BEMIDJI 鈥� Logan Larsen made a last-second switch.
In the 49th minute of the Bemidji High 歪歪漫画 girls soccer team鈥檚 game against Pelican Rapids on Monday, the Lumberjacks were awarded a penalty kick. Kate Corradi, the typical taker for BHS, was lined up to boot another until she heard her head coach鈥檚 voice from the sideline.
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Larsen signaled for a change as to who would take the kick. He gestured for Emma Stay to stand in Corradi鈥檚 place, hoping to give the senior a chance to score her first varsity goal on Senior Day.
Stay left no doubt.
鈥淪he鈥檚 been playing soccer for years,鈥� Larsen said. 鈥淚鈥檝e coached her since she was in U12, and it was just good to see her have a moment.鈥�
Stay took a shot and ripped it to the right of the Vikings鈥� keeper, giving the Jacks a 5-1 lead.
鈥淚 kind of just told myself it was going to go in,鈥� Stay said. 鈥淚t was such a relief when it did.鈥�
Stay鈥檚 goal was part of Bemidji鈥檚 11-2 win over Pelican Rapids (5-4-0). It was a win that clinched the Lakes to Prairie Conference championship for a third consecutive year.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 always a great building point,鈥� Larsen said. 鈥淚t lends itself to confidence before sections and shows longevity. 鈥� We have a great group returning next year, which means we should win the conference again and still have Stella (Schoonover), Reaghan (Baird) and all of those players after that. We should be going strong for years, and winning the conference is our building point before sections.鈥�
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Every one of the available Lumberjacks players got to play, including all three goalkeepers. Eight different players scored in the title-clinching win.
For Bemidji鈥檚 six seniors, all of them started on the pitch together.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really exciting to play with this team because we鈥檝e been together for so long,鈥� Corradi said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been winning together a lot, so it鈥檚 just fun to see it come through on a day like this for us. 鈥� We鈥檝e all had a connection with each other for years, so it was fun to all play together.鈥�
Despite it being Senior Day, a sophomore broke open the scoring. Baird cleaned up the mess in front of the Pelican Rapids goal in the 15th minute, hammering home the first of the game with an assist from Stay.
It only took one more minute for a senior to enter the goal column. Corradi finished off a beautiful pass from Imrie Mistic deep in the 18-yard box for her 10th goal this season.
Corradi dished out her first assist of the night three minutes later, feeding a cross to Izzy Renn to give the Jacks a 3-0 lead.
On an evening filled with reasons to celebrate for the Bemidji faithful, junior Evie Ekhoff gave the Lumberjacks another. She scored her first varsity goal in the 23rd minute, booting in a pass from Holly Snobl from just outside of the penalty area.
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BHS (6-3-1) scored seven goals in the second half. Corradi added a second in the 62 minute after Stay鈥檚 penalty kick strike, then Kayce Christenson scored two more before Miika Novak made it 9-2 in the 69th minute.
Exactly how the gme started, Larsen put all of his seniors back on the pitch in the final minutes, which meant Corradi got a chance to go for her first career hat trick. She got the look she wanted in the 79th minute, finishing off a trio of goals with an unassisted strike.
鈥淚 wanted it really bad,鈥� Corradi said.
鈥淲e wanted to see if Logan would take off his hat if she got it,鈥� Stay added.
鈥淚 really wanted him to throw his hat on the field,鈥� Corradi said with a laugh.
Liv Thompson added another in the final minute for good measure, capping off a nine-goal win and an unbeaten 4-0-1 record against Lakes to Prairie opponents.
Monday night was the final time the Jacks鈥� six seniors took the field at Bemidji Middle 歪歪漫画. BHS has one more regular-season home game on Oct. 5 against Rogers at Bemidji State, with any potential Section 8-3A Tournament home games also likely being played at Chet Anderson Stadium.
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鈥淲e鈥檝e all played together since literally the U9 team,鈥� Stay said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just been a long time coming, but it鈥檚 good. It鈥檚 bittersweet playing the last game at the middle school. It was really special.鈥�
Bemidji 11, Pelican Rapids 2
PR 1 1 鈥� 2
BHS 4 7 鈥� 11
Bemidji 鈥� Baird 15鈥� (Stay); Corradi 16鈥� (Mistic), 62鈥�, 79鈥�; Renn 19鈥� (Corradi); Ekhoff 23鈥� (Snobl); Stay 49鈥� (PK); Christenson 68鈥� (Willford), 70鈥� (L. Thompson); Novak 69鈥� (L. Thompson); L. Thompson 80鈥�.
Pelican Rapids 鈥� Funk 25鈥� (Carlson), 55鈥�.
Saves 鈥� Bieber (BHS) 0; Seitz (BHS) 1; Klaers (BHS) 0; Banton (PR) 8; Zavala (PR) 2.
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