls show no mercy
The Cotter girls soccer team jumped on Caledonia early and often, scoring eight goals in the first half and four more in the second. The Rams improved to 9-1-1 overall and 6-0-1 in the conference, while the Warriors fell to 0-10 and 0-7.
Cotter had 10 different players score in the game, led by senior captain Coco Costello with three goals. Junior Lucy Fitch and sophomore Olivia Gardner each added two goals, while senior Grace Finnerty, junior Ella Leaf, sophomore Mya Omdahl, freshman Araceli White, eighth-grader Ava Costello and seventh-grader Lily Costello scored one goal apiece.
Cotter coach Sarah Lacher praised her team’s performance and said they are focused on their next game against Dover-Eyota on Thursday.
“We played really well as a team and moved the ball around nicely,” Lacher said. “We have a lot of depth and talent on our roster, and it shows when we can score from different positions and players. We’re looking forward to playing Dover-Eyota, who is always a tough opponent.”
Winona boys lose in overtime
The Winona boys soccer team had a chance to tie Rochester Century for the Big Nine Conference lead, but fell short in a 2-1 loss in overtime. The Winhawks dropped to 8-2-1 overall and 6-1-1 in the conference, while the Panthers improved to 9-2 and 7-1.
Winona took the lead in the first half with a goal by senior captain Noah Langseth, assisted by junior Ethan Speltz. Rochester Century equalized in the second half with a goal by senior captain Jack Fisher, assisted by junior Owen Zelenak.
The game went into overtime, where Rochester Century scored the golden goal with less than two minutes left. Fisher was the hero again, scoring his second goal of the game off a corner kick by senior Ethan Ottinger.
Winona coach Matt Thesing said he was proud of his team’s effort and resilience, but disappointed with the result.
“It was a tough loss for us, especially after leading for most of the game,” Thesing said. “We played hard and had some chances to win it, but we couldn’t finish them. Rochester Century is a very good team and they capitalized on their opportunities. We have to learn from this game and move on to the next one.”
Winona will try to bounce back against Mankato West on Thursday.
