Shorthanded RLO’s state soccer run cut short

The Random Lake/Ozaukee high school girls’ soccer team made a habit of overcoming adversity this season.

What they faced in last Friday’s Division 4 state semifinal at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee was just too much.

Defending state champion Xavier, which beat RLO 2-0 for the title last season, won 4-0 in a dominant performance for multiple reasons.

RLO came in missing co-captain Mya Schroeder, who led the state with 52 goals through the sectional final, and starting defender Addison Kurlinski. Both were playing in a club tournament out of state.

They had already been missing all-conference defender and co-captain Chloe Dybul for most of the season due to a knee injury, and all-conference forward/midfielder and co-captain Reese Prom hadn’t come back from a knee injury sustained in May 2025.

In the 17th minute, center attacking midfielder and senior co-captain Faith Wilson collided with a player and went down with a leg injury. She didn’t return.

“We love Faith. She’s a big part of our team. So that was hard,” senior Savannah Quade said.

“We knew it was going to be tough and we knew we’d have to adjust,” senior Mia Evraets said. “When Faith got hurt I think we kind of all put our heads down a little bit and lost a little bit of our momentum. But I think we finished as hard as we could.”

That was already a challenge,” coach Matt Wilson, Faith’s father, said of the missing players. “Then when we lost Faith out of the middle, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it wasn’t good.”

That left RLO’s second-leading scorer Lexi Gruman (13 goals), third-leading scorer Lexi Wilson (10), Faith’s younger sister, and fourth-leading scorer Evraets (seven) as RLO’s leading offensive options. Faith Wilson also scored seven goals on the season.

Xavier, which came into the game 22-1, took full advantage. RLO didn’t get off a shot or have a corner kick. The Hawks dominated possession for the entire game.

Lexi Wilson’s usual dashes down the left side to create scoring chances weren’t there, and Gruman was smothered.

“They just kind of knew exactly where to cut us off,” coach Wilson said.

“We kind of had to stiffen up the defense to hopefully slow them down. That just takes away from our offense. We couldn’t bring our defensive-mids to support the rest of them.”

In addition, defensive starter Abby Depies tweaked her knee the night before and played through pain.

RLO’s defense, under pressure most of the game, held up as well as it could.

Helayna Krueger scored her first of three goals in the ninth minute, sneaking the ball past a diving Bianca Marini.

RLO kept the score 1-0 almost until halftime.

The Hawks missed a penalty kick in the 32nd minute and RLO nearly got to halftime down a goal.

Krueger scored in the 39th minute when she took a pass on the run down the right side from Khloe Standish and fired past a diving Marini.

Krueger scored her third on a hard shot from 15 yards out in the 68th minute. Kayla Standish closed the scoring on a corner kick that sailed into the net in the 71st minute.

Krueger ended up scoring 53 goals on the season, most in the state.

Xavier had 23 shots and eight corner kicks.

Marini, a sophomore in her first year as starting keeper, made nine saves.

“I thought the back line played excellent,” Wilson said. “Bianca had some amazing saves. She has come so far this season. This is such a great building block for her, and the returning defensive players.”

Marini knew Xavier would be a challenge.

“Faith going down with 10 minutes in is super unfortunate. We came in here knowing we were going to be shorthanded. We had a great mindset. I feel like we kept playing the whole time,” she said.

“All the seniors are playing for their last game. I feel like they played with their whole heart and it was amazing to see. And it also showed all the younger girls on my team, including myself. It all goes by so fast so give it everything you can.”

RLO did just that, its coach said.

“They emptied the tank. They knew they would have to just to keep up. So proud of them. So proud of them,” Wilson said.

Still, Wilson is left with what could have been.

“A game like this, not having Kurlinksi and Mya, you sit back and think what if. Always left wondering,” he said.

Another banner year for the co-op

RLO, in only its third year as a co-op and second under Wilson, advanced to state for the second straight season.

RLO finished 7-0-1 in the Big East Conference, wrestling the league title away from Cedar Grove-Belgium after the Rockets won six straight.

RLO won its third straight regional title and finished 18-4-1 overall.

The team of former rivals turned into teammates who have become close friends.

“It’s fun, doing all the preparation, getting to spend extra time with the girls. It was a great season,” senior Emily Luza said.

“It shows that our hard work has paid off over time and we can continue to work hard and we’ll get here again next year,” Lexi Wilson said.

“It’s a great run,” Marini said. “I love doing it with these people.”

“Despite all of the adversity these girls had to face this season, they stuck together, never quit and just kept pushing forward with everything they had,” coach Wilson said.

“The girls worked hard. That’s what I love the most about these girls, their attitude. They come in willing to work and they understand the sky’s the limit if they’re willing to work. They showed it again.”

RLO, which plays and practices on grass, got help from the Rockets for the second straight season. Cedar Grove-Belgium allowed RLO to practice on their turf field late in the postseason. The sectional final at Kohler and state games are played on turf.

“I would like a special shout out to Cedar Grove-Belgium School District and the Garza family for allowing us to use their turf field again in preparation for the sectional final match and the whole week leading up to our trip to state. That’s gold, and I and the RLO soccer program will be forever thankful for their assistance,” Wilson said.

Xavier last Saturday lost the title game, 5-0, to the Prairie School.

RLO loses seniors Prom, Brody, Quade, Luza, Evraets, Dybul, Faith Wilson, Alyssa Urness and Kalena Kurylowicz-Millws but returns a talented group.

“We’ve got some good core players to keep building off of,” coach Wilson said.