Sarah Dickmann was the primary target for the Seymour High School girls soccer team entering its Bay Conference tournament showdown with Shawano on Thursday.
The junior forward scored three goals for Shawano in a 3-2 win in the teams’ first meeting of the season, but the Thunder kept her at bay Thursday in a 6-3 win at Shawano to claim fifth-place in the tourney.
“Last time we defended her, we were too out of control,” Seymour coach Todd Messner said. “We were able to keep her in front of us, and made her pass the ball.”
Shawano coach Bob Croschere attributed the loss more to the Hawks’ play than Seymour’s changes.
“I don’t think they played any different against us (Thursday), we just did not show up tonight,” he said.
The Hawks fell behind early after Seymour knocked in three goals, including two from Thunder sophomore Annamarie Froehlich and one from senior Kelsey Kominowski, less than 15 minutes into the game.
Junior Teagan Monfils secured the first Shawano goal with three minutes remaining in the first half.
“She has been playing consistently and is always in motion and gets a lot of loose balls, and she happened to get one,” Croschere said.
Seymour remained aggressive through the entire match, maintaining ball control in Hawks’ territory, and continued to barrage Shawano goalie Carlie Hinnefield, who saved five of 11 shots.
“We didn’t possess the ball well the entire game,” Croschere said. “They were the aggressor the entire night.”
Seymour (13-4-3, 6-3-1 Bay Conference) responded early in the second half with two goals within the first five minutes, including Kominowski’s second and third of the game.
Shawano (8-9-2, 5-3-2 Bay) made a push in the final 20 minutes with goals from junior Megan Klitzke (71st minute) and senior Louisa Keenan (72nd minute).
Thunder goalies Madilyn Heinke and Leslie Scheurer combined for six saves, with Heinke making four of the stops.
Following the game, the WIAA released the Division 2 bracket. No. 5 Shawano will play at fourth-seeded Hortonville (7-9, 2-7 Fox Valley Association) June 4.
