ABOVE: Fairmont’s Grace Kotewa looks for space during a Big South Conference girls soccer game against St. Peter Tuesday at Fairmont High School.

FAIRMONT — The Fairmont Cardinals girls soccer team lost to the St. Peter Saints 2-0 in a Big South Conference matchup Tuesday.

The Cardinals had strong possession time and more shots at scoring, with seven shots on goal. The action was back and forth until the 29th minute of the match, when a St. Peter forward from the outside right took their shot and hit the back of the net to make it 1-0.

Right before the half, a St. Peter hard shot on a free kick soared into the net to make it 2-0. Both teams would battle fiercely and have their chances throughout the second half. This included several opportunities inside the penalty box, a header, and some near misses. Despite best efforts, neither scored. It briefly looked like the Saints scored right away in the second half, but it was called back after an offsides call.

Fairmont Head Coach Matt Nielsen said his team played with energy and made a good account of themselves through team effort. He said they were able to control the action for good chunks of time.

“We felt we controlled possession for pretty much a solid 25 minutes,” Nielsen said. “I thought on the whole, our possession looked really good.”

While they didn’t get the win, Nielsen said they have positive lessons to take away moving forward.

“When you come in, tackle hard, get the ball, good things happen,” he said. “It’s a flukey game. Sometimes you can be in control a lot and it doesn’t work out. It just didn’t work out tonight.”

The Cardinals (5-2-3) have their next game Thursday, Sept. 18, against St. James/Windom/Madelia at 7 p.m. on the St. James Varsity Football Field.