KoMets capture HVL title in Girls Soccer

For years, the Kasson-Mantorville KoMets have been trying to get over the hump and claim a HVL conference championship. For about the same time, they’ve butted heads with the Lourdes Eagles for that title. It only made sense that Tuesday night’s match-up between the two schools would have the title on the line.
The game got off to a great start for the KoMets when Sarah Bernards continued her knack for scoring goals as she was able to put one past Rebecca Freilburger to give the KoMets a 1-0 lead midway through the first. Getting out to an early lead was extremely important in this game as Freilburger stood on her head during the first matchup on Sept. 22.
Although Lourdes would tie it up before the half, K-M was determined to capture the HVL crown with a strong second half. MaKayla Griffin would set up Maddie Worden on a nice pass through the Eagle defense and Worden would bury the breakaway opportunity to put the KoMets up 2-1.
Lourdes would come back with a flurry down the stretch, but the KoMet defense would stay strong en route to capturing the conference championship for the second straight year with a 2-1 victory.
“Lourdes made a nice little run,” head coach Chris Soderberg observed. “But our defense was great. Every time they threw it into the box, we were able to knock it back out.”
Just like the last meeting, the KoMets enjoyed a nice shot advantage (16-8), but the defense stepped up and Laken Bartell was able to make seven saves in the victory.
Riding the momentum that came with the HVL championship, the KoMets hosted Cannon Falls. The explosive offense that K-M had shown during conference play continued as nine different KoMets scored including first varsity goals from Ashlyn Liebenow, Gabby Suhr and Laurel Woodrum.
“That’s really been the strength of our team,” Soderberg said of the KoMets’ depth. “We are very deep and have several girls that can put the ball in the net. Hopefully, this will take us a long way in the playoffs.”