West Fargo head boys soccer coach Doug Millar challenged his players to play well down the final stretch of the regular season.
The Packers responded by wrapping up a 2-1 victory over Fargo South on Friday, securing a berth to the state tournament in Grand Forks.
"We need to continue to get better if we're going to take this serious about being a real contender for the state championship," Millar said. "That's where we need to be and that's where we want to go."
West Fargo (7-3-1) joins Fargo Shanley, Fargo North and Grand Forks Red River as representatives of the Eastern Dakota Conference at the state tournament.
Jake Kroke delivered the winning goal for West Fargo on a penalty kick after South was called for a trip in the box.
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"I wanted to be the one to take it because I knew I was going to bury it," Kroke said. "I just went up there and hit it as hard as I could."
Kroke lined up with the intent to shoot to his right, but he changed his mind when South goalkeeper Zach Bergseth moved to that side of the net.
Kroke blasted a shot to the lower left side of the net, breaking the 1-1 tie.
"This is the start of the build-up toward state," Kroke said. "It's more of a moral win than anything and we feel good as a team right now."
South (4-5-3) faced elimination for the first time in team history.
South attempted to create scoring opportunities by moving players up the field, sacrificing defense in the process.
"We needed to beat West Fargo and we needed help tomorrow," Hashbarger said. "There was no reason to hold anything back."
The loss eliminated South from the state tournament for the first time since it began in 1995.
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West Fargo scored the first goal of the game when Jacob Dufault lobbed a high pass to the front of the net.
Austin Dillard jumped up and headed the ball into the bottom of the net in the 26th minute, giving the Packers the 1-0 lead.
The Bruins countered with a goal eight minutes later. Dustin Haugen kicked the ball from the right corner of the field and Austen Gaye tipped the ball into the lower right corner of the net.
West Fargo plays at Fargo North today in a match that determines the second seed in the EDC.
FIRST HALF: 1, WF, Dillard (Dufault), 26:00. 2, FS, Gaye (Haugen), 34:00.
SECOND HALF: 3, WF, Kroke, 78:00 (pk).
SAVES: FS, Bergseth 11. WF, Schmid 6.
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Ben Karkela at (701) 241-5549
