Watertown's boys soccer season ends with playoff loss to SF Lincoln
SIOUX FALLS — One of the best seasons in Watertown high school boys soccer history came to an end Saturday when the fifth-seeded Arrows fell 3-1 to fourth-seeded Sioux Falls Lincoln in the quarterfinals of the state Class AA playoffs.
The Arrows went 9-3-4, tying for the most wins in a season (9-2-1 in 2020) in the program's 24-year history. The 2020 and 2022 teams also have the most wins for the program since it joined SDHSAA sanctioned play in 2014.
"We started off really tight, but after the first 15 minutes we played great," said first-year Watertown head coach Jesse Hauck.
After Lincoln (9-2-1) grabbed a 1-0 lead, the Arrows tied it with a goal by Mason Anderson. When Watertown failed to clear the box on a possession, Lincoln scored the go-ahead goal in the first half and it stayed 2-1 until late in the match when the Patriots added their final goal.
"We had many chances in the last 10 minutes of the first half with many shots on goal, but we just couldn't get one it," said Hauck. "They parked the bus some in the second half. We had a couple of good chances, just not super clean chances."
Goalkeeper Blake Hight made 11 saves for the Arrows.
Seniors Jaxson Fiechtner, Ryan Roby, Dani Funez, Logan Stimson, JJ Hernandez, Brayden Lamb, Ethan Bohling and Alex Bohling played their final high school matches for Watertown. Fiechtner finished his career as the all-time program leader in goals with 52. He also had 42 career assists.
"The boys played hard until the final seconds," said Hauck. "It was a good season overall."
Other Saturday Class AA Results, Pairings
Boys: No. 16 Brandon Valley 4, No. 8 Spearfish 0; No. 2 Sioux Falls O'Gorman 1, No. 10 Sioux Falls Washington 0; and No. 6 Rapid City Stevens 3, No. 3 Sioux Falls Jefferson 1. Tuesday Semifinals: Brandon Valley 4-11-1 at SF Lincoln 11-2-1 and RC Stevens 11-2-1 at SF O'Gorman 12-2-1. Championship at 11 a.m. Saturday at Tea Area High School.
Girls: No. 1 Harrisburg 4, No. 8 Pierre 1; No. 4 Sioux Falls Roosevelt 1, No. 5 Brandon Valley 0; No. 2 Sioux Falls Lincoln 1, No. 7 Rapid City Stevens 0; No. 3 Aberdeen Central 6, No. 6 Sioux Falls Jefferson 1. Tuesday Semifinals: SF Roosevelt 9-2-3 at Harrisburg 14-1-1 and Aberdeen Central 12-1-1 at SF Lincoln 11-1-2. Championship at 1 p.m. Saturday at Tea Area High School.
Saturday's Class A Semifinals
Girls: No. 1 West Central, 4, No. 4 Vermillion 0; No. 2 Tea Area 1, No. 3 Sioux Falls Christian 2. Championship: Saturday, Oct. 15 at Tea Area High School, 7 p.m. (West Central 13-0-1 vs. Tea Area (11-2-2).
Boys: No. 1 Sioux Falls Christian 1, No. 4 Tea Area 0; No. 3 St. Thomas More 6, No. 2 Vermillion 3. Championship: Saturday, Oct. 15 at Tea Area High School, 5 p.m. (SF Christian 11-0-3 vs. St. Thomas More 10-4.
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Sioux Falls Lincoln records 3-1 quarterfinal win over Watertown.
