By Kevin Kyle, Photos by Travis Gallipo
Receiving a brace from striker Hailee Christensen and additional goals from Hanna Schimmer, Lulu Moreno, Nadje Meite and Rylee Haldeman, the Sioux Falls City Football Club dispatched visiting Chicago City Dutch Lions 6-0 in a USL W Central Conference Heartland Division contest Saturday evening at Bob Young Field in Sioux Falls.
Not only was the SFCFC faithful treated to a full 90-minute match this time around, but it also enjoyed well-crafted goals at the same pace it witnessed during City’s 3-0 weather-shortened game versus Rochester FC Wednesday night at home – three per 45 minutes.
Spearheading City’s weekend effort was Sioux Falls’ own Hailee Christensen. The striker put the hosts on top in the 21st minute by stripping CCDL goalkeeper Alyssa Gluting of the ball and tucking it in before notching a second on 33 minutes off a deft cutback pass from attacking partner Katharina Oelschlaeger.
“I’ve been looking for one for couple of games now; I’ve been close but could find the back of the net,” said Christensen. “It was definitely relieving and very exciting to be able to celebrate with the team.”
A team that has learned from its 2-0 defeat at the hands of division leaders Minnesota Aurora FC a mere eight days prior.
“I think we’re really coming together as a team, connecting in our unique ways,” said Christensen. “It’s hard to come into a season with only getting a couple practices and then jumping right into games, but now that we’ve had more practices and games, we’re getting to know one another better which makes the game easier.
“We possessed the ball well through the back and were able to get forward tonight. Sometimes we like to rush a through ball through, but that doesn’t always work. I thought we were able to really connect and work out of the back, be patient and… the goals came.”
While Christensen’s second tally came from hard work on the left side, City’s third marker was developed down the right flank.
SFCFC veteran midfielder Mali Van Meeteren came out of a scrum at the center spot with the ball and located an open Schimmer on the right wing. The newcomer from Council Bluffs, IA sped down the flank and unleashed a heavy shot to the far post that beat Gluting with ease – lifting City to a 3-0 lead 11 minutes prior to the interval.
Unfortunately for the visitors, the divisional east versus west clash continued to go south, as City (5-0-2, 15 points) continued its domination in possession and reaped the benefits.
The initial 15 minutes of the second stanza saw a flurry of City chances come off the feet of Mia Bosch, Christensen, Yui Fujii and Mia Mullenmeister. Taking a corner kick, resulting from Gluting parrying one her shots wide, Bosch’s curling drive was bobbled by the CCDL keeper – falling in front of Moreno standing in the six-yard box. The veteran multi-purpose player comfortably knocked the ball over the goal line on 58 minutes to give the hosts a 4-0 advantage. 
Bosch, along with Madie Donovan and Mullenmeister had entered the fray to open the second half, but with Moreno’s tally the hosts substituted on a quartet more – Haldeman, Meite, Keyera Harmon and Tessa French – to immediate effect.
Meite promptly demonstrated her composure on the ball in collecting a precision through pass from SFCFC rookie fullback Yuna Aoki, and avoiding an onrushing Gluting to score, while City’s pressure on the CCDL back line preceded Harmon’s cross to Haldeman’s head for the host’s sixth and final goal of the night.
“I saw the space, saw Nadja running and played it into that space,” said Aoki. “I feel we’re matching up better and having better teamwork. It’s exciting.”
The 73rd and 82nd-minute markers only confirmed City’s ability to score goals in a variety of ways. Tuesday night’s trio of tallies came through more of a direct route, while Saturday’s six were developed through build-up and constant pressure. However, in all three halves of play since the Aurora FC loss, City has had the lion’s share of possession.
“The first 10 minutes against Rochester, they created some chances and had a slight territorial advantage, but after about 16 minutes the field tilted a little bit,” said SFCFC Sporting Director Joe DeMay. “When you look at the possession stats, we were at 70 percent, which is the highest we’ve been at. We only played a half, but the completed passing percentage was at 80 percent, and the number of completed passes was even higher than some of our 90-minute games early in the season – a strong indicator that things are moving in the right direction.
“We’ve been working on ways to push opponents back and squeeze them in a little bit. Obviously, Tuesday and Friday will be a little bit more even; if we can find time to kind of pin Aurora in, make them feel uncomfortable and make them play in their own end a bit, that will only benefit us.”
And having been together for weeks now, City is beginning to find its bearings just in time to host its nemesis twice at ‘the Bob’ this week – Tuesday and Friday evenings.
“It always takes some time to put things together, especially with some of the new faces and new positions, but we’ve started to find a rhythm,” said DeMay. “It comes down to the hard work they’ve put into it and the talent they have. It was a matter of time before we found the right combination. I’m happy with it; having this run of victories after the tough game with Aurora and them coming into town for two games, I think it’s what we needed. We’ve put ourselves in position to go out and try to prove ourselves again against them.”
The first of two Central Conference Heartland Division showdowns with undefeated Minnesota Aurora FC begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Sioux Falls.
This is OUR City!
CCDL 0 0 – 0
SFCFC 3 3 – 6