|
News
|
|
Written by Steve Ostermann
|
|
Wednesday, 05 May 2010 17:44 |
Former club standout has three goals, seven assists in first weekend games after joining girls’ team
Early last week, Cedar Grove-Belgium girls’ soccer coach Papi Pozo was scratching his head trying to mend a lineup that was struggling with injuries and inconsistent offense.
One week and one new player later, Pozo’s outlook has taken a 180-degree turn.
“I think we should be able to beat anyone in the (Central Lakeshore) conference now,” he said after watching new addition Hannah Kaul lead Cedar Grove-Belgium to three home wins in the Rocket Quadrangular last Saturday.
“Getting Hannah really gives us a big boost. She’s one of the best players in the conference.”
Kaul, a senior midfielder who accepted a soccer scholarship to play at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee this fall, had participated in club soccer the past two springs — a decision that made her ineligible for WIAA play.
However, when Kaul turned 18 during the off-season, she was no longer eligible for club soccer, giving her a chance to play for the Rockets. After WIAA officials confirmed her eligibility, she decided to join the
team and got in one practice last Friday before her first game, Pozo said.
Kaul wasted no time making a favorable impression in her season debut, scoring a total of three goals and assisting on seven others in Saturday’s games.
Fueled by Kaul’s playmaking ability, Cedar Grove-Belgium rolled past Living Word Lutheran, 4-1, and then handled Lomira, 5-0, and Oakfield/North Fond du Lac, 6-1.
Kaul was playing her first WIAA soccer since her freshman year at Ozaukee High School, from which she transferred to Cedar Grove-Belgium last year. She used her ball-handling, passing and shooting ability to elevate the Rockets’ attack.
“We have been struggling with injuries and not finishing on our shots, but having Hannah changes everything,” Pozo said.
“The way she controls things out there, it’s like having another coach on the field. The girls are just so excited to have her on the team.”
Cedar Grove-Belgium, which improved to 7-4-2, got off to a good start Saturday.
After Kaul scored the first goal, she set up goals by Rachel Slotman and Brianna Weyker with corner kicks to give the Rockets a 3-0 lead at halftime. Mariah Keller added a second-period goal, assisted by Weyker.
Against Lomira, the Rockets got a pair of goals from Liz Pritzl and one each from Kaul, Keller and Erika Kirst. Kaul had two assists, and Slotman had one.
Keller and Kaslin Ebbers led the assault against Oakfield/North Fond du Lac with two goals apiece, and Kaul and Caitlin Hausner had one each. Kaul had three assists, and Kirst added one.
“The girls played really well,” Pozo said. “Hannah wasn’t doing all the scoring, but she set up a lot of our other players for shots. She’s very unselfish.”
Cedar Grove-Belgium played Saturday without Taylor Ansay, who was injured, and Halie Schieffer and Alex Buechler, who were missing due to other commitments.
The nonconference victories extended the Rockets’ winning streak to five games as they returned to Central Lakeshore play this week. After facing Elkhart Lake on Tuesday, they will play 6 p.m. home games
against Howards Grove on Thursday and Sheboygan Lutheran/Kohler on May 11.
CG-Belgium 1, Sheboygan Christian 0
A goal by Schieffer in the 51st minute gave the Rockets a road win that evened their CLC record at 3-3 on April 29.
Schieffer, a freshman forward, scored off a free kick by Ashley DeSmidt.
“We played really well, but were a bit short-handed,” said Pozo, who noted Ansay and Keller were both sidelined with injuries.
CG-Belgium 2, Manitowoc Roncalli 1 (2 OT)
A breakaway score by Schieffer 30 seconds into the second overtime allowed the host Rockets to avoid an upset in a nonconference game April 27.
Just 30 seconds into the extra period, Schieffer scored on a breakaway, with an assist from Hausner.
Hausner, a freshman, had an unassisted goal in the 25th minute to give Cedar Grove-Belgium a 1-0 lead.
Roncalli battled back to tie the game in the 70th minute. The score remained deadlocked for the next 20 minutes.
