Port soccer gets busy under new coach

It has been a fast introduction to this year’s spring soccer season for new coach Kyle Quintell and the Port Washington High School girls’ team.

The Pirates played four games in five days last week and are 2-2.

“It definitely challenged our fitness level,” Quintell said, adding the busy schedule also allowed him to juggle his lineup and see how players do in different positions.

In the opener on May 4, Port nearly upset Cedarburg on the road before a furious Bulldog rally secured a 3-2 win.

Port scored within the first 10 minutes of the game on a well-placed free kick by Sophia Bostwick that Meghan Zwicker headed into the goal.

“I think that gave Cedarburg a little bit of a shock,” Quintell said.

Early in the second half, Bethany McKinney scored on a penalty kick to make it 2-0.

Around the 70th-minute mark, the Bulldogs woke up.

“We started to get a little tired. Things kind of went their way. They got a couple of through balls,” Quintell said.

Cedarburg tied the game and scored the winner in the 86th minute, just four minutes from a draw.

“It was a heartbreaker,” Quintell said.

Port goal keeper Kayla Johnson made about 15 saves, he said.

Last Thursday, the Pirates got their first win, 3-1, over West Bend East in rainy conditions.

The Suns scored early but Port got the equalizer by halftime.

Freshman Carolyn Lippe scored two goals and freshman Lainey Holmes had one. Tess Schueller had three assists.

Johnson made a handful of saves.

“We kind of just didn’t finish for a while. It took us a little while to find the back of the net,” Quintell said.

The Pirates went 1-1 in a Kewaskum tournament on Saturday. They beat Kiel, 6-3, before losing to Kewaskum, 3-1.

Against Kiel, Schueller had two goals and two assists. Elise Karrels hit an upper-90 shot outside of the 18-yard mark, McKinney scored inside the box, and Kelly Fischer and Holmes each had a goal.

Allison Schueller, Tess’ younger sister, assisted her sibling on one goal.

Against Kewaskum Fischer, while pressuring the back line, stole the ball early and placed a left-footed shot in the net.

It was 1-1 at the break. In the second half, Port got tired, Quintell said.

Quintell, who graduated from Marian University in spring, is the director of coaching for the Port Washington Soccer Club and has been an assistant coach in college and high school, is happy with his team so far.

Scoring, he said, will come from Tess Schueller, who will be the target of opponents’ game plans.

Zwicker will contribute as well, and Lippe has been impressive.

“She’s super athletic. When she’s one-on-one with someone running next to her, I would say nine times out of 10 she’s going to outrun her,” he said.

Holmes may also score from the right wing, Quintell said.

On defense, team captain Lily Clark excels in communication and is playing center back. Junior Ella Mueller at right back is “one of the hardest-working players I’ve ever coached,” Quintell said.

McKinney may play some defensive center midfield and can play in the back. Karrels will also play center back and junior Shannon McConahy will play right back.

The team, Quintell said, has bought into his program and style of play. He runs a 4-2-3-1 formation and employs a modern European style common in the English Premier League. It’s a defensive-minded strategy that has the wings and outside back come up and press.
“We look to win the ball in their defensive third and punish them right away,” Quintell said, “and not let anything go through the middle.”
Two objectives this season are to win a regional championship — Port lost to Grafton, 1-0, in 2019 for the regional title ­— and to finish in the upper half of the North Shore Conference after going 3-5-1 in 2019.
Port was to host Grafton on Tuesday and play at Homestead at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 18.