WATERTOWN, S.D. — Both the Watertown High School boys and girls soccer teams secured opening-round victories in the Class AA Soccer Tournament at Allen Mitchell Field, punching their tickets to Saturday’s quarterfinal round.
The second-seeded Watertown boys extended their dominant defensive run with a 6-0 shutout against Pierre. Roger Carranza led the offensive explosion with a hat trick, while Xane Fligge, Isaac Thorson, and Luke McLaughlin added a goal apiece. Thorson also chipped in two assists, with Carson Schlaht, Dawson Hartman, and Rosel George each recording one.
The win marked the ninth clean sheet of the season for the Arrows (14-0-1), who previously defeated the Governors 2-0 on Aug. 20. Watertown goalkeepers Owen Muller and Sam Thorson combined for the shutout, recording four saves and one save, respectively.
Watertown returns home to Allen Mitchell Field at 4 p.m. Saturday to host No. 7 seed Spearfish (10-2-1) in the quarterfinals in the first meeting between the two programs this season.
On the girls side, the seventh-seeded Arrows grounded out a physical 2-1 victory over Sioux Falls Jefferson. Sophia Gallardo opened the scoring off an assist from Katie Fischer, and Bo Meidinger added a goal set up by Claire Schochenmaier. Goalkeeper Madi Enstad anchored the defense with nine saves to seal the win.
Watertown (9-5-1) now hits the road for the quarterfinals to face No. 2 seed and defending state champion Harrisburg (13-0-2) at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Tigers previously bested the Arrows 3-0 on Aug. 29.
Full photo gallery coming to the WTN Sports social media pages on Thursday.
