Notre Dame soccer team waltzes past Sikeston into final

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- The Notre Dame girls soccer team was determined not to overlook Sikeston despite a 7-0 romp during the regular season.

"We have a team moto, the next game is the most important game," Notre Dame junior Taylor Rinda said. "We never take anybody lightly."

Top-seeded Notre Dame showed no signs of taking fourth-seeded Sikeston lightly, rolling 6-0 in Tuesday's Class 2 District 1 semifinal at Farmington High School.

Notre Dame (11-7) will play second-seeded Farmington at 6 p.m. Thursday for the title.

"It was a good game for us. I think we all worked well together," Notre Dame sophomore Abby Boyer said. "We just worked as a team. We were all on the same page."

LEFT: Notre Dame’s Abby Boyer heads the ball past a Sikeston defender. (ABOVE: Notre Dame’s Taylor Rinda takes a shot on goal during the first half.)

Boyer and Rinda were Notre Dame's offensive stars, and they got plenty of help from their teammates.

Boyer recorded a hat trick by scoring Notre Dame's first three goals, including two in the opening half. Rinda netted the next two goals and added two assists.

Junior Mollie Pleimann also scored for Notre Dame. Sophomore Madeline Rosenquist recorded three assists, and senior Brianne Sanders added an assist.

"We played well together. We were looking for each other," said Notre Dame coach Jeff Worley, whose squad peppered Sikeston with 29 shots and had numerous other strong scoring chances in addition to the six goals. "We created a lot of opportunities."

It didn't take long for Notre Dame to assume command. Boyer knocked in a rebound just 5 minutes, 45 minutes into the game.

"I was very pleased with the way we opened," Worley said. "We came out strong. We were ready. I've seen too many strange things happen."

Boyer scored again midway through the half to make it 2-0. Notre Dame failed to convert several other golden opportunities, and it was still only 2-0 at the intermission.

Any hopes Sikeston (8-14) had of a comeback were extinguished quickly when Boyer and Rinda both scored in the first seven minutes of the second half.

Rinda found the net with a little more than 23 minutes left, and Pleimann rounded out the scoring about 10 minutes later.

Sophomore Madison Buelow and sophomore backup Jessi Westrich shared the shutout in goal. Buelow played the first 65 minutes and Westrich the final 15. They combined to make three routine saves.

"It was a good all-around game for us," Worley said.

Notre Dame likely will need an even stronger performance Thursday against defending district champion Farmington.

Farmington eliminated Notre Dame 2-1 on penalty kicks in last season's district semifinals, but Notre Dame edged the Knights 4-3 in overtime on April 26.

"We're very excited," Boyer said about Thursday's matchup. "We want to come out even stronger."