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Majettes’ Perrin, Burke represent Minot on national scale
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By RYAN LADIKA
Sports Writer rladika@minotdailynews.com inot High soccer players Emerson Perrin and Maicee Burke had quite the year on the turf. The freshman duo helped lead the Minot Majettes to an undefeated 2021 spring season, punctuated by the first girls’ soccer state championship in program history. Minot outscored its opposition 106-4 through its 16 games, ending the season with a 6-0 victory over Fargo Davies in the title game and a remarkable seven consecutive shutouts overall.
While the rest of their teammates were storing away their cleats and shin guards for the offseason, though, Perrin and Burke’s season was just getting started.
With the conclusion of their high school season in early June, Perrin and Burke were free to hit the road to South Dakota and start practicing with U.S. Club Soccer’s South Dakota United club in preparations for the upcoming regional and national tournaments.
The club practices year-round, but Perrin and Burke did not join until their school season had wrapped up due to a league rule. Head coach Matt DeBoer was looking for a couple of girls to fill out the roster back in January, and the pair from Minot High impressed him enough to offer both of them a spot on the team that they could take following the end of the Majettes’ season.
“They’re both just terrific soccer players, they’re good team players and they fit our group,” DeBoer said. “This South Dakota group is one of the most competitive, determined and talented groups of young ladies I’ve ever seen in my entire life, and Emerson and Maicee just fit that mold.”
Perrin added that the two had tried to join South Dakota United during the previous season, but their school schedule and season clashed with that of South Dakota. The pair were able to work out the scheduling conflict this year, though, and leapt at the chance to continue their 2021 campaign.
“In the winter, they always have one training per month that we would drive down to,” she explained. “So I would do that before high school happened. I still had my club training here in Minot, but I would still go to the extra camp with the SDU team so that I can get some training and quality time in with the girls on the team. When it came to high school season, I didn’t go to any trainings, because it’s a rule not to. We just wanted to play it safe.”
Perrin and Burke joined the team just in time for the 2021 National Cup XX Midwest Regional Tournament in Illinois just weeks after Minot High’s championship game. South Dakota United began its tournament run with a 1-1 draw against the Indiana Fire Juniors June 18, and only improved from there.
The team continued its pool play with a 2-1 victory against the Stars-Pro club June 19 and routed the Chicago Shockers FC 5-0 to enter the bracketed portion of the tournament with a 2-0-1 record and a pool-leading seven points.
South Dakota United advanced to the regional championship game with a 2-0 win over Elite FC, and narrowly prevailed in the title contest against Salvo SC 1-0 in a penalty shootout.
The slim victory gave South Dakota United the regional championship and a spot in the national tournament in Denver. The girls would go undefeated in their three pool play matches, winning 6-3 against Real Colorado Edge, 2-0 against Amarillo Rush SC, and 3-0 over Houstonians FC, as well as the championship match to claim the national title in their 15U age division.
“They were a really good team,” DeBoer said of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, South Dakota United’s championship game opponent. “They were good with the ball technically.
MINOT They possessed the ball well, moved it side-to-side, played simple, played the way they were facing. We let them possess, they just didn’t get any dangerous attacks out of their possession. When we wanted to, we attacked fast, we attacked their back line, and we were able to prevail 4-1.”
Perrin and Burke’s desire to continue playing their favorite sport fueled their initial decision to join South Dakota United, and it was everything they could have asked for and more.
“During that time, they were going to more tournaments than our club was doing here,” Perrin said. “It gave me more opportunities and more time to go and play. It kind of sucked for a while to not have any tournaments due to COVID-19, so I wanted to take all the opportunities I could get to go and play.”
“It was really nice getting invited to a really good team,” Burke added. “There are a lot of people who are really good on the team, and it’s nice getting to play with people who are my own skill level and getting to win games with them.” DeBoer was also, naturally, thrilled with his team’s performance, but also pointed to the bigger picture and how the tournaments are only helping the sport’s growth in the area.
“It’s huge. It shows that soccer is coming a long way in South Dakota, North Dakota and Wyoming,” he said. “It’s developing, even with our limited population size, and our difficulties with the way the club is set up and only being able to practice so much. We see chemistry building over a year when other teams are practicing three or four times a week. It shows that the talent level in the Dakotas is really growing, and we’re taking the right steps to grow the game.” Perrin and Burke are already planning to return to South Dakota United next season as well, and enjoyed not only the added competition, but the camaraderie with their new teammates that accompanied it.
“Winning was nice, and we all like to win, but it’s also about playing with new people and getting to meet new people and hanging out with them,” Perrin continued. “I loved doing activities with them. We had a team dinner and we also did Top Golf, and they’re good people to be around, they’re very fun people.”
“My favorite part was being with the team and getting to meet new people who I have similar interests with,” Burke added. “And getting to play the sport I love with them.”
Submitted Photo
Emerson Perrin, right, and Maicee Burke pose with their U.S. Club Soccer National Championship medals and trophy following South Dakota United’s 4-1 win against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.
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