PIERRE – Gracelyn Taylor is back, and the Pierre Governors are glad.
In her return after missing several games with a knee injury, Taylor scored twice on Tuesday as Pierre staved off Sioux Falls Jefferson 5-2 in the first round of the SDHSAA Class AA Girls Soccer State Championship at the PILC Soccer Complex.
Taylor scored only 38 seconds into the match, set up by a Ryann Berry corner kick, to put Pierre (9-4-1) in front.
Lexie Hilmer scored 13 minutes later to double the Pierre lead.
Makenzie Nelson scored directly on a corner kick in the 16th minute for Jefferson (3-6-4) to cut the Governor lead to 2-1.
Natalie Flottmeyer gave Pierre its two-goal lead back in the 48th minute, but Nelson scored again in the 49th minute for the Cavaliers.
Pierre goalkeeper Emlyn Swanson made two big saves to keep Pierre in front, one on Nelson in the 60th minute and another on Ava Brown in the 64th minute.
Then in the 70th minute, Barry setup Taylor again, this time with a perfect through ball, and Taylor tallied for a 4-2 Pierre advantage.
An own goal by Jefferson closed the scoring in the 76th minute.
On Saturday, Pierre will play at Mitchell at 11:00 AM in the quarterfinal round. The Kernels, the top seed, defeated Brookings 4-1 on Thursday.
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