Eagles edged by mighty Oregon

OREGON — At this time of year, it’s win or go home. Sauk Prairie’s girls soccer team knew that, and the Eagles also knew the odds weren’t in their favor during their WIAA Division 2 sectional semifinal game against Oregon on June 6. That reality was hard to avoid.  The Panthers came in as the top seed and the No. 1 ranked team in D2 according to the Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association. That also meant all of the pressure was also on Oregon, and fourth-seeded Sauk Prairie was hoping the glass slipper fit. And it almost did. Time after time, Eagles goalkeeper Erelyn Apel turned Oregon away — including a dozen shots on goal in the first half alone. Apel let one shot get by her, though, on a free kick from just outside the top of the box in the 47th minute. And it turned out that’s all the Panthers needed, as they stymied Sauk Prairie the rest of the way to cling to a 1-0 victory and a berth in the sectional finals. Two days later, Oregon defeated Westosha Central, 2-0, and earned a trip to this weekend’s state tournament. The Eagles, who the Badger Small Conference championship, finished their terrific season with a 12-4-2 record. “We talked about the only way we’re going to have regrets tonight is if we leave anything out there,” Sauk Prairie coach Drew Kornish said of being the underdog. “And I can promise you there was nothing left out there at all. So I can’t ask for any more.” That one goal for Oregon (15-1-1) came as a result of a penalty just outside the box with 47 minutes, 38 seconds gone by. The Panthers had two girls in position to take the free kick, and when the first one faked like she would be the one and instead continued into the box, freshman Kylie