The Lady Dragon soccer athletes, coaches, and fans alike are all of the same mind- it is just too soon for the 2024 season to be over.  When a team is coming together, any time short of the time it takes to reach their full potential is too short, even for a season lasting over two months long.  After losing two well-played, intense district tournament games, the Lady Dragons have been eliminated and their season has come to a close.

Malad’s opening game of the 2024 4A District tournament was against the Aberdeen Tigers, a team that they have over a dozen straight wins over.  Their Wednesday afternoon game, played on the neutral field of American Falls, kept that winning record alive as they won 8-0.

The win over the Tigers advanced them to the semi-final game against the American Falls Beavers.  Scoring two goals against the very strong defensive team, the Lady Dragons had hope they could come out on top.  But the Beavers offense was just as adept as their defense, scoring 6 goals to win the game and advance to the championship game against Marsh Valley.

With their first loss in the double elimination tournament, Malad still had a chance to continue through the tournament.  Their next game of the tournament was set to be against the Snake River Panthers after their loss to Marsh Valley.  

  Playing in American Falls again, the two teams met for what could be their final match of the season on Monday, October 15.  Unfortunately, the Panthers jumped to an early lead in the game, going up 0-2 in the first half of the game.  The Lady Dragon defense kept them scoreless throughout the second half, but without a goal of their own, they trailed as the final whistle rang out to signal the end of the game.  

Throughout the match, Snake River attempted 27 goals, with MHS goalkeeper Aubrey Shulz making 25 saves.  Malad had 15 goal attempts of their own, led by Halie Palmer with 5, and Kencie Miller with 3.  Emmy Coatney, Jaezie Jensen, and Bayli Nesbit added 2 goal attempts each with Joni Beck attempting 1.

Throughout the season, the coaches and fans commented on how much the team had come together this season and had really become a fun group to watch on the field.  Head Coach Shenell Clark said, “These girls played with heart and left it all on the field!”

The team will have one final weekend of games as they play in the postseason 3A invitational tournament in Firth on October 25 and 26.