Wildcat soccer picks up first win

Just over a week after opening its season with a 5-3 loss on its home field, the Custer High School soccer team picked up its first win of the season by the exact same score, defeating visiting Douglas-New Underwood 5-3.
“I thought we came out a little slow. They have had me a little nervous the first few minutes,” head coach Hannah Rehmeier said of her squad dealing with the 11 a.m. start time. “They really started to move the ball well.”
Xander Dinius, who followed up his two-goal performance in the opener with three more goals against the Patriots, scored a pair of goals in the first half, both in succession around the 20-minute mark.
The game was played in a heavy wind, and because of that, Rehmeier said she preached to her team to keep the ball low.
Douglas answered both of Custer’s first-half goals, with Rehmeier saying the defense made a few mistakes, with communication still being an issue. The team continues to miss players it would normally have playing at the back, which means younger players are manning those positions.
“They didn’t shift the way they should have, which led to the goals,” she said.
The Wildcats had the wind at their backs in the second half and scored their third goal of the game via Kiran Pesicka off a free kick. Pesicka later followed that up with a second goal before Dinius put the final touches on the scoring when he completed a hat trick thanks to a nice through ball late in the game.
Rehmeier said the team’s improvement from the first game to the second game has her excited for this week, when the team will play Hot Springs Thursday before battling Sturgis JV Saturday. Both games are at home, with the Hot Springs game scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. and the Sturgis game bright and early at 10 a.m.
“Between the first and second game we moved the ball better and we were better at getting rid of gaps between players on the field. We want to push up as a unit so there are no glaring gaps,” she said. “Our ball movement was better, and our communication was better. They got more comfortable with the formation we ran as well. That made a difference.”
The Wildcats had little trouble with Sturgis’ JV a year ago, and Rehmeier hopes that is the case again Saturday so the younger players can get some much-needed playing time.
Thursday’s game against the Bison is a rivalry game, and Rehmeier expects her team to be ready to go when the game begins.
“They kids always come out on fire gainst Hot Springs,” she said. “I’m a firm believer anybody can win on any day, but if we play the way I anticipate we can play we would come away with a win.”