HARRISBURG — Spearfish’s girls soccer season came to a close Tuesday in the first round of the Class AA playoffs, as second-seeded Harrisburg blanked the 15th-seeded Spartans 10-0.
The loss was Spearfish’s second in a row and dropped the Spartans to 5-10. The trip east also extended a rough stretch away from home: Spearfish lost five of its final six road matches.
A tall task against the defending champs
Spearfish drew one of the toughest assignments in the bracket. Harrisburg has won four consecutive Class AA state titles, from 2022 through 2025, and came into the postseason without a loss.
The Tigers improved to 13-0-2 with the win. They have not lost since Sept. 29, 2025, and have won 19 of their last 21 matches dating to last season. Their only blemishes this fall were scoreless ties against Yankton on Sept. 22 and Pierre on Sept. 29.
Harrisburg advances to the Class AA quarterfinals.
Spearfish boys move on
The Spartans’ boys team had better luck Tuesday. Seventh-seeded Spearfish edged No. 10 Sioux Falls Roosevelt 1-0 to advance to the boys Class AA quarterfinals.
A first season to build on
Tuesday’s match closed the first season under head coach Brianna Warnemunde, who stepped up from the Spartans’ junior varsity bench to take over the varsity program. She succeeded Anthony Bradley, who moved over to lead Spearfish’s boys team. Taking the reins of a program and guiding it into the postseason in Year 1 is no small task, and Warnemunde now has a full season of experience with her players to build on.
It was also the final high school match for Spearfish’s six seniors: midfielders Kinsley Mosset, Sierra Sandford and Ashlynn Little, and defenders Auna Taglioli, Julie Stavik Sundby and Morgan Little. The group helped steady the program through a coaching change and kept the Spartans in the playoff picture, and their leadership will be missed.
The scoreboard in Harrisburg won’t define this team. Nineteen of the Spartans’ 25 rostered players are eligible to return, including four freshmen and six middle schoolers who got a firsthand look at what it takes to compete with the state’s best. With that young core and a coach who knows the program from the ground up, Spearfish has reason to expect more next fall.