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WAVERLY, Iowa -- The Decorah Girls Soccer Team traveled to Waverly on Saturday, May 10, for the annual Waverly Soccer Tournament. The girls played two matches on the day. The first was against a fast and athletic Iowa City Regina team (7-3-3) that resulted in a 0-0 tie. The second was against a skilled Center Point-Urbana team (10-1-2) that resulted in a 0-3 loss. The first match was not without drama, as senior defender Amelia Wadsworth was called for a handball in the box in the second half. Iowa City Regina senior Ella McLaughlin set up for a penalty kick, which would have been the go-ahead score, but she fired the ball directly at Decorah freshman goalie Taylor Sloan-Dahl. The ball went off the goalie's mitts. Several players crashed the box, and while the ball bounced around several pairs of feet, threatening a score, one of the Decorah girls was able to send the ball downfield, toward the sidelines. This action was met with cheers and relief. Regina was ignited by the penalty kick and forced five corner kicks, four of which happened in the second half. But Decorah was able to hold strong at the net, led by senior defenders Addison Lukes-Smith, Amelia Wadsworth, and junior Clara Hjelle. The Vikings took 15 shots (four on goal), and while one of junior Nora Lesmeister's shots hit the crossbar, the girls weren't able to find the back of the net. Lesmeister had two shots on goal, as did sophomore Vivian Searcy. In their second matchup against a formidable Center Point-Urbana squad, the girls fired off five shots (two on goal). Freshman Leah Garcia-Prats and sophomore Stella Grinna were the two players who put their shots on frame. Earlier in the day, several Decorah girls filled in for a junior varsity match, thus for their meeting against CPU, some girls were on their third match of the day, under what proved to be a relentless afternoon sky without reprieve of cloud cover. Still, they didn't give up, and they played hard from start to final whistle. On the day, the team was able to try out new formations, play a lot of girls on the field, and they had some success with their passing and shots. CPU scored on a couple of long, desperation shots that went high over the Decorah goalie's outstretched hands. On the day, the Decorah Girls went 0-1-1.

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Decorah Girls Stand Tall in the Heat at Waverly Tournament