Rocket soccer starts season on right foot

The best player from last year’s Cedar Grove-Belgium’s boys’ soccer team is back, and Caleb Heinen and the rest of the Rockets are already much improved.

Cedar Grove-Belgium won its first three games of the season ­— three more wins than the team had all of last year in going 0-11-2.

Second-year coach Kyle Schultz said the better record isn’t the only change from last season.

“There seemed like a different energy to the team. A lot more guys came more ready to play. Guys were doing stuff during offseason, which is always great to hear as a coach,” Schultz said.

As a result, Schultz said, he began coming out of his shell more as well with a year of experience with the program.

“This is what I want to do; this is where I want to go,” he said.

Heinen, who was chosen as the Rockets’ Offensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year last season, already equaled last year’s goals total of seven, and he has seven assists, six more than last year.

Aside from Heinen, senior Jesse Burg, a state qualifier in wrestling, is a scoring threat at center midfielder and right side midfielder. Senior Logan Navis is at center midfield but can play more of a striker, Schultz said.

Senior Parker Knight, who also excels in baseball and basketball, is moving to midfield after playing defense last year.

On the outside, Schultz said, senior Brendan Lambrecht “has stepped up a bunch,” and junior Evan Rammel “has filled in well.”

On defense, sophomore Grayson Prahl is “turning into a really good center back” after not playing much defense last year, Schultz said.

Junior Brett Williams can also play the position.

Junior Dominic Weber, last year’s keeper, was moved to starting left back. Junior Calin Bretz is on the right.

The keeper is freshman Landon Altheimer, “who is doing very well this year,” Schultz said.

The team’s strength is its cohesion.

“If one guy’s moving out of position, another guy’s filling in for him, and communication has been really good,” Schultz said.

The Rockets have 18 players, enough for a varsity team but not junior varsity. One of their rivals, Ozaukee, didn’t have enough players to field a team this season. The Rockets are playing Algoma on Tuesday, Sept. 20, the day they would have faced the Warriors.

Goals for the season include having a better record — “Obviously, we want to win more,” Schultz said — and being more competitive in the Big East Conference, which has the top two-ranked teams in Division 4 in Oostburg and Sheboygan Christian/Lutheran, according to a Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association poll.

“The goal is to stay in the game the whole time,” Schultz said.

The Rockets already did that last Thursday, losing to Sheboygan Christian/Lutheran, 7-0. Last season, they lost 11-0 to the Eagles.

“I was incredibly proud of our team. We kept them out of the back of the net for 20 minutes, and then were down 3-0 at half. Our keeper Landon Altheimer had a fantastic game and made some amazing saves. He even received some praise from Tony Schmitz, Christian/Lutheran’s keeper and a first team all-conference player last year, on his performance,” Schultz said.

“We met my own personal goal of staying in the game for 80 minutes. It  helps reassure myself that this team and the boys program are heading in the right direction.”

The Rockets are 3-1 after nonconference wins over Campbellsport, 6-1; Lomira, 4-2; and Merrill, 8-0.

After playing at Kewaunee on Tuesday, Sept. 6, the Rockets play at Oostburg on Thursday, Sept. 8, at Columbus on Saturday, Sept. 10, and they host Shoreland Lutheran on Tuesday, Sept. 13.