One lone goal. A single goal separated the Governors from a State Championship appearance one year ago when they fell to Harrisburg in the semi-finals. Not many expected Pierre to pull off the upset in the 2025 playoffs as Harrisburg was, again, the presumptive favorite to win it all for the fourth straight year. However, Pierre went on the road on a rain-soaked night with cold temperatures and buffeting winds, and gave the Lady Tigers all they could possibly handle.
Harrisburg would go onto win that game 1-0 (and later the championship), but that one goal materialized a different goal for the Governors. A goal to win it all.
The leaders, though comprised of freshmen and sophomores, got together and agreed that 2026 would be different. They set out on a mission on that very night after the devastating loss to Harrisburg, the next 365 days would be dedicated to one thing and one thing only, redemption.
The girls got to work, club soccer would be the beginning for them. Members of the graduating seniors class paired with many of the returning Governor girls went out and won national championships with their respective summer club teams. A chance to play against some of the nations best high school athletes would offer an elevated level of competition to prepare them for what would come in the Class AA regular season in the fall.
That preparation paid off in the form of arguably the best regular season the Pierre Governor girl program had ever experienced. 11 straight wins to begin the year, outscoring opponents 37-5 in that stretch took the Governor girls from under the radar to the front page. Their first, and only, loss of the year coming in a 2-0 battle on the road with Aberdeen Central. That loss followed with a scoreless draw with Harrisburg would earn the Governors the one-seed going into the playoffs. Great for the Governors, but the mission far from complete.
Pierre would cruise through the first round beating Rapid City Central 5-0 on the back of four goals from freshman Aubrey Fischer.
The second round would offer the Governors their toughest test of the year, a scoreless regulation period followed by a scoreless extra-time period with Brookings would force penalty kicks. Pierre would find net on all of their attempts, beating out the Bobcats 4-2 in the penalty kick period and putting them back in the same exact spot they found themselves a year ago in the state semi-finals. Though this time around, the girls were at home, and felt destined to make it one step further.
That step would not come easy, however, it would be another tough test against a daunting O’Gorman Lady Knights squad who gave the Governors another tight battle. Another 100-minutes of scoreless soccer would land the Governors in penalty kicks for the second straight match. Same situation, same outcome. Emlyn Swanson making majestic saves and Katelyn Taylor finishing the journey with a bullet that shot the girls into the State Championship.
The celebration was energetic, yet subdued at the same time. Why? The Governor girls knew their job was not yet complete. They still had one game to win if they were to satisfy that goal they set out to accomplish after that heartbreaking loss on the road far from home in Harrisburg.
Today, the final chapter is written on this 2026 season. The Pierre Governors will look to knock off the Lady Tigers, ending their run of trophies raised over the previous four years. We have had the pleasure of covering this team all year long, so it would mean the world for you to join us for the match on River 92.7 even though with SDPB restrictions we cannot bring you a live stream of the match. While we are not allowed to stream the video of the match live, we will be on the radio with play-by-play from Justin Cowart and Chris Derry beginning at 12:30 with the match beginning at 1:00 PM CT.
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