Sauk Prairie soccer splits a pair

Sauk Prairie’s girls soccer team split its first two games of the season. The Eagles rolled past Lodi, 10-1, on April 4. Sauk Prairie then fell to defending WIAA Division 2 state champion Whitefish Bay, 3-0, last Saturday. Here’s a recap of the Eagles’ first two games. Sauk Prairie 10, Lodi 1 — Junior midfielder McKenna Breunig and senior midfielder McKayla Paukner both scored four goals to power the Eagles to a comfortable win in their season-opener. Junior defender Greta Shadewald and sophomore defender Leah Allen also had goals for Sauk Prairie. “This was a great first showing for our team,” Sauk Prairie coach Drew Kornish said. “We were coming off spring break and a really strange week in which we only met as a team once prior to the Thursday game.  “Lodi is a good team that builds well into the season, and their coaching staff does a great job. Last season they were state qualifiers and are ranked in the top-10 for Division 4 again this season. “Our side was able to come out and really dominate possession making it difficult for Lodi to get their game up and running. Overall a really good showing against a team that will have a season that should last well into June.” • Whitefish Bay 3, Sauk Prairie 0 — The Blue Dukes have been in four straight Division 2 state championship games — winning three titles and finishing second the other season. So despite the loss, Sauk Prairie felt good about how it played against the perennial power. “We always like to play the top teams in the state each year to grow as a program, and no team better defines the “top team in state” quite like Whitefish Bay,” Kornish said. “We have developed a pretty good understanding of this team over the past three years. Even though the scoreline did not go our way, we understand that in order to grow from these opportunities, we need to take positives from these games as well as learning from our negatives.” Kornish and the Eagles certainly left with several positives. “We were really pleased with the few chances we were able to make,” he said. “We hit the post shortly after they scored their opening goal and created a few chances with really good looks at goal in the second half.  “Another thing we were pleased with was our ability to battle. We stayed physical with them for the full 80 minutes, which can be a big task against a team like that. We learn and move forward, though, as our schedule and season does not lighten up anytime soon.” • On deck: Sauk Prairie was at Stoughton Tuesday, then travels to Madison Memorial Thursday at 7 p.m.