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Your support keeps truth alive in Decorah—donate to local news today! CHARLES CITY, Iowa —It had been more than a week since the Decorah girls soccer team took to the pitch, so it wasn't a surprise that they needed the first half of the regional tournament game against Charles City—to borrow a line from Tyler Childers—to shake the frost off. While the Vikings owned possession for the better part of the opening match, the teams went into halftime knotted at zero. Charles City, in fact, didn't need to shake much frost at all, as the team sent speedy senior forward Sakira Brown streaking down the middle of the field. Brown chased a couple of lobs from the midfield, but Decorah's defense was anchored by the trio of Clara Hjelle, Addison Lukes-Smith and Amelia Wadsworth. The three defenders were able to figure out just the right angles to stop the sprinting Brown. Coach Loren Hendrickson said, "We started this game very cautiously, it seemed. We dominated possession throughout the first half and had many shots, but were unable to put one between the posts." Over the course of the match, Decorah launched 43 shots on the Charles City goalkeeper, 14 of which were on goal. And despite the scoreless first half, Coach Teo Jube emphasized that the team stayed cool and calm all game, "creating lots of passing lanes to each other, staying calm to make good decisions, making smart runs." In the second half, after a good, proper warm-up, the Decorah girls continued their complete possession. Fifteen minutes into the second half, junior Nora Lesmeister connected on back-to-back goals to give the Vikings a shot of momentum. The first goal was a ground runner that angled from 25 yards out through a host of Charles City defenders. Lesmeister finished with six shots on goal. Sophomore Vivian Searcy added two goals of her own, both coming from the right side of the field. Searcy sprinted down the sideline, and just as a defender rushed over to stop her, she put solid shots on the ball that sailed into the back corner of the net, securing the 4-0 victory. Searcy's second goal was assisted by freshman Brinley Quandahl. A host of Vikings got their laces on the ball, including senior Sara Johanningmeier, who had two shots on goal, while sophomores Leah Garcia-Prats, Stella Grinna and Regine Hougen each tallied one. In addition to her assist, Quandahl also recorded a shot. Not one to miss out on the action, senior Lukes-Smith came up from her defensive position to take a free kick just outside the 18. The ball sailed over the wall of defenders and hit the top side of the crossbar. Still, the near miss added more energy for the Vikings. Coach Teo Jube was pleased with the outcome: "[The team] kept their composure and were able to find the goals in the second half without changing the way they played during the first half. They continued to believe in themselves, to believe in their teammates, to believe in their team, to believe in their game, and that brought the result they wanted and deserved." The regional victory over Charles City sets up a match against top-ranked Waverly on Wednesday evening, May 28. More on the match against Charles City can be found here. Feed your curiosity! Subscribe to the free newsletter and indulge in all that's local. Your friends will be impressed.

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Vikings Thaw Out, Heat Up in Second Half to Defeat Charles City