High School Girls Soccer: Mason City bounces back from first loss with back-to-back wins (2024)

This was a difficult week going into it for Mason City girls soccer.

The Riverhawks, with four games in five days, were left battling uphill when they dropped a match to Denver, ranked No. 8 in Class 1A, on Monday on the road in penalty kicks. And senior Reggi Spotts, one of the team's leading scorers, was injured in the opening minutes.

But Mason City found a way to rebound, with big wins over Des Moines East and Decorah on Tuesday and Thursday to regain momentum.

Thursday's match at home against the Vikings was a clunker. Uprooted by a pair of weather delays during warmups, Mason City ultimately won 8-1 against a defensively-minded opponent while trying keep players fresh.

Still, it was a business like performance from an experienced Riverhawk group.

"They are a veteran group and I let them be and let them find their way," coach Shannon Dykstra said. "They responded well and we are happy with where we are at."

Mason City looked sharp after settling in on Thursday, scoring six goals in the first half against a Decorah team that had yet to allow more than five goals in a match this season.

It carried into the start of the second half, when another pair of goals hit the back of the net to establish a commanding lead.

Karma McMorris finished with a hat trick in the match while Kenna Hemann added another goal. Mia Anderson, Allison Brandt and Elizabeth Ondoma each found the scoresheet too.

"Obviously we lost, but we are still the team that is going to keep going and come in a dogfight and win," McMorris said. "We just keep fighting even though we lost. That's what our team is about. We just play on and improve."

Spotts' ankle injury has forced a few changes in the team, particularly up top. Anderson has played well so far this season. As has Claudia Sewell and freshman newcomer Paizlee Carter.

Mason City's defense is starting to settle in too, with some new starters this season.

For the amount of matches this core group of players have played together over the past three years, it's a team that is still trying to build up its chemistry this season.

Thursday was a good sign of improvement on that. It's passing and quick counter attacks looked cleaner than it was in the first two matches a week prior.

"It's a little different, but we are all working as a team and just connecting the ball and passing," McMorris said. "It's working pretty well. ... We are all a team. Nothing different from last year. We all just bond together very well and it shows on the field."

Without much turnaround between matches, and much less time on the field, the Riverhawks have spent a lot of time trying to work on the mental side of things and working as a team.

The miles are racking up, despite it being early in the season still. But the end — and the goal of a state tournament appearance — are much farther.

"When you are tired, it's easier to focus on yourself," Dykstra said. "The natural inclination when you are tired is how it is going for you and we want to build how it is going for us. We are really focused on how to make this a 'we' mentality."

On Friday night, the Riverhawks capped off a busy week at home against a pesky Marshalltown team.

The schedule eases up with one match next week — home against Des Moines Lincoln on Tuesday — before three games in five days the week after.

Nonetheless, the main focus is still on how Mason City can improve through the course of the regular season to be prepared for the goals of a deep postseason run.

"We just keep improving every single day and that is what we are trying to do," McMorris said. "We just need to keep getting better at what we are working on and getting better every single day as a team, not as individuals."