Rockets soccer takes silver

It wasn’t the color they were looking for, but Cedar Grove-Belgium High School’s soccer players still came home with medals around their necks – along with bumps, bruises and aches on their bodies – from a physically brutal Division 4 state soccer final at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee on Saturday.

It was the first time a Cedar Grove-Belgium team qualified for the state tournament, but that didn’t immediately take the sting out of losing a heartbreaking battle.

Kenosha St. Joseph scored the game-winning goal in the final two minutes.

“It was just a team effort. I’m so proud of everything they’ve done. They left it all out there,” coach Elias Garza said.

“In my eyes, both teams won today.”

Tied at 1-1, the Lancers played much of the last few minutes of the game on the Rockets’ side and kept the pressure on.

The Rockets kept turning away scoring threats until Lancer Katherine Hamm got around the right side of the defense and approached the goal. Rocket goalkeeper Brooke Braga made a diving save to her left to stop the shot, but the ball bounced back to Lancer Grace Pechous right in front of the net. She put in the rebound with 1 minute, 47 seconds left to play.

“I got that first save, and I couldn’t get back quick enough. My defense wasn’t there. It was just lucky. Nothing you can do about that,” Braga said.

A frantic Rockets’ rally fell short, and the team had to settle for the silver ball.

The game had a similar start to the Rockets’ semifinal contest on Friday, only flipped. After scoring in the first 97 seconds a day earlier, this time the Lancers scored at the 5:40 mark.

Margaret Del Fava headed in a corner kick by Elizabeth Alia.

“We were a bit flat-footed in the box, which allowed one of their players to make a clean run in to head it home for a 1-0 lead,” Garza said.

“Set pieces was something we had addressed on multiple occasions, but that was a good corner by Kenosha St. Joseph.”

The Lancers stayed aggressive and held a 1-0 lead at halftime.

“We told the girls to remain calm. There’s plenty of time to pull one back,” Garza said.

Not long after halftime, the Rockets’ two senior co-captains got them back in the game.

Lancer goalkeeper Elliana Mandli tried to kick the ball up the middle of the field, but it hit Jessica Rose, who tried to dribble past her. The two battled for possession and the ball ended up squirting over to Brittany Teunissen, who had nothing but net in front of her since the keeper was out of position at that point.

Teunissen calmly booted the ball into the net for one of the easiest goals of her career at the 60:52 mark.

“I saw Jessica taking it up so I knew I had to follow her. I originally thought I was going to make a wide run left. Then Jessica got caught up and the ball was just there, so I quickly ran up to keep the high pressure we wanted to have,” she said.

“Then I saw the net was wide open and I think time just kind of like, stopped. I placed my feet and I passed it into the back.”

Less than two minutes later, Teunissen’s high school soccer career came to an end.

At the 62:44 mark, Teunissen left with a concussion after hitting her head on the ground. She said a Lancer hooked her arm and slammed her to the ground.

Teunissen said she wished the officials would have kept better control of the game.

“Honestly, I think it’s kind of ridiculous that they weren’t calling more. They were throwing things left and right, and they weren’t getting called. I’m kind of upset about it, but it is what it is,” she said.

The Rockets knew they were in for a physical battle after watching the Lancers’ semifinal game on Friday. It was a style of play they rarely see.

“We encouraged the girls to make sure that they stayed composed, that they did not retaliate because we could not afford any cards, any fouls, any set pieces being called against us,” Garza said.

“I thought these girls played in a very respectful manner.”

The Lancers had 20 fouls — including two yellow cards — to the Rockets’ two.

“We expect control during a match and for our girls to be protected. I feel strongly that they were not provided these inherent rights. The integrity of the game was not valued for which the art of this beautiful game was compromised,” Garza said.

Besides Teunissen’s injury, sophomore midfielder Kelsey Lukens missed part of the game with a bloody nose.

Sophomore midfielder Abby Kraus said it was “one of the most physical games I’ve ever played in. You just knew that you had to stand your ground and not retaliate and keep going. We did that and that’s how we tied it.”

Rose, the team’s other senior co-captain, said the style of play was an adjustment.

“In general, we’re not really a physical team. We’re all super nice. It’s really different coming in to play a team like this,” she said.

Both teams had to battle sticky weather — it was 85 degrees with 54% humidity and a dew point of 54 at the start — causing the WIAA to schedule one water break per half.

By the second half, clouds covered the sun and a small breeze came in. Garza was wishing for more of a scorcher.

“I was a little disappointed when it became a little more overcast and it wasn’t as hot. We wanted hot weather. We had seen the day prior they didn’t go deep into their bench. I knew we’d have to sub more frequently, but we had more depth,” he said.

Kraus said the quality play of the Rockets’ bench was a key to staying in the game.

“I give a lot of credit especially to underclassmen. They get minutes, but they don’t start, and they helped a lot today,” she said.

Shots were nearly even for the game, with the Lancers having an 11-10 edge. They had a 6-3 advantage in shots on goal.

Regardless of the heartbreaking result, the Rockets had already made history by being the first girls’ team to qualify for state. Now, they are the first to come home with hardware. The best season in the girls’ program history ended with a 16-2-1 record.

“It was such a team effort for these girls to have made it to the championship and be able to bring home a silver ball,” Garza said.