歪歪漫画

BEMIDJI 鈥� Ally Smith has 15 goals on the year for the Brainerd soccer team, but it was her passing that was the difference on Saturday against Bemidji.

Bemidji (7-5) wasn鈥檛 able to stop Smith from assisting on all three of Brainerd鈥檚 goals in the game, and the Lumberjacks only managed one goal in response, resulting in a 3-1 loss.

Smith helped open up the scoring in the 16th minute when she beat a Lumberjack defender to a loose ball, then set up Lexi Roby for a wide-open goal.

Several minutes after the score, Bemidji goalkeeper Laura Bieberdorf went down with a head injury. Jacie Lalli came in as a makeshift goalkeeper for Bemidji, but 10 minutes later Bieberdorf trotted back onto the field with a large wrap around her head.

The first shot she saw after returning came two minutes later, and it snuck past her for Brainerd鈥檚 second goal of the game. Haylie Beavers scored the goal, and Smith again got the assist.

To keep Bemidji in the game, Rachel Bitter took on three defenders on her own, sprinting from midfield to the net. Bitter danced around the defense and scored a sliding goal by sneaking it past the keeper with 2:30 left in the half.

鈥淚t changed our confidence,鈥� BHS head coach Logan Larsen said of the goal. 鈥淚t kept our hopes up, and it kept our efforts up.鈥�

The Lumberjacks came out strong in the second half, but they were unable to capitalize on opportunities. With Bemidji unable to score, it was Smith once again that set up a teammate for a goal. After chasing down a ball that was booted downfield, Smith started the Brainerd attack.

All of the Bemidji defenders were focused on Smith, but Smith was focused on teammate Bryn Waters. Smith passed between defenders to Waters, and she found the back of the net by getting it past the extended hand of Bieberdorf with 4:36 left in the game. Smith鈥檚 third assist was the dagger.

鈥淪he鈥檚 very vital for their attack,鈥� Larsen said of Smith. While it isn鈥檛 easy facing talented competition, Larsen is still taking away what he can from it. 鈥淚t was good for our girls to play against that, just to get an idea of how we need to prepare.鈥�

Bemidji will return to the pitch on Oct. 5 for a matchup with Crookston.

Bemidji 1, Brainerd 3
Bemidji 1 0 - 1
Brainerd 2 1 - 3
First half: BRAINERD GOAL (Roby, Smith ast), 1-0 15:47; BRAINERD GOAL (Beavers, Smith ast), 2-0 30:47; BEMIDJI GOAL (Bitter), 2-1 37:30.
Second half: BRAINERD GOAL (Waters, Smith ast), 3-1 75:24.
SAVES: Bieberdorf (Bemidji) - 6. Tschida (Brainerd) - 3.