Grafton, Port receive NSC soccer recognition

By MITCH MAERSCH

Ozaukee Press staff

The Port Washington and Grafton high school boys’ soccer teams didn’t have the seasons they sought when it came to wins and losses, but both had players pick up North Shore Conference honors.

Grafton forward Cayden Sumner, midfielder Luke Jackson and defender Lukas Hensel were named to the NSC second team, and keeper Charlie Rose received honorable mention.

For Port, midfielder Porter Bostwick and forward Wesley Hoag got honorable mention.

Sumner, a junior, led the Hawks in goals “by a landslide” with 16, coach Jason Rodgers said.

“He really took a massive leap this year scoring wise. Putting him into that forward position rather than the wing last year really helped with that,” he said.

Sumner also had three assists.

Rodgers said fighting for playing time during club season perhaps “made him a little more hungry.”

Sumner’s appetite was evident early with three goals in his first game.

“He came out firing. That kind of set the tone for what the season entailed for him,” Rodgers said.

After doing player evaluations at the end of the season, Rodgers said, the coaching staff would like to see Sumner’s numbers grow next season.

“We set some lofty goals for him for next year,” Rodgers said.

Sophomore Luke Jackson had two goals and five assists, but those don’t tell the entire story of his contributions to the team.

“I think he drew three or four penalty kicks for us,” Rodgers said. “Those don’t go down on a stat line but that’s three or four more goals he could have had.”

Jackson started the year at forward and later found a home at wing back.

“He has the ability to attack players down the left side,” Rodgers said.

“If he can work on his right foot, the sky’s the limit.”

The defense was led by center back and team co-captain Hensel, who kept everyone organized while playing well himself.

“Lukas had an absolutely phenomenal year, and I’m glad to see other coaches took note of that,” Rodgers said.

“He progressively got better with duals and aerial duals throughout the season.”

Hensel sought to improve his leadership role in four years.

“He’d ask me questions — how to organize — just trying to learn. That’s the exact thing you want to see from a leader,” Rodgers said.

Hensel also scored two goals and had two assists.

“Anytime you can get goals from your center back, you’ll take it,” Rodgers said.

Rose, the team’s other captain, earned NSC honors for the second straight season after being named to the second team last year.

His 84.5% save percentage was similar to last year’s number, Rodgers said.

Rose played football during his freshman season before joining the soccer program. Rodgers said it’s impressive “to come in as a sophomore and finish his career on the second team as a junior and honorable mention as a senior.”

Rose was kept busy in the highly competitive conference. Rodgers said it’s impressive “when you’re seeing eight or nine shots a game to be able to keep out the vast majority.”

Rose and Hensel worked well together to maintain solid last lines of defense.

“I’m not sure what our defense would have looked like without those two this year,” Rodgers said.

The Hawks’ recognition is an even greater accomplishment, Rodgers said, since the Black Hawks finished sixth in the conference the past two seasons.

“Coaches noticed their ability despite our record — credit to those kids,” he said.

The Hawks finished 4-5 in the NSC and 6-9 overall. One of the season’s highlights was keeping the Timm Snider Memorial Trophy by beating Port Washington, 4-1, on Oct. 4.

Port senior center midfielder Bostwick served as the Pirates’ spark plug all season long.

“He led the charge into the games and just held the middle together,” coach Tyler Schultz said.

“He was pretty much an all-over player. He’d be up top, he’d be in the back. He’s a workhorse.”

It didn’t matter what the score was, he said.

“Even though we were down, he was still pushing,” Schultz said.

Bostwick ended with seven goals and five assists.

He was also a team captain.

“He was very energetic, very strong worded sometimes,” Schultz said. “The team pretty much stood behind him.”

Hoag, a junior forward, netted four goals and three assists and has some similarities to Bostwick.

“He was another workhorse up top. Just nonstop running,” Schultz said. “He’d press to the back line. He’d make (opponents) make mistakes and we would capitalize on them.”

Hoag and Bostwick, he said, were two of the Pirates’ most prominent offensive threats.

Hoag also served as a leader.

“Some of the younger guys were looking up to him to see his play — how does Wesley work — and they tried to match his energy level,” Schultz said.

Hoag will enter next season with a bigger role.

“He’s gonna be a captain next year so we’re looking to have him take charge and lead on things,” Schultz said.

The Pirates finished 5-16-1 overall. They were 1-8 and ninth of 10 teams in the NSC.