Kuemper girls spoil Cyclones’ soccer opener 3-1

 HARLAN (April 8) -- The Harlan Community girls soccer team lost its season opener to Kuemper Catholic 3-1 last Monday at Merrill Field. With a couple breaks during the match, however, the final score could have easily been reversed in favor of the Cyclones.
 HCHS took a quick 1-0 lead on freshman Kaia Bieker’s goal in the second minute of play, but would not score again despite a flurry of chances midway through the second half.
 Kuemper, which was already playing its fourth game of the year, tied the score on a Courtney Schenckelberg goal in the fifth minute. The Knights (3-1 overall, 2-0 Hawkeye Ten) went ahead on a fluky goal later in the first half and added a Schenckelberg penalty kick with 7:37 to go following a questionable red card given to HCHS senior Kara Weis.
 Mixing a promising freshmen class with a group of returning veterans from last year’s 3-15 campaign, Cyclone head coach Jared Boysen believes his team is already well ahead of last season’s progression at this point in time.
 “(The freshmen) have played a lot together, but also the ones that we have coming back have improved over the year,” he said. “I do think we have a lot of potential."
Tri-Center 7, HCHS 1
 NEOLA (April 9) -- The Cyclones fell behind 4-0 in the first 11 minutes and were never part of the game at Tri-Center last Tuesday, losing a 7-1 decision.
 The Cyclones dropped to 0-2 on the season while the Trojans improved to 3-2.
 Trailing 7-0 at one point in the second half, HCHS got on the board in the 66th minute when freshman Raegen Wicks scored unassisted. The Cyclones managed just five shots on goal and six total shots (three by Wicks).
 Paige Skow led T-C with a three-goal hat trick and Sage Schroder scored twice.