HURON A rubber match between James Valley Christian and Freeman Academy will decide the Class A State Boys Soccer champion at 11 a.m. Saturday at Sioux Park Stadium in Rapid City.
Neither team has won a South Dakota High School Activities Association-sanctioned title, but both have a rich soccer tradition.
There are no secrets and no real weak spots, so I expect a hard-fought, close game, JVC coach Jory Wipf said. It will be the 82nd meeting between the two teams in the oldest running soccer rivalry in SD soccer. JVC leads the series 50-26-5.
The Vikings, who are the top-seed with a 13-1 record, won the first meeting of the season between the two teams 3-2 at JVC Field on Aug. 19. It was part of a 7-0 start to the season for JVC.
Freeman Academy would end the unbeaten run for the Vikings on Sept. 16 with a 2-1 victory in Freeman. It would be the lone loss of the season for JVC.
They have one of the most dangerous offensive players in the state in Lester Artica Rocha, and they are also good in the midfield and solid defensively, Wipf said of what his team learned in the previous two matchups with the Bobcats, who are the No. 3 seed with an 11-3-2 record. Physically, the two teams seem very similar.
It is the second straight appearance in the state title game for James Valley Christian, which was edged 3-2 by Vermillion a year ago. Wipf is hoping the experience was beneficial for his squad as it enters this seasons championship game.
I thought we handled last year well, but there should be a little bit more comfort and an understanding of what the weekend looks like, he said.
After suffering their only loss, the Vikings have put together a six-game winning streak, which included a pair of 7-0 playoff wins. The run includes shutouts in the final five games, and JVC has outscored its opposition 57-12 this season.
Last season we saw significant improvement offensively and this season we have seen significant improvement defensively, Wipf said. Offensively, we are similar statistically to last year, but we have allowed 37 fewer goals.
Sophomore goalkeeper Jonah Niederbaumer has recorded seven shutouts in the net for the Vikings this season. He is one shy of matching the single-season record for shutouts in JVC soccer history.
He was the defensive player of the game in last years title game and picked up where he left off, Wipf said of Niederbaumer, who has a career total of 379 saves (second in school history). I think he gained more trust from the guys in front of him, and I dont think his communication on the field can be overstated.
Others filling leadership roles this season for the Vikings were seniors IsaacWipf and Kolby VanDerWerff; junior Gavin Waldner; sophomore Noah Fast; and eighth-grader Isaac Fast.
The coach summed up the roles that the team leaders have filled this season for the Vikings.
Isaac Wipf (sweeper, very athletic), Kolby VanDerWerff (stopper or defensive midfielder, very active, communicator), Noah Fast (midfield, keeps us connected), Isaac Fast (forward, midfield, leading scorer), and Gavin Waldner (forward), he said.
Isaac Fast has a team-high 15 goals this season for JVC, while Noah Fast and Waldner each have 12 goals this season.
Waldner also has a team-high nine assists, while Noah Fast and Keeghann Hood each have six assists.
The Class A boys game will be the first of four state championship games that will be televised on SDPB2 on Saturday. The games will also be streamed on YouTube and SDPBs soccer webpage.
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