One week remains in the 2025 South Dakota High School soccer season.
The 2025 high school soccer teams ended on Saturday, Oct. 11 for Watertown's boys and girls, Aberdeen Central's boys and girls and Groton Area's girls.
Watertown and Aberdeen Central's teams each lost in the quarterfinals of the state Class AA playoffs and Groton Area's girls lost in the Class A semifinals.
Watertown vs. Brandon Valley Boys
The 12th-seeded Watertown boys pulled an upset in the first round and did everything they could to advance before dropping a 3-3 (5-3 shootout) to No. 13 Brandon Valley at the Allen Mitchell Athletic Complex. Watertown's 11th-seeded girls lost 6-2 at No. 3 Pierre.
Watertown's boys (6-4-5) led 3-1 with 13:34 left in regulation before Brandon Valley rallied to pull even. After two scoreless 10-minute overtime periods, the Lynx went 5-for-5 in the penalty shootout compared to 3-for-4 for Watertown.
Roger Carranza scored two goals and Dawson Hartman one for Watertown. Carson Schlaht added an assist and goalkeeper Owen Muller tallied seven saves. In the shootout, Patrick Bednarczyk, Xane Fligge and Schlaht each were successful for the Arrows.
"I;m very proud of this team and every single player. We had many new starters and varsity players this year and they all stepped up, finished strong and gave us a chance at the end of every game," Watertown coach Jesse Hauck said.
"The boys never gave up. Unfortunately, we had a couple of players hurt and out toward the end of the match. Both teams played hard. We knew it would be a tough battle and that is what it was. The ball just didn't bounce our way today."
Watertown vs. Pierre Girls
The Arrows (8-7-1) didn't go down without a fight and actually grabbed a 1-0 lead when Khloe Landmark scored off a corner kick from Makenna Blank. Olivia Dettman added Watertown's second goal off an assist from Mylee Kannas in the second half.
Natalie Flottmeyer and Lexie Hillmer each scored two goals and Aubrey Fischer and Mya Fravel one each for Pierre.
"I'm very proud of the girls this season. We worked incredibly hard all year to be more successful than in years past," first-year Watertown coach Shannon Elverud said. "I believe our record this year was one of the best in school history and that's something we should all be proud of.
"The season certainly didn't end the way we hoped but that gives us fuel and ambition to work hard to come out on top next year."
Aberdeen Central Games
Third-seeded Aberdeen Central's boys fell to sixth-seeded Sioux Falls Christian 2-1 at home and the eighth-seeded Aberdeen Central girls lost to No. 1 Rapid City Stevens 2-0 at Rapid City.
The Golden Eagle teams finished 12-3-1 (boys) and 9-5-2 (girls).
Groton Area's Girls
The fourth-seeded Tigers' bid to make it back to the state Class A championship ended with 3-0 loss on the road against top-seeded Dakota Valley.
Groton Area ended the season with an 8-6 record.
Oct. 11 Scores/Upcoming Pairings
- Class AA Girls(Quarterfinals) — No. 1 seed Rapid City Stevens 2, No. 8 Aberdeen Central 0; No. 4 O'Gorman 3, No. 5 Sioux Falls Roosevelt 0; No. 2 Harrisburg 1, No. 7 Yankton 0; and No. 3 Pierre 6, No. 11 Watertown 2. In semifinals on Oct. 14, Rapid City Stevens (15-0-1) hosts O'Gorman (11-1-3) and Harrisburg (14-1-1) hosts Pierre (13-2-1). Semifinal winners advance to the stae championship at 7 p.m. on Oct. 18 at the Sioux Park Soccer Complex in Rapid City.
- Class AA Boys (Quarterfinals) — No. 1 Sioux Falls Lincoln 2, No. 8 O'Gorman 0; No. 13 Brandon Valley 3-3 (5-3 shootout) over No. 12 Watertown; No. 2 Sioux Falls Jefferson 2, No. 7 Sturgis 1; and No. 6 Sioux Falls Christian 2, No. 3 Aberdeen Central 1. In semifinals on Oct. 14, Lincoln (13-1-1) hosts Brandon Valley (6-5-5) and Sioux Falls Christian (9-4-1) visits Sioux Falls Jefferson (12-1-2). Semifinal winners advance to state championship at 5 p.m. on Oct. 18 at the Sioux Park Soccer Complex in Rapid City.
- Class A Girls(Semifinals) — No. 1 Dakota Valley 3, No. 4 Groton Area 0; and No. 2 Sioux Falls Christian 1, No. 3 St. Thomas More 0. Dakota Valley (11-3-1) faces Sioux Falls Christian (9-6-1) in the Class A championship at 1 p.m. on Oct. 18 at the Sioux Park Soccer Complex in Rapid City.
- Class A Boys (Semifinals) — No. 1 James Valley Christian 7, No. 5 Belle Fourche 0; and No. 3 Freeman Academy 3, No. 2 Vermillion 1. James Valley Christian (13-1) takes on Freeman Academy (11-3-2) in the Class A championship at 11 a.m. on Oct. 18 at the Sioux Park Soccer Complex in Rapid City.
Oct. 7 (First Round Scores)
- Class AA Girls — No. 1 seed Rapid City Stevens 7, No. 16 Sioux Falls Jefferson 2; No. 8 Aberdeen Central 2, No. 9 Spearfish 0; No. 4 O'Gorman 3, No. 13 Brandon Valley 0; No. 5 Sioux Falls Roosevelt 4, No. 12 Brookings 1; No. 2 Harrisburg 4, No. 15 Sioux Falls Washington 0; No. 7 Yankton 3, No. 10 Rapid City Central 1; No. 3 Yankton 5, No. 14 Mitchell 1; and No. 11 Watertown 2, No. 6 Sioux Falls Lincoln 1.
- Class AA Boys — No. 1 Sioux Falls Lincoln 10, No. 16 Mitchell 0; No. 8 O'Gorman 4, No. 9 Yankton 1; No. 5 Brandon Valley 5, No. 4 Rapid City Stevens 4; No. 12 Watertown 2, No. 5 Sioux Falls Washington 1; No. 2 Sioux Falls Jefferson 8, No. 15 Rapid City Central 2; No. 7 Sturgis 3, No. 10 Tea Area 2; No. 3 Aberdeen Central 3, No. 14 Brookings 0; and No. 6 Sioux Falls Christian 1, No. 11 Pierre 0.
- Class A Girls — No. 1 Dakota Valley 10, No. 8 Vermillion 1; No. 4 Groton Area 1, No. 5 West Central 0; No. 2 Sioux Falls Christian 9, No. 7 Belle Fourche 0; and No. 3 St. Thomas More 4, No. 6 Garretson 0.
- Class A Boys — No. 1 James Valley Christian 7, No. 8 Hot Springs 0; No. 5 Belle Fourche 7, No. 4 Groton Area 4; No. 2 Vermillion 2, No. 7 St. Thomas More 1; and No. 3 Freeman Academy 1, No. 6 West Central 0.
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Second-round playoff matches for state Class AA, A soccer teams
Category: General Sports
