Sioux Falls Lincoln defeated O’Gorman 4-1 in overtime on Saturday afternoon to win the 2024 state ‘AA’ boys soccer championship. Last season, the Patriots went undefeated and won the title. This year, they entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seeded team, but the result is the same – a state championship.
It was tough sledding for both teams to get any quality shots throughout regulation. Midway through the first half, Lincoln scored first, courtesy of Brady Stamp. Four-minutes later, O’Gorman tied it up on a goal from Caden Olson.
Scoring opportunities were limited in the second half. And even though O’Gorman was able to push it at time, it felt like the tempo was mostly controlled by Lincoln, despite no scoring through the second 40-minutes.
“They are a pesky, pesky team. But, they’re all club teammates. They’re all club friends. You’re going to get the best of the best every time we see them,” said Lincoln head coach Alex Nelson. “That’s the joys of Sioux Falls and Dakota Alliance going at it for [100-minutes].
In the first overtime period, the Patriots finally found the back of the net on a shot from Camden Thomas that snuck by the goalie.
“Honestly, I thought the ball was going out, I didn’t realize we kept the ball in,” explained coach Nelson. “Kudos to Cam for keeping that ball in, putting it on frame and good things happen when that happens.”
The Patriots would score two more times in overtime. Liam VanRoekel added a goal near the back part of the first overtime period, and then Miles Rolfing scored once more in the second overtime period as Lincoln secured the 4-1 victory.
“It feels great,” said Nelson. “These guys earned it. It’s all them.”
With fourteen seniors on the team, the Patriots certainly had plenty of experience on the pitch. One of them was Ryder Syverson.
“I mean, it feels great. Especially in a game like that, last year and this year. It feels great to even the score, get ahead in overtime,” stated Syverson. “We worked all season for this, it feels great.”
There’s a tight knit comradery among this year’s senior class at Lincoln as well.
“Switching from football, these guys accepted me right away,” exclaimed Syverson. “I just built a family here; I love all these guys. I’d run through a wall for them. Winning with all fourteen of these seniors, it means the world.”
Luka Tomic earned offensive player of the game honors, while Max Hilgenberg was named the defensive player of the game – both players for Lincoln.
This is the third overall sanctioned soccer title for the Patriots boys’ program, and their second straight.
