Red River snaps rivalry skid in 3-2 girls soccer win over Central
Apr. 23—GRAND FORKS — Grand Forks Red River senior goalkeeper Eden Parkinson has played on the varsity since her sophomore season, and she knew she had never been part of a team that beat rival Grand Forks Central.
She didn't know, though, that the losing streak had predated her career by a few years, too.
But the Riders snapped that streak Tuesday night in a 3-2 win over the Knights at Cushman Field — Red River's first win in the rivalry series since May 21, 2019.
Not only had Red River not beaten Central since 2019, that was also the last time the Riders scored a goal on the Knights in that stretch.
"I think we possessed really well," Parkinson said. "We had a really solid back line, as well. Our back line cleared every ball out. That helped us be successful."
The Riders imporved to 3-1-1, while the Knights dropped to 1-2-1.
Red River entered the Central matchup having given up six goals to conference-leading Fargo Davies last week.
"We had to fix our defense after we played Davies," Red River coach Jason Heydt said. "We adjusted our defensive play and the kids bought in. We worked on finiding the open people and they did a great job sticking to the plan."
Heydt said his team was very aware of a rivalry drought. Parkinson said there was additional motivation for conference positioning as two teams potentially near the bubble for a state tournament berth.
"I think we were hungry for a win," Parkinson said. "We knew this game was going to be important, not just for the rivalry, but for points (in the standings)."
Red River sophomore Reese Remz ended the rivalry scoring drought 10 minutes into the match with a penalty kick.
Red River senior Taryn Swanson tacked on a goal at 22 minutes, while Central's Jacie Reardon scored after a scrum at the goalmouth at 37 minutes to send the game to halftime at 2-1 Red River.
A pair of eighth-graders handled the scoring from there.
Red River eighth-grader Taylor Hodny extended Red River's lead to 3-1 at 68 minutes when her kick drilled the crossbar and caromed into the goal.
"We know she's skilled up top, so we gave her a chance and she buried one," Heydt said.
Central eighth-grader Addison Lamb trimmed the Red River lead to 3-2 at 74 minutes.
Parkinson stopped the remaining threats as Red River now sits in third place in the region standings.
"This is a huge win for us," Heydt said. "Central is a great team, and we're hoping we both make it to state."
Central goalie Hailey Anderson-Tibiatowski finished with eight saves.
"I thought Red River did a pretty nice job controlling midfield play," Central coach George DuBois said. "We gave them too much time and space there to work. I don't think we executed the way we wanted to. We were always off by a final pass or something."
