Jake Kizer scored two goals and Kurt Wilson had a goal and two assists, leading Sturgis to a 6-1 prep boys soccer regular-season finale win over St. Thomas More/Rapid City Christian on Saturday at Sioux Park.
The Scoopers (12-1-0 overall) advance to the state tournament next week, where they will be the No. 2 seed behind Sioux Falls Christian. The tournament begins Thursday in Aberdeen.
"I'm pretty pleased with the guys for the whole season," Sturgis head coach Booj Muhm said. "There are some very good teams going to state this year."
Sturgis also got goals from Thaine Manderfeld, Luke Erfman and Leif Halverson in the win. Keeper Justin Keffeler made five saves in the win.
St. Thomas More/Rapid City Christian finishes the season with a 3-9-1 overall record.
SIOUX FALLS CHRISTIAN 5, CUSTER 1: Top-ranked Sioux Falls Christian scored a couple of quick goals to start the game, and never looked back, rolling to a 5-1 boys high school soccer win over Custer in the regular-season finale for both teams on Saturday.
The Chargers (13-0 overall) will be the top-seed to next week's state tournament. The Wildcats (9-3-1) will more than likely be the No. 4 seed at state, according to head coach Craig Black. The tournament begins Thursday in Aberdeen.
"(Sioux Falls Christian) plays well. They do a lot of movement off the ball, as well as when they have the ball," Black said. "They always know where their passing options are."
Travis March scored the Wildcats' lone goal early in the second half, taking a pass from Luke Roddy and converting it with a well-placed shot to trim the Chargers' lead to 3-1. But Sioux Falls Christian added a couple of goals within four minutes of each other to put the game away.
Custer keeper Matt Costelecky finished with 14 saves in the loss.
"The kids really saw that they had some good opportunities in the second half," Black said. "Short of a couple of mental errors in the second half, we win the second half, 1-0."
HURON 3, HOT SPRINGS 1: Kyle Maciejewski scored in the 90th minute but it wasn't enough as Hot Springs fell 3-1 to Huron in the regular season prep boys soccer finale for both teams.
Maciejewski's goal came off an assist from Sam Rooks.
"This game was the story of the whole season," Hot Springs head coach Dave Rooks said. "We had two or three shots on goal to their one."
The Bison (6-7-0 overall) currently sit in the No. 8 spot and would qualify for next week's state tournament in Aberdeen.
But Rooks said he was waiting to see how the percentage points worked out between the Bison and Vermillion for the final playoff berth. The top eight teams qualify for state.
SIOUX FALLS O'GORMAN 2, SPEARFISH 0: Dan Busch had a goal and Ryan Graber had a goal and an assist, leading Sioux Falls O'Gorman to a 2-0 prep boys soccer win in the regular season finale for both schools in Spearfish.
O'Gorman ends the regular season with a record of 4-6-2 and will play in the state tournament in Aberdeen on Thursday. Spearfish ends the season with a 3-7-2 mark.
GIRLS
ST. THOMAS MORE/RAPID CITY CHRISTIAN 4, STURGIS 1: The top-ranked St. Thomas More/Rapid City Christian girls soccer team concluded its regular season with a 4-1 win over Sturgis on Saturday.
The Cavaliers jumped out to a 2-0 lead at halftime thanks to goals by Maria Gonzalez and Taylor Bauwen. The team would build its lead to 4-0 in the second half off goals from Gonzalez and Katie Kusser.
"The girls are playing well and we had a good season," Cavalier head coach Doug Noyes. "We got challenged and learned a lot from it."
Sturgis' lone goal came late in the second half from Bethany Hildebrand.
The Cavaliers, who finished the season with an 8-0-2 record, open postseason play Thursday in Aberdeen as the No. 1 seed. They will face the same Scooper squad. The game is set to start at 2 p.m.
"The girls are pretty pumped up to defend their title, but we know we have a target on our backs," Noyes said.
