Port, Grafton earn soccer recognition

Earning soccer postseason honors in the North Shore Conference has often been a challenge given the quality of the league’s teams.

This year was no exception, with Whitefish Bay being ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation for multiple weeks in a United Soccer Coaches poll.

Port Washington still managed to land one member on the second team and Grafton had two honorable mentions.

Port senior midfielder Carson Roller being named as one of the top 22 players — 11 on each the first and second teams — in one of the toughest conferences in the country is an honor, coach Phil Nawrocki said.

“To be recognized by the teams who have that caliber of players is quite a compliment,” he said.

Roller was named one of the team’s captains through an application process similar to applying for a job.

“You had to write an essay and have an interview with me — kind of a life skill sort of thing,” Nawrocki said.

All seven applicants were asked to name two other captains beside themselves.

“All six kids said Carson first,” Nawrocki said.

“He was hands down the team’s pick for the first captain of our team. And from that point on, Carson did exactly what you’d expect a captain to be. He led by example, by motivational words and he had sympathy and empathy for everybody on the team. He carried the young kids and never wanted to come out despite being exhausted.”

Roller scored five goals and had seven assists on a team that went 3-6 in the 10-team conference, good for seventh place.

Nawrocki said he probably could have another five second assists — passes that led to assists.

“He was gone one game — in concussion protocol — it was blatant how much we needed him. You don’t know what you have until it’s gone,” Nawrocki said.

“He deserves that honor. In my opinion I believe he deserves more — but it’s a competitive conference.”

For Grafton, senior midfielder Bryce Jobe and junior defender Kolten Micoliczyk earned honorable mention.

Jobe was a captain.

“He was a real lead-by-example guy. His work ethic and effort were incredible,” coach Greg Springman said.

“He let his play dictate, and other players fed off his energy.”

Jobe scored two goals and had two assists.

As a center midfielder, “he was all over the place in there and was good at distributing the ball,” Springman said.

Like Roller, Jobe had a host of passes that led to assists.

“He wasn’t the biggest guy but he’s a wrestler and knew how to use his size to his advantage, using his body to the best of ability,” Springman said.

Micoliczyk was also a captain who Springman said showed leadership on and off the field.

“He was taking that initiative in the summer to get the team ready and prepared,” he said.

“He was constantly leading the team through warm-ups, encouraging the team.”

Tall and strong in the air, Micoliczyk “won pretty much every ball for us on corner kicks and goal kicks,” Springman said.

“If we didn’t have him, we would have probably given up a lot more goals.”

Despite playing defense, Micoliczyk led the team in scoring with six goals and two assists.

The Black Hawks were winless in the NSC until the final week of the regular season when they knocked off West Bend West and East. They finished eighth in the league at 2-6-1.

Then, the Hawks won three playoff games, including a 2-1 victory over Port, and advanced to the sectional final where they lost, 1-0, to eventual state runner-up Delavan-Darien.