The Rockets finished with a 28-13 advantage in shots. |
|
|
News
|
|
Written by Steve Ostermann
|
|
Wednesday, 05 May 2010 17:38 |
Grafton bats silenced by Germantown pitcher as win streak ends at five
A determined effort wasn’t enough for the Grafton High School softball team to continue its winning ways in North Shore Conference play last week.
After posting three straight shutouts, the host Black Hawks saw their five-game victory streak snapped with a 4-1 loss to Germantown on April 29.
Although Grafton hung tough against one of the league’s top teams, it had trouble finishing on offense.
Starting pitcher Hannah Klebesadel held the Black Hawks to five hits, struck out 12 batters and walked only three. The only run she allowed scored on a groundout in the sixth inning.
“Germantown came in undefeated in the conference, but I didn’t think they would be able to hold us to one run,” Grafton coach Stu Hannam said.
“Their pitcher was just outstanding. We had runners in scoring position in six innings, but she got outs when she had to.”
The Warhawks scored single runs in the first and third innings and added two in the fourth to build a 4-0 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, Casey Assmann started a Grafton rally with a single and moved to second base on a walk to Lizzie Brady.
After both runners moved up on a wild pitch, Assmann scored on a groundout by Sara Fischer. But Klebesadel retired the next two batters without further damage.
Amber Tanski and Assmann each had two hits for Grafton, as did Kelsey Griebling and Kelsey Smith for Germantown.
Aly Bartel took the loss despite pitching a complete game. She struck out six and walked just one.
The loss dropped the Black Hawks to 4-2 in NSC play and 6-5 overall. Germantown improved to 6-0 in the conference.
Homestead 10, Port Washington 0 (5 inn.)
The Pirates managed only one hit in a North Shore Conference loss April 29.
Homestead, the league title favorite, jumped in front quickly by scoring three times in the bottom of the first inning. The Highlanders added runs in each of the next frames to win the game on the 10-run rule.
Mikayla Hilton had Port’s lone hit, a single in the fourth.
“Homestead is the cream of the crop this year in the conference,” Port coach Steve Schmidt said. “They’re very well-coached and have great athletes.”
Britt Schlaeger and Ciena Mitman led the Highlanders’ 13-hit attack with three hits apiece. Schlaeger’s hits included a leadoff homer in the bottom of the first and a triple.
Grafton 12, Milwaukee Lutheran 0 (5 inn.)
The Hawks did all their scoring in the first three innings on the way to an easy conference home win on the 10-run rule April 27.
Grafton scored three runs in the first, four in the second and five in the third, with the latter flurry highlighted by Kaitlyn Brandenburg’s grand-slam homer.
The Hawks finished with seven hits and were helped by four Lutheran errors.
Tanski and Brandenburg each had two hits. Tanski scored three runs, and Brandenburg drove in four.
Port Washington 8, Cedarburg 6
The Pirates built an 8-1 lead after three innings and held on for a conference home win April 27.
In the first, Port sent 10 batters to the plate and scored five times. Ali Bichler had a two-run double during the rally, and Erica Verhagen had a run-scoring triple.
Hilton hit a solo homer in the second.
Cedarburg made it close by scoring two runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth.
Bichler pitched the first six innings for the win.
The Pirates were led offensively by two-hit efforts from Celia Van Pietersom, Verhagen and Bichler.
This week, Port and Grafton were scheduled to meet Tuesday.
The Pirates will play home games Thursday against Germantown and Friday against Nicolet and a road game against Whitefish Bay on May 11.
Grafton’s next games will be at home Friday against Cedarburg and May 11 at Nicolet.
All games start at 4:15 p.m.
PORT WASHINGTON’S Ali Bichler slid home safely ahead of a throw to the catcher in her team’s 8-6 win over Cedarburg in a North Shore Conference game last week. Bichler also pitched the first six innings for the victory. Photo by Sam Arendt |
|
|
News
|
|
Written by Steve Ostermann
|
|
Wednesday, 05 May 2010 17:35 |
Team has winning streak snapped but sharpens its game in tough tournament
If you’re going to have a winning streak snapped, it might as well be against top-notch opposition.
