Soccer teams face arduous outsets

One of the biggest challenges for the Ozaukee High School boys’ soccer team came early in the season.

Big East opponent Kohler beat the Warriors, 5-0, last Thursday in Fredonia.

“Kohler was going to be one of our toughest match-ups. They really are a strong opponent,” Ozaukee coach Josh Wood said. “Fielding a full 18 players against a team with 12 is an uphill battle before the match even starts.”

But the Warriors hung in there.

“From the very start we were able to stay with them, holding off the first goal for 20 minutes,” Wood said. “We had a few good runs through the game but couldn’t materialize any of those with the exceptions of a few good shots.”

The score was 3-0 at halftime. Wood described his defense as a “stopgap.”

“While there are some positioning items we need to address, they did a fantastic job stemming the tide. Jon Brown again did a great job in goal with eight saves,” he said.

“Our entire backline did a great job preventing breakaways.  Between Owen (Klaus) and Tyler (Mueller), both cross country runners, and Michael (Higginbotham) and Mason (Norwood), we were able to cut off every run that came our way.”

The Warriors improved in the second half.

“While Kohler still got a few goals on us, I feel that our transitioning from defense to offense went more smoothly. It’s during these games that we can tweak and make adjustments and see the difference those things make,” Wood said.

“On the attacking front, we had several good opportunities, Chase Miller had a number of nice volleys that had the position shifted even a little would have ended in positive shots on goal.”

In going to 1-1, the Warriors got valuable experience.

“It’s these strong teams that we play against that really let us see where we need to work on, what we need to focus on for the next week,” Wood said.

Kohler had five different players score and went to 1-2-1 on the season.

The Warriors were to play at Sheboygan Falls (0-2-1) on Tuesday and at St. Mary Catholic (1-5) on Thursday. They host Sheboygan Christian/Lutheran (2-1-1) at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 16.

CG-Belgium starts out vs. tough opponents

One of the state’s top-ranked teams in Division 4 wasn’t the easiest way to kick off the season for the Cedar Grove-Belgium High School boys’ soccer team, and it’s about to get more challenging.

Sheboygan Christian/Lutheran (2-1-1) beat the Rockets, 11-0, last Thursday in Cedar Grove. It was 8-0 at halftime.

“They’re definitely very good. They’ve got some big guys on that team,” coach Kyle Schultz said.

His team hung in there as best as it could.

“They didn’t get their heads down. They took it on the chin and played through the entire game.”

He praised the play of forward Caleb Heinen and “I was pretty impressed with Brett Williams on defense,” Schultz said.

The Rockets nearly avoided the shutout.

“We had a two or three chances throughout the game,” Schultz said.

Sheboygan Christian/Lutheran is ranked No. 7 in Division 4 in the state, Schultz said.

On Thursday, the Rockets host No. 2-ranked Oostburg (4-0), which beat Sheboygan Christian/Lutheran in a Division 4 sectional last season.

“They knew and know what’s coming,” Schultz said of his team.

On Monday, Sept. 13, the Rockets play at Living Word Lutheran (1-2-1) and on Thursday, Sept. 16, play at Howards Grove (0-1).