PIERRE – Kira (Wannebo) Swenson, a former Northern State University Women’s Soccer standout, has found success early as the head coach of the Pierre girls’ soccer team.

The eighth-seeded Governors recently advanced to the Class AA quarterfinals in back-to-back seasons following their 5-2 victory over No. 9 Sioux Falls Jefferson Tuesday.

The Govs (9-4-1) now set their eyes on top-seed Mitchell (14-1) today at Joe Quintal Field in Mitchell at 11 a.m.

“I’m so excited to see these girls play (today),” Swenson said. “They have just grown so much throughout this season, and they are doing so well right now. They are just such a cohesive unit — I get chills watching them on the field and what they’re doing.”

Tuesday marked the third consecutive year Pierre has won at least nine games under Swenson. The program had eight wins in the previous two seasons combined before Swenson’s arrival to the capital city in 2021.

“Part of it is that she’s pushed us harder, compared to what it used to be before,” Pierre junior Ireland Templeton said of Swenson’s early success at Riggs. “I think, also, she’s pushed the whole team aspect. Not that our previous coach hadn’t, but that was definitely in her mind was team, team, team.

“When we’re at practice, you’re not just working for yourself. You’re working for that person next to you. Why should they be giving 110% when you’re not giving all you have? I think that changed our mindset on the game and pushed us harder during the season.”

Swenson’s coaching principles derive from her playing days at NSU from 2004-07 and Steve Kehm, who was the Wolves’ head coach for 20 years (1998-2018).

“I use a lot of philosophies and culture from college in our program,” she said. “What we say today with our program, attitude and effort. Our coach was huge on that, and we all bought into that. It just made our program so strong up there (in Aberdeen). We were willing to lay it on the line for each other. All the time, working hard, being better people — that’s a big thing he stressed to us. It’s not all about soccer.“

Swenson added that Kehm had “very high standards” for her and her Wolves teammates, and that, in turn, made them more accountable and closer as a group.

“It just turned into more playing for each other,” she said. “You know, our coach kind of guided us, but we were a really close, tight-knit unit that just played for each other. It was all in for us.”

Swenson went on to have a decorative collegiate soccer career in Aberdeen. On top of being the program’s first All-American, the Archbishop McCarthy High School (Florida) product earned 2007 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Defensive Player of the Year honors. Swenson was also named to the 2006-07 All-NSIC First Team.

Her other accomplishments during her time at NSU include Daktronics All-Central Region First Team, NSCAA/Adidas All-Central Region First Team, NSCAA/Adidas Scholar All-America Second Team and NSCAA/Adidas Scholar All-Central Region Second Team.

In her senior season, Swenson was a part of a Wolves squad that tied the program record for wins (15) and finished second in conference play at 7-1-1.

She was inducted into the team’s hall of fame in 2019.

“I really appreciate getting to play with the girls that I did,” Swenson said. “They taught me so much. The way they handled things, the way they worked so hard. They continued to push me on a daily basis. The heart that so many of them played with — it was just inspiring to be a part of those teams.”

Shortly after getting her bachelor’s in elementary and special education, she joined the Aberdeen Central girls soccer staff as an assistant coach from 2009-10. Swenson then moved to Pierre with her husband, Dan. She coached basketball, cross country and track and field at the Pierre Indian Learning Center for the next 12 years before finding her current position as the Govs’ head coach.

Even far removed from her playing days at NSU, Swenson continues to instill much of what she learned from Kehm into her program at Riggs.

“Her phrase she kind of tells us is ‘all in.’ And you’ll see it on the back of our practice jerseys,” Templeton said. “Everyone is all in because if we’re not together, if we’re not all giving 110%, then we’re not going to succeed as a team.

“Before, we maybe had 90% of the team in. But throughout the past three years, she has made it so everyone is in and that we’re all wanting and having the same goals.”

Pierre’s goal, along with the other seven other teams still alive in the AA bracket, is to win a state championship. But in order to do that, they’ll have to somehow slow down Mitchell senior forward Mia Mullenmeister, who has scored 34 goals so far this year and tallied four against the Govs in a 5-0 win on Sept. 16 in Mitchell.

“They have a very strong forward, and that’ll definitely be a key for success against them is being able to shut her down,” Swenson said. “But, I have no doubt that this team is capable of that and scoring on them.”

But Swenson is confident in what she’s seen from her girls since that defeat to the Kernels in September.

“We did not play well against them the first time,” Swenson said. “The girls know that. They’ve reflected, they’ve watched film, they’ve figured out things they want to do better. We’ve just steadily improved every game this season, and the things that they are doing right now are just phenomenal.”