The Grafton girls’ soccer team was reminded just how tough the state’s elite can be when it had to settle for a seventh-place finish at the Laura Moynihan Invitational last weekend.
Coach Don Arnold’s squad took a four-game victory streak into the eight-team tournament at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee but was rudely handled in its first two games.
The Black Hawks fell to Brookfield East, 7-2, in Friday’s opening round and to Neenah, 4-1, in Saturday’s consolation semifinals before finishing on an up note.
In the seventh-place final, Grafton defeated Nicolet, 5-2, just four days after edging the same foe in a North Shore Conference match.
“We were outplayed in the first two games, but we definitely looked forward to the challenge of facing tough teams,” said Arnold, whose team finished the tournament with an 8-3-2 season record.
“It’s one of the toughest tournaments in the state, but if we could go back and play in it again this weekend, we would.”
Brookfield East and Neenah are both among the state’s top Division 1 teams, with East ranked fifth and Neenah receiving honorable mention in last week’s coaches poll. Grafton was ranked third in Division 2.
East threatened to turn Friday’s game into a rout by scoring three goals in the first 15 minutes. However, the Hawks fought back when Hannah Eichler scored with an assist from Angie Mann in the 22nd minute.
After Gabi Kuester found the net with an assist from Alli Demerath in the 38th minute, Grafton went into halftime trailing by only 3-2.
But the Spartans ended the suspense by dominating the second half. They scored in the 53rd, 54th and 56th minutes and tacked on their final goal with 10 minutes left.
“To our girls’ credit, they continued to fight,” Arnold said. “It was good to see them battle back in the first half and make a game of it.”
East finished with a 14-6 edge in shots.
It was more of the same for the Hawks against Neenah, which jumped ahead, 2-0, with goals in the sixth and eighth minutes.
Early in the second half, Eichler cut the deficit in half by scoring off a long shot by Hannah Knauer.
Grafton continued to press its attack, narrowly missing on two attempts, including a shot off the post by Eichler. However, the Rockets countered with goals in the 67th and 69th minutes.
“We did create a number of scoring opportunities, but we weren’t able to finish them,” Arnold said.
Grafton got back on track early in its final game. Eichler and Emma Fatla scored in the 12th and 13th minutes to put the Hawks up, 2-0, with both goals assisted by Alyssa Arnold.
After Nicolet scored, Carley Pfannerstill made it 3-1 with a goal in the 31st minute, also assisted by Arnold.
In the second half, Pfannerstill set up goals by Tess Safstrom and Eichler.
Grafton resumed North Shore Conference play Tuesday against Whitefish Bay and will participate in the Pewaukee Cup, a four-team tournament, this weekend.
The Hawks will face Kenosha St. Joseph at 4:30 p.m. Friday. Pewaukee and Jefferson will meet in the other semifinal game.
First-round losers will play at 9 a.m. Saturday, followed by the title game at 11 a.m.
On May 11, Grafton will host Milwaukee Lutheran at 7 p.m.
Grafton 3, Nicolet 2
The Hawks overcame a sluggish performance to secure a home win April 27.
Pfannerstill scored off an assist from Eichler early in the first half, but Nicolet tied the game in the 20th minute.
Eichler’s unassisted goal in the 49th minute gave Grafton a 2-1 lead, but the Knights again came up with a tying score.
Safstrom delivered the winner with an assist from Kuester in the 78th minute.
The win improved the Hawks’ league record to 2-0-1.
Whitefish Bay 9, Port Washington 0
The host Pirates couldn’t keep pace with the North Shore Conference’s first-place team April 27.
Bay scored six first-half goals and outshot Port, 23-1. Abby Starker had three goals for the Blue Dukes, who improved to 3-0.
Goalkeeper Alexa Pallo had 12 saves for the Pirates, who fell to 0-3 in NSC play and 0-5 overall.
This week, Port faced Milwaukee Lutheran on Tuesday and will play nonconference road games at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday against Brown Deer and 6:30 p.m. Friday against Whitnall.
On May 11, the Pirates will host Cedarburg at 7 p.m. |
|
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 Next > End >>
|
|
Page 154 of 179 |
