Jays don't allow a goal Saturday, set to enter last week of the season

JAMESTOWN — The number of fans at Jamestown's Rotary Field on Saturday outnumbered the number of degrees outside.

About 60 fans braved the cold spring temperatures to watch the Jamestown girls soccer team deliver a 5-0 shutout over Bismarck High. The Jays finished the year at 6-0-2 at home while overall, the team is sitting at 9-2-2. Jamestown will play its second-to-last regular season game on Tuesday at Bismarck Legacy. The game is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.

"We were feeling really good coming off that last second high we got against Minot on Thursday," JHS head coach Colton Altringer said.

The last time the Jays played Bismark High, it was a one-score game.

"Today we had a little bit more confidence in the final third, we found a lot of space out wide and drew the defenders up," Altringer said. "When they defended us (last time) they played a lot in the middle and they closed space down so it was about finding the open space out wide to stretch them out and then we can create numbers and find open players in the middle of the goal."

Hannah and Haley Attleson were a huge reason the Jays scored.

Haley has been on the varsity roster since the 2022 season while Hannah saw time as an eighth grader and a freshman but is only now in her first full-time varsity season. The sisters have been playing soccer for the past 10 years.

"Our parents — they made us play," Hannah said with a laugh. "We didn't really like it at first — we threw a lot of fits."

"I remember my first-ever game when I was like 5 years old, my mom had to drag me across the field and I was bawling because I was scared or something," Haley said.

While Hannah is only a sophomore and Haley is a junior, the team named them team captains at the beginning of the year.

"I've watched those two the last couple of years and I think they are very good leaders," Altringer said. "They really came into their own this year. As a coach, I knew their leadership was there it just needed to blossom a little bit more and it has this year.

"They are not going to be like Ellie Krueger who is very vocal," he said. "They are more of the silent leaders — they'll say what they have to, no more and no less. Also their work rate is second-to-none. Both of those sisters have a huge work rate and I think that motivates a lot of the players too. Those two as centrebacks together, they are our rock back there. Nine times out of 10 they are going to beat you and I am not worried at all with them. They save a lot of bad moments for us."

Being a team captain wasn't on either of the sisters' radar.

""I was pretty shocked because I am younger," Hannah said. "I wasn't really expecting it. I think they picked us (to be captains) because we are both in the back and a lot of our role is leadership. We have to make sure that everyone is doing their job on the field and communicate with everyone."

"I was excited to be a captain with my sister," Haley said.

Hannah has accounted for three goals and five assists for eight total points while Haley has added three points to the score books.

"I'm just finding my teammates," Hannah said. "They get a lot of good touches on a lot of the free kicks I get to take and then I've just been taking shots when I can."

Belle Sjostrom kicked off the Jays' four-goal performance 59 seconds into the half. The sophomore 's goal was followed up by scores from the Attleson sisters and Gracelin Challeen to put the Jays up 4-0 at the halfway point.

Hannah earned her second point of the day five minutes into the second half. The sophomore was credited with the assist off Hadley Jackson's goal.

"That's huge for us," Altringer said of having five different goal scorers. "When it comes to another busy week for us with three games and then the state tournament, we'll need everybody. We can't rely on two or three people to score or lead the team — it's going to be a full team effort. All the girls on the varsity roster are going to have to chip in one way or another."

Jamestown 5, Bismarck High 0

BHS 0 0 — 0

JHS 4 1 — 5

Scoring

First half

1. JHS, Belle Sjostrom (Layla Becker), 1st minute; 2. JHS, Haley Attleson (Layla Becker), 21st minute; 3. Hannah Attleson (unassisted), 23rd minute; 4. JHS, Gracelin Challeen (Layla Becker), 32nd minute.

Second half

5. JHS, Hadley Jackson (Hannah Attleson), 45th minute.

Shots on goal: Bismarck High 0; Jamestown 13

Goalie saves: Bismarck High, Gabby Bruer 8; Jamestown, Anna Lunde 0

Katie Ringer is a sports reporter for the Jamestown Sun. Katie joined the Sun staff in the summer of 2019 after graduating from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire with a degree in journalism. She can be reached by email at kringer@jamestownsun.com or by phone at 701-952-8460.