Playing in her first postseason game as a Jackrabbit, Tori Poole had an afternoon to remember.
The freshman midfielder scored twice to lift the South Dakota State women’s soccer team to a 2-1 victory over North Dakota State in the Summit League Championship semifinals Thursday afternoon at CIBER Field. With the win, the Jackrabbits advance to the finals for the first time since 2009.
“To be honest, when I first came out, I was super nervous,” Poole said. “It was a huge game, especially [against] one of our rivals, and I couldn’t have done it without my team.”
In the game’s opening minute, South Dakota State worked the ball into the North Dakota State end. Stationed just outside of the box, Poole corralled a Diana Potterveld pass and threaded the ball past an outstretched Sierra Bonham into the lower right corner of the net.
Poole’s goal, scored 41 seconds into the match, was the quickest in program history; the previous record was 45 seconds set by Jennifer Briggs in 2002. It was also the fastest goal in the history of the Summit League Tournament.
The Jackrabbits outshot the Bison, 9-3, in the first half. North Dakota State’s best scoring opportunity came in the 31st minute when the Bison took advantage of tic-tac-toe passing to get Brittany Mueller a clear look at the net, but her shot sailed over the crossbar.
In the 55th minute, Poole almost netted her second goal of the game. Draped by defenders, Potterveld laced a pass to the trailing freshman midfielder, but her shot went just wide.
Poole wouldn’t be denied less than four minutes later. After a failed North Dakota State clear, she darted in to one-time a bouncing ball past Bonham from about eight yards out. Poole’s two goals set a new career high. She had two goals on the season going into the contest.
SDSU will face Denver in the title game.
