Tornadoes handled in substate soccer 7-0

SPENCER - The Storm Lake boys soccer team's quest for a trip to the 2009 State Tournament came to an end Thursday night as they fell to Spencer by a final score of 7-0.

"They did a good job of just shutting us down," said Storm Lake head coach Ben Schekirke. "The communication that we thought was gonna be there wasn't there. They just outplayed us. It was tough.We held them off for about 20 minutes and then let a goal in. After that they let down a bit, and it was an uphill battle from there."

Spencer received three goals from All-State forward Alex Toay and one apiece from Sam Brockshus, Peter Walvatne, Tyler Kramer, and Scott Pruitt.

The Tigers advance to Monday's substate finale against Sioux City Heelan. The winner is on to the state tournament. Spence placed third a year ago.

While the loss is disappointing, Schekirke is pleased with the progress of the team and the direction the program is heading.

"It was a learning experience for myself and assistant coach Flores," he said. "It's something to build upon. They made a lot of gains on the field this season, and there is definitely a bright future for us. We've got a good group of kids coming back with a good attitude. We lose a lot of great people, unfortunately, but we'll still have a lot to work with next season. "