Decorah Strikes First, Fights Hard at Luther

Decorah Vikings win, City Council votes, New Referenda on the ballot — we're the one telling Decorah's story. Donate now. DECORAH — On Thursday, April 9, the Decorah girls soccer team hosted its first ever match at Luther College. The girls played a savvy Dubuque Senior squad, but Decorah brought a lot of energy and maximized the bigger space—Luther's field is 115x75 yards, the maximum size allowed under FIFA regulations. Decorah ultimately dropped the match 1-2, but they battled intensely over the course of the evening. Coach Teo Jubé said, "[It was] the best game I have seen the girls play since I joined the program in 2025." A week prior, the girls had a tough loss against Dubuque Hempstead, but, according to Jubé, the team "trained extensively to be brave and fearless, maintaining ball possession and creating more time and space to make good decisions on and off the ball." Those good decisions showed against Senior. In fact, it was Decorah who cracked the goal first. At the midway point in the first half, senior Clara Hjelle dribbled the ball down the sideline. She crossed the ball into the center of the field and connected with senior teammate Nora Lesmeister, who booted the ball from just outside the eighteen-yard box. The ball sailed high over the goalie's outstretched hands. Decorah took a 1-0 lead. Ten minutes later, that lead evaporated when Senior capitalized on a corner kick. The teams went into halftime tied 1-1. In the second half, both teams fought for possession and connected good passes, but it was Senior that found an opening down the middle of the field when freshman Hayden Wood dribbled past a couple of defenders and shot past sophomore goalie Taylor Sloan-Dahl. Despite the loss, Jubé was pleased with the overall performance. "The girls showed lots of energy, both from the bench and on the field. They celebrated good tackles, saves, blocks, dribbles, attacks and shots. One word to describe this game is 'pride.' I was very proud of them and they looked very proud of themselves." On the evening, the Vikings took 17 shots, placing seven on goal. The team got two shots on goal from Lesmeister, one from Hjelle, and one each from senior Ana Simon, junior Vivian Searcy, sophomore Leah Garcia-Prats and freshman Audrey Remington. Sophomore goalie Taylor Sloan-Dahl had 14 saves on the evening. After a hard-fought match, the girls turned around and played against top-three ranked Hudson on Friday, April 10, dropping a tough match against a seasoned team. The schedule does not get any easier as the girls travel to No. 15 ranked Independence on Monday, April 13. They travel to Mason City on Thursday, April 16, and host Union at home on Friday, April 17. More on the Dubuque Senior match, along with information about the schedule, can be found at GoBound. Be the first to know! Sign up for the free newsletter and unlock exclusive updates, breaking news, and tips from around the community.