Another Quiet Week in Lake, er, Harrisburg
Posted by: Todd Epp - 10/15/2009 9:21 AM (Family, Harrisburg, Soccer)
Well, it's been another quiet week in Harrisburg, my home town.
The Harrisburg High School girls soccer team went to Aberdeen last week for the state championship and kicked some major grass. They took second place for the third year in a row, losing again to Rapid City St. Thomas More. They lost in a shoot out, which meant they played 90 minutes, then another 20 minutes, then 5 shots on goal. That's a heartbreaking way to lose.
Weather conditions were horrible, with rain, cold, wind, and snow.
The Lady Tigers have developed quite the program. Oh, and by the way, just to brag a bit, when I coached them in 2004 and 2005, we also took second those years to Groton.
Meanwhile, the HHS boys had high expectations with a senior heavy team, a 12-2-1 record, and the third seed. Unfortunately, my son Matt's team lost in the OT period to a fired up James Valley Christian team 2-3. The Tigers ended up playing Custer, another team upset in the first round, for 5th place and lost that game 2-4 in OT. The boys had an outstanding season. My son learned a lot of soccer, got to know more of his fellow Tigers, and had a good experience.
Soccer has grown by leaps and bounds in Harrisburg. Both the boys and girls have a good crop of young players coming in. Playing at the new stadium has done wonders for the programs' notoriety, as not just parents come to the games, but people from the community and fellow HHS students. Many of the games had a "football"-like atmosphere of excitement, with lots of yelling (postive yelling, that is), concession sales, and lots of fans.
Congratulations to both the HHS boys and girls soccer teams for outstanding seasons! And thanks to all the coaches and managers on both teams who make the experience possible, the parents, as well as support from Tiger Nation and the Harrisburg School District. It's another winning Harrisburg athletic program.
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