Cyclones season ended by Saintes at home

Junior Sainte Ella Klusman scored two goals in the second half of Tuesday’s soccer match at Merrill Field against the Cyclones, effectively ending their season.

“We’ve had a lot of successes this year,” said Cyclones Head Coach Jared Boysen. “There’s a lot of things to be thankful for. The effort was there and we knew it was going to be a battle. We knew it was pretty even both ways. I’m proud of how we played.”

The defense was strong from both sides with a scoreless first half, with Cyclone goalkeeper Grace Albertsen and Saintes goalkeeper Sophie Sheffield making multiple stops.

“We needed to finish,” Boysen said. “Both teams had a similar strategy. They were on Aubrey [Schwieso] and they weren’t going to let her score. We were trying not to let Ella Klusman score, but since she’s been a freshman, she’s been the only one to score against us. She’s just that great of a player. She knows how to finish.”

Klusman knocked in the first goal of the game almost eight minutes into the second half. Not long after, she added her second goal, ultimately leading the Saintes to victory 2-0.

The Cyclones finished their season with a 14-5 record, including winning six of their final eight games, including a first round overtime victory over the Treynor Cardinals, 2-1.

Despite an earlier exit than they wanted, Boysen highlighted some positives that took place during their season.

“Our Underwood game, they’re #3 in the state, nobody else would’ve thought that we could come out with that, and we came out with that win and kept that momentum moving forward,” he said.

On the season, Schwieso led the Cyclones with 30 goals, Kayla Anderson had 10 assists and Albertsen made 70 saves. Ivy Stevens scored 13 goals, Carly Torneten had seven, Anderson with six and Hailey Good scored five.

“It’s the most wins we’ve had in school history,” Boysen said. “They broke that record which was back at 11, so they succeeded with that; Aubrey breaking the school record and Kayla tying the assist record.”

Seniors Madison Kjergaard, Ava Miller and Meby Chavez Elias won’t return due to graduation.

“They came in right away,” Boysen added. “They didn’t get their freshman season because of COVID, but coming in as sophomores they started leading right there. They’re vocal and we’re going to miss their vocal leadership.”

With a majority of the girls set to return next season, Boysen believes the future is bright for Cyclone soccer.

“A lot of this success over the last two years have been from those younger girls and they’re still there,” he said. “Pretty much our whole offense will be back next year. We’ll have to fill in a couple of spots on defense.”