Unheralded Elks rally past Brainerd for title
GIRLS' SOCCER
ST. CLOUD - When Becca Gervais scored twice in the first 23 minutes it appeared the Brainerd Warriors were cruising toward their third Section 8-2A championship in six years.
But the unheralded Elk River Elks, with just four wins entering the section final, found a way to deny the Warriors' bid.
Second-seeded Elk River pumped in four unanswered goals on its way to a 4-2 victory over the top-seeded Warriors in a rough section championship game Friday night at St. Cloud State University.
"We've been playing well all year," Elks coach Brian Steuter said, "but we've really had a tough time finishing games off, or just maintaining. It's a bad touch here, a bad goal here, and it's been kind of a snowballing effect.
Brainerd's Becca Gervais kicked in her second goal against Elk River in Friday's Section 8-2A championship game. Bill Johnson
"Within our conference there have been games where we feel like we're playing really well and should have that win but we're just not making the steps."
Brainerd coach Sara Rojas thought her team was making the step to playing in the state tournament this week.
"(The girls) were playing with a lot of intensity right up front," she said. "They came out strong, they came out fast and had some good through balls and it worked twice in a row. I don't know that they let up completely, the adrenaline wore off. They weren't getting first to the ball as often as they were at the beginning.
"You start out with this adrenaline, it gets intense, you get excited, then it lets up. Elk River stayed strong throughout, I think we stayed strong throughout too. We just didn't have what it took to put it in that second half."
Trailing 2-0 the Elks went to work. Danielle Poce, who scored two goals before injuring a knee and having to be taken from the field by emergency personnel, pulled the Elks within 2-1 at 12:19 in the first when she took a crossing pass from Kelsey Daulton and rammed it home.
Elk River's Ali Hannan converted a penalty kick to send the game into the half tied 2-2.
Daulton put the Elks ahead 3-2 at 34:32 of the second. She got around a Brainerd defender, keeper Cami Andersen came out to meet her and Daulton booted the ball around her.
Poce ended the scoring with 6:41 left when she knocked in a rebound in traffic in front. About a minute later she was injured, stopping the game for about 30 minutes.
Gervais opened the scoring at 6:52 when she split two defenders, dribbled in on keeper Kayla Zehowski and buried it.
Elk River 4, Warriors 2
The key: After falling behind 2-0 the Elks scored four unanswered goals.
Overall: Brd finishes 12-5-2
The junior scored again at 17:10, sprinting down the left side, stopping abruptly, cutting to her right and beating Zehowski to the far corner.
Brainerd's other scoring chances included a free kick by Tori Saxum, from about 50 yards away, that hit the crossbar with about 10 minutes left and a teammate nearly headed in the rebound.
The contest became more physical as it wore on, resulting in numerous free kicks. Brainerd's Kellie Barnaby and Hannan went down in the second half ; Barnaby didn't return.
The Warriors finished their first season under Rojas 12-5-2. Considering a coaching change was made and many top players graduated from last year the Warriors may have overachieved this season.
"Every game I was impressed with them," Rojas said of her team. "They just kept pounding and pounding and pounding. It was a big win to get here against Buffalo, and they just have that grit. I'm proud of them for that.
"When we got (to the finals) it was even, it could have gone either way. I knew they were going to give everything they had, and they did, it just didn't work out, but I think they shocked themselves to get here."
Brainerd 2 0 - 2
Elk River 2 2 - 4
First half: Brd-Becca Gervais (Kellie Barnaby) 6:52; Brd-Gervais (Melissa Boggs) 22:50; ER-Danielle Poce (Kelsey Daulton) 27:41; ER-Ali Hannan, PK, 37:02
Second half: ER-Daulton, 5:28; ER-Poce 33:19
Shots on goal: Brd 4-3-7, ER 3-3-6
Goalkeepers: Brd, Cami Andersen (2 saves); ER, Kayla Zehowski (5 saves)
MIKE BIALKA may be reached at mike.bialka@brainerddispatch.com or at 855-5861.