BEMIDJI — Megan Dahl and Halle Peterson aren’t on speaking terms. But only because they don’t need to be.
“Me and Halle are telepathic,” Dahl revealed. “Something between me and Halle, it just clicks where we know what the other is doing before they do it.”
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“Sometimes people don’t hear me and Dahl communicate, and that’s because we just hear each other’s thoughts,” Peterson added. “We don’t need to talk about it, we just know.”
Whether it be supernatural clairvoyance or old-fashioned chemistry, the Bemidji State women’s soccer team is reaping the benefits of its synchronized center backs. The two anchors of the BSU backline have pioneered the Beavers to another strong defensive season.
But this duo might just be their best yet.
“I’ve seen them against the best teams in the country… and against All-American forwards,” head coach Jim Stone said. “I’ve been around the block quite a few times. And they have it.”
Bemidji State has a strong tradition of defenders. Both Dahl and Miranda Famestad have earned First Team All-American honors in recent years, while other stalwarts like Tia Neuharth and Emma Mortensen have patrolled the backline during the program’s ascension into a national power.
“There have been a lot of amazing center backs who I’ve played with here and have gone through the program,” said Peterson, a senior from Stillwater. “But how well we work together and how well we communicate with each other make us so strong. Without each other, without all 11 girls on the field, we wouldn’t be as strong.”
For Dahl and Peterson, a friendship forged on the pitch has led to an instinctual flair in their style of play. Technically, it may not be magic. But their very real chemistry is just as rare.
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“We always joke around that we have this telepathic sense,” said Dahl, a fifth-year from Rosemount. “Me and Halle are always on the same page, so it’s super fun to play with someone who’s always that good.”
‘So strong as a unit’
This year’s numbers back up the sixth-sense claims. Entering this weekend, BSU has surrendered just five goals in 12 conference games, and NSIC teams have averaged only 3.8 shots on goal against them.
And even when opponents muster a shot, goalkeepers Alyssa Stumbaugh and Georgiana Harber have combined for an .886 save percentage in league play, which ranks second in the Northern Sun.
“We’re pretty tight-knit and are all on the same page for the most part,” Dahl said. “Communication is huge, but we very much understand what it means to be a team, especially as a backline and trying to keep balls out of our net.”
Flanking Dahl and Peterson, Annika Fingal and Megan Majewski usually factor in as BSU’s starting outside backs. Dahl and Peterson rarely leave the field -- the two lead the team in minutes by a mile -- but even when defenders like Emily Baurr or Lauren Harrison filter in off the bench, there isn’t a drop in production.
“We’re just so strong as a unit, no matter who the four are,” Peterson said. “The subs will come in, and we’re just as strong because we work so well together and we communicate so well. … We’ve all got our individual talents and what we’re good at. Then when we come together and combine all those, it makes a really good team.”
Dahl and Peterson, who have now played together at Bemidji State for four years, said their so-called telepathic abilities really took off this season. Fittingly, Stone emphasized the mental side of the game in order to be successful on defense.
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“You need a pretty good mind for the game,” he said. “You have to be able to read situations, have some intuition. … You have to be a little fearless at times, be willing to get into a tackle, be willing to put your body on the line. Then, obviously, there’s the whole tactical side to it.”
As for Dahl and Peterson’s wizardry, Stone was ready to roll with it.
“I think they’re hitting the nail on the head,” he laughed. “It almost is telepathic. That probably explains some of our success in the back.”
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