The Spearfish Spartans boys soccer team opened its 2025 season with back-to-back road contests against tough Class AA opponents. Coached by Jim Hill, the Spartans battled but came up short in their first two outings, falling to Brookings 4-0 and to Watertown 5-1.
Despite the scores, Coach Hill saw positives in how his team began each match.
“We played real well in the first halves of both games and in the start of the second halves, but ran out of energy. Our fitness definitely needs to improve,” Hill said.
Against Watertown, the Spartans broke through with their first goal of the season, showing flashes of offensive rhythm and ball movement that Hill hopes to see more of as the team grows into form.
The coach emphasized that beyond conditioning, trust will be a critical part of the Spartans’ development.
“Trusting everybody that you play with, from making small passes to running the offense and defending, we need to trust each other that we’ll do our jobs,” Hill said.
Spearfish now turns its attention to two big matchups this week against Sioux Falls programs. The Spartans travel to face Sioux Falls Washington on Friday, August 22, followed by Sioux Falls Lincoln on Saturday, August 23. Both teams traditionally bring strong rosters, giving Spearfish another opportunity to measure itself early in the season.
The Spartans will look to improve fitness, sharpen ball control, and build team chemistry as they continue through their early schedule.