“The wind was quartering with us so we were able to maintain pressure and possession for a good chunk of the first half,” said Fergus Falls Head Coach Ben Jurgens.  “Unfortunately, the Sabres were able to put together a couple of great counter attacks, getting behind our defense leaving Svea Smestad with nearly impossible saves.”

With the wind in their favor in the second half the Sabres were able to get numerous fast break opportunities.

“Their goalie put big punts over our defense, all very difficult to handle, leading to fast breaks and again putting Svea in a tough position,” related Jurgens. 

With fifteen minutes left in the game Vanessa Vaughn scored to cut the Sartell lead to 3-1.  The goal came off a corner kick from Ellie Andersen.  Smestad saved two penalty kicks in the game.

“Credit Sartell for a very strong finish to the game,” added Jurgens.  “We did a lot of things right tonight.  It was a much better performance than our first game.  We are playing quality teams that know how to capitalize on minor errors.  It’s frustrating for the coaches and girls, but we are looking for improvements and we saw some even when the scoreboard doesn’t show it.”