As season openers go, the Raider girls had plenty to celebrate. They earned a hard-fought 3-2 victory against the Eastview Lightning on August 22 and then dominated Bloomington Jefferson on August 24, winning 4-1 and outshooting the Jaguars 16-3.

Against Eastview, the game saw a lot of back-and-forth action as both teams had their scoring opportunities. Siena Sanchez broke the seal to give the Raiders a 1-0 lead, with the assist going to Keagan McVicker. Eastview responded quickly, taking a 2-1 lead into halftime.

Raider keeper Grace Petrich earned her first-ever varsity start against the Lightning, and like most keepers, she was a bit hard on herself after the game.

“I was a bit rocky at the beginning,” said Petrich. “I saw a lot of breakaways in the first half that I just had to kick away. But that second goal really put me in a bad mental state just because it was a bad bounce that I definitely could have gotten. But then in the second half, my defense was just a brick wall, and nothing really got to me at all.”

Interviewing these athletes often involves coaching them through the tough moments to find the positives and to focus on the good things they did, even when struggling to stay positive. This led to the question: what do you do to get out of a brief funk?

“I just think about all the good things I did in the game, instead of focusing necessarily on everything I did badly,” she said. “Because I had a lot of good breakaway saves and everything like that. I definitely think that outweighed the bad, and I should focus more on the good stuff and just keep getting better and better.”

Overall, Petrich was a strong presence for most of the night, and her defense did a great job supporting her. The first true varsity start as a goalie must be nerve-racking, and the whole team did a great job helping each other channel that energy into a positive performance.

Coming out of halftime down 2-1 is never easy, but just three and a half minutes in, Sanchez struck again, this time tying the game at two. Three minutes later, she had a perfect opportunity to log a hat trick but made a selfless pass to McVicker, giving the Raiders a 3-2 lead with over 30 minutes to play.

Eastview went into hustle mode, applying significant pressure on the Raiders’ defense. Hastings did an outstanding job keeping the Lightning out of the net, securing the season-opening win.

After the game, Head Coach Paul Armstrong applauded the girls for their efforts and reminded them to celebrate the win but to come back for the next game with the same hunger to improve each day. While it was a good win, Armstrong emphasized the need to continually strive for improvement, offering a positive message to lift the team even further.

“The girls just showed so much grit after going down in the first half,” said Armstrong. “Then the way that we responded in the second half was incredible. We fought for every loose ball, played really good soccer, and got a gritty, gritty win.”

“It was the first game of the season, and we got to experience what it's like to play a section opponent. It’s always physical in Section 3A soccer. It’s always going to be a grind and physical, so shaking off the rust and getting after it was really fun,” he added.

What was Armstrong’s message to his keeper after she was visibly frustrated by the second goal?

“Nothing really,” he said. “She is such a strong young woman that I think I just said, ‘Shake it off,’ and she smiled and said, ‘Yep.’ Then she nailed it in the second half. She made big save after big save. Simple stuff like sliding over and saving a corner kick and turning it into a throw-in is huge. So, just those little things. Yeah, she really bounced back well. Stuff like that happens all the time as a goalkeeper.”

Watching the game, it’s sometimes easy to forget just how fast key players like Sanchez and McVicker can be.

“They're so fun to watch,” Armstrong said in relation to McVicker and Sanchez. “They are always looking for each other, playing off of each other. They know when to make runs and when to make a play for each other. It's fun. It’s really fun.”

The fun continues on August 29 when the Raiders travel up Highway 61 to Park of Cottage Grove for a 3:00 p.m. match. The girls return home to Todd Field on September 3 at 7:00 p.m. to host Burnsville.