By James Costello Sports Editor
ARGOS — Statistical dominance doesn’t always translate into the win.
Plymouth found that out Thursday after it outshot Bremen 12-1 and collected 12 corners to the Lions’ three during regulation, but still had to earn its Argos Sectional Semifinal win over Bremen, 2-1, in a PK shootout.

“Give a lot of credit to Bremen, they played well, they obviously had a game plan, and hats off to their keeper,” said Plymouth head coach Joe Morris. “The one thing that we’ve struggled with all year, and we’re still struggling with a little bit is shot selection. There are times when I felt like all we had to do was turn and shoot... And yet we didn’t see it, and our players weren’t telling each other. We’ve definitely got to step up our level of communication.”
“But I’m just tickled with the girls,” Morris added. “A game like this against a team that, in theory, has nothing to lose and goes out and runs their game to perfection. You get to PKs and our girls could’ve frozen up, and I thought each one of our kids was very solid to the corner so I’m very tickled with the composure we showed, notwithstanding the fact that we went to PKs.”
Following an impressive 11-save performance during regulation, first-year Bremen goalkeeper couldn’t find a stop in the shootout as the Lady Rockies drove in four straight to clinch the victory.
Plymouth won the coin toss and Kendra Reininga scored first to put the pressure on Bremen, after which Adriana Fernandez kicked a close shot off the right post to put the Lions down 1-0 after the first round of kicks. Katie Reed, Joy Rich and Brandi Witmer all found the back of the net, and Rockies goalie made a key save on a low drive from Bremen’s Darcy Brenneman to put the game away.
Lions goalie Cassie Arndt got a hand on two of Plymouth’s shots in the shootout but not enough for the deflection, although she finished with 11 saves in goal for the night to force the game into penalty kicks.
“She’s been doing it all season for us; she’s been working hard all season,” said Bremen head coach Erin Wellborn of Arndt. “We had a senior goalie last year, and she played four years so she really had to step up for it, and she did... She gave it her all, and that’s what we needed.”
Plymouth broke on the board first with a close range goal from Trisha Neidlinger off a Brea Whitmire forward pass into the box early in the game’s 42nd minute. Neidlinger also scored the Rockies’ lone goal in their win over Argos during Monday’s sectional opener.
“Trisha is the second or third leading scorer on our team,” Morris said. “The leading scorer on our team has been Brea Whitmire. A lot of the time teams are starting to concentrate a little bit more on Brea and she’s only getting looks from farther out so she’s having to set other people up.
“She’s now figuring out if she can’t be the goal-scorer what can she do to help her teammates.”
Bremen evened the soccer just six minutes later when sophomore forward Andrea Salazar finished off an empty netter on a heads-up assist by Jenna Pfeiffer.
“It was a big play for us, and we work on that,” said Welborn. “We talk about sometimes it comes down to making a mistake and getting back into that game, and that’s exactly what happened. A mistake was made, and we capitalized on it. It was a one-point game the whole time, and it was great to go out like this even if we didn’t win.”
Bremen finishes its season at a respectable 9-4-3 and will return most of its squad next year as just one player will graduate in senior Brenneman.
“We definitely will have most of our team back for next season, and we’re looking forward to that,” Welborn said. “We’ve got some freshmen coming up too that we’re looking forward to putting in the lineup. We’re playing offseason, and they’re really starting to step up their game and work for it, and that’s exactly what Bremen soccer needs and we’re still a young program.”
Plymouth, meanwhile, moves on to an Argos Sectional championship rematch with CGA, which beat the Rockies 3-0 en route to a final four appearance in the state tournament.
“Certainly as a first-year coach I’m excited to be in the sectional finals, and we won’t be satisfied with just making it to the sectional finals,” said Morris. “Our goal is obviously to win it... We’d love to have a chance to avenge an earlier season loss. And they certainly, hats off to them, they’re the class of the sectional. They’re the team that we have to make it past to get to that next level so we’re certainly excited about the opportunity.”
• PLYMOUTH 2, BREMEN 1 (Penalty kicks)
At Argos Girls Soccer Sectional Semifinal
Second half
Trisha Neidlinger (Brea Whitmire), 42nd minute
B — Anrea Salazar (Jenna Pfeiffer), 48th minute
Penalty kicks: Plymouth 4 (Kendra Reininga, Katie Reed, Joy Rich, Brandi Witmer), Bremen 1 (Alex Keller)
Shots on goal: Plymouth 12, Bremen 1
Saves: Plymouth 0, Bremen 11 (Cassie Arndt)
Corner kicks: Plymouth 12, Bremen 3
Fouls: Plymouth 10, Bremen 2
Records: Plymouth 12-4-2, Bremen 9-4-3 (final)