Report and photos by Kevin Kyle
On-air personalities enjoyed coining a term Friday night at Bob Young Field in Sioux Falls, as Sioux Falls City Football Club striker Katharina Oelschlaeger tallieda ‘Kattrick’ in leading the hosts to a 4-0 USL W Central Conference Heartland Division victory over visiting RKC Third Coast.
Oelschlaeger netted two of her three goals in the first frame of City’s penultimate regular-season match. Substitute midfielder Avery Korsching tallied City’s third, in the 81st minute of play before Oelschlaeger completed her triple on 88 minutes to wrap up the match.
SFCFC fullback Tyreese Zacher looks to cross the ball in the first half of Friday night’s USL W Central Conference Heartland Division match against RKC Third Coast at Bob Young Field in Sioux Falls.
“It’s a great feeling, but even better to get this win… and get four goals,” said Oelschlaeger, City’s leading scorer this campaign. “A ‘Kattrick’ or hattrick, whatever they want to call it, feels great… my second if you count the non-conference game earlier in the season. It’s always a great feeling to score a goal, but it takes a whole team to get it done and earn a win.”
While Oelschlaeger’s feat was certainly enjoyable for the City faithful to witness, finishing the match with four goals as a club is perhaps a bigger talking point. SFCFC is now in the driver’s seat regarding placing second in the division. The four markers put City ahead of River Light in goal differential, meaning SFCFC merely need result against River Light, Sunday evening back at the ‘Bob’ to claim second place in the division.
“You’re always looking to win the division, but if you can’t you want to finish as high as you can,” SFCFC Sporting director Joe DeMay told his players after the match.
City controlled Friday night’s tilt from the off, spreading the field well against a RKC side that featured more than a handful of high school players. It wasn’t long before Oelschlaeger and company gained a foothold in RKC’s defensive third.
The German striker conjured up some crafty footwork 11 minutes into the contest, gaining control centrally 16 yards from the net. Oelschlaeger spun, performed a step-over to gain a small opening and drove the ball across the goal and into the opposite corner of the net – beating RKC netminder Ainsley Stallworth low for a 1-0 City advantage.
Several City players also had opportunities to up the ante, thereafter, including shots by striking partners Hailee Chriistensen and Hanna Schimmer, but it was Oelschaleger finding the net again on 33 minutes – off an assist from the latter. Delivered into the box from the left side, Schimmer was first to try to find an opening for a shot. With heavy traffic ahead, however, Schimmer dished off for Oelschlaeger to bang the ball to the back of the net again – this time beating Stallworth to the right for a 2-0 City lead.
Although City continued to give Stallworth and the RKC defense plenty to contend with over the remaining 12 minutes of the first half, goals proved hard to come by. Even several overlapping run/cross combinations by Sioux Falls product Elsie Odney – gaining her first match experience with the club as an outside full/wing back – couldn’t help the hosts forge another breakthrough. Odney, who later moved from the left to the right side, was stellar in her City debut.
SFCFC striker Hailee Christensen dishes off in the first half of Friday night’s USL W Central Conference Heartland Division match against RKC Third Coast at Bob Young Field in Sioux Falls.
“That felt really good; I’ve been working hard all season, and it’s paid off,” said Odney, who plays her college ball at the University of South Dakota. “I didn’t know I’d be switching over to the other side until halftime, but I’ve played both my whole life… feel comfortable on either side.”
And it didn’t hurt that Odney had experienced center backs Lulu Moreno and Taylor Thomas and veteran goalkeeper Campbell Fischer behind her throughout her 80 minutes on the pitch.
“I don’t think I could have been there without them,” said Odney, “Their talking was so good, and they kept me ‘in it’ throughout the first half.”
Odney and company, which included wing back Tyreese Zacher in City’s four-player defensive unit, did well in limiting shots on Fischer. However, when tested, Fischer was spot on. City’s go-to starter steered away a stiff shot from RKC striker Keira Kimbrough 20 minutes into the contest and later got low to parry away a similar strike from Ava Butsic midway through the second stanza to preserve the shutout.
“We knew they were going to play direct, try to play ‘big’ and get in behind… have some fast girls,” said Fischer, who also contended with low-angle sunlight throughout the match. “We focused on ourselves, moved the ball and dealt with whatever came at us. The sun was difficult at times, especially in the second half… more in my face. The shade arrived, eventually, and we got the job done.”
With Fischer preventing Kimbrough and Butsic’s early second-half attempts at whittling into the deficit, City had more counterattacking opportunities.
SFCFC fullback Elsie Odney pushes forward in the first half of Friday night’s USL W Central Conference Heartland Division match against RKC Third Coast at Bob Young Field in Sioux Falls.
On 81 minutes, Korsching netted her second goal in as many games on one such march – capping a swift City stride off a feed from Keyera Harmon. Korsching didn’t need anything near the power necessary for her late game-winner against Rochester FC Tuesday night in Rochester, MN, as she calmly slotted the ball past a hapless Stallworth to give the hosts a 3-0 lead.
Seven minutes later, Oelschlaeger completed her hattrick. Gaining open ground in the offensive zone via a poached pass, Oelschlaeger took a page out of Korsching’s book – calmly striding in and pushing the ball under Stallworth to cap the scoring.
In all, it was a comfortable victory for the hosts, who will now turn their attention to finishing the 2025 campaign off with what would be City’s eighth win of its first season in the USL W – exacting revenge on a River Light team that beat SFCFC 3-0 in the opening match of the regular season.
“We can just go play soccer now that we’re ahead of them on goal differential,” said Fischer. “This team is good at that and understanding the moment, and I think that’s going to make Sunday more fun. If we can score three on them, great, but we’re just going to go play OUR soccer and whatever happens, happens.”
Sunday evening’s match versus River Light is slated for an early 5 p.m. kickoff at Bob Young Field in Sioux Falls.
This is OUR City!
RKC 0 0 – 0
SFCFC 2 2 – 4