Watertown soccer teams sweep SF Roosevelt with regular-season winding down

Watertown soccer teams sweep SF Roosevelt with regular-season winding down

WATERTOWN — Watertown High School's boys and girls soccer teams continued what could be historic seasons with victories over Sioux Falls Roosevelt on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2026, at the Allen Mitchell Athletic Complex.

The Arrow girls (6-4-1) opened the evening with a 2-0 win and the boys (10-0-1) closed it by rallying for a 4-1 victory. In between games, 22 seniors (16 boys and six girls) were honored along with their parents on Senior Night.

Roosevelt didn't make things easy for Watertown's boys. Aaron Schroeder scored with 14:56 left in the first half to give the Rough Riders a 1-0 lead. Watertown pulled even on Xane Fligge's goal with 17 seconds remaining in the half.

Carson Schlaht added two goals and Ethan Raml one in the second half for the fourth-rated Arrows. Schlaht and Matthew Bertsch each added assists and goalie Owen Muller notched four saves.

"After Roosevelt scored the first goal, our boys didn't hang their heads or point fingers, they actually came together in huddle on our own end. When they broke that huddle, the switch was turned on," Watertown boys' coach Jesse Hauck said. "The last 10 minutes of the of the first half and the entire second half was who we are."

Sophia Gallardo scored with just over four minutes remaining in the first half and added another goal less than three minutes into the second half to propel Watertown's girls.

Big goals within reach for Watertown's boys

The Arrow boys went 6-4-5 a year ago and entered the state Class AA playoffs as the No. 12 seed. They upset Sioux Falls Washington 2-1 in the first round before falling to No. 13 Brandon Valley 4-3 in the quarterfinals.

With such a large returning cast and so much experience, the Arrows have been near-perfect all season with the exception of a 0-0 draw at Harrisburg on Aug. 29.

Watertown, at 5-0-1, has its sights set on winning its first Eastern South Dakota Conference championship since the Arrows started playing SDHSAA-sanctioned Class AA soccer in 2014. They'll need to win out, with home games 9-22 against Brookings and 9-24 against Mitchell, and also beat No. 5 Aberdeen Central on the road on 9-29 to accomplish the feat. Aberdeen Central is 6-1 in the ESD, including a 3-0 win over Harrisburg.

"We have three solid ESD games left to finish the regular season with more goals to complete after that," Hauck said.

The Arrows have many weapons on offense led by Roger Carranza (12 goals, five assists), Isaac Thorson (nine goals, two assists), Fligge (seven goals, seven assists), Luke McLaughlin (four goals) and Schlaht (two goals, four assists). The defense has also been stellar with Muller (45 saves on the season) representing the final barrier for opponents.

"This season has been about depth and unite. It's also about no matter the situation, we feel like we can overcome any obstacle in our way," Hauck said. "This group has been together since they were little and has added some key pieces along the way. It's not always pretty, but when this group flips the switch it's amazing to watch."

Watertown is currently the No. 2 seed in the state Class AA standings and is in position to host at least one, if not more, playoff games scheduled for Oct. 6, 10 and 13.

The Arrows have been played for a state title, but would certainly love the opportunity this fall since the state Class A and AA soccer champions are scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 17 at the Allen Mitchell Athletic Complex.

Watertown's girls also producing a quality season

At 6-4-1 overall and 3-3 in the ESD, the Arrow girls haven't matched the boys but are having a very notable season in their own right. Watertown went 8-7-1 last fall and upset sixth-seeded Sioux Falls Lincoln for its first playoff win since becoming a sanctioned program in 2014.

After the win over Roosevelt, the Arrows currently stand seventh in the state Class AA standings and are in position to host a playoff game for the first time.

Like the boys, the seniors have provided good leadership but the team is also receiving key contributions from a number of underclassmen.

One of those is Gallardo, a freshman forward-midfielder, who leads the team with 16 goals. She also has five assists. Other leaders include senior Katie Fischer (nine goals, six assists), junior Bo Meidinger (six goals, one assist) and senior Claire Schochenmaier (three goals, four assists). Enstad, another senior, handles net-guarding duties (more than 70 saves) for a defense that features seniors Arianna Snyder, Olivia Dettman and Harper Hendricks.

The Arrow girls have the same remaining regular-season schedule as the Arrow boys. It's interesting to note that the team's four losses have come to the top four teams in the Class AA standings: No. 1 Harrisburg, No. 2 Pierre, No. 3 Rapid City Stevens and No. 4 Yankton. They also drew with No. 6 O'Gorman. The regular-season finale will be against No. 5 Aberdeen Central.

Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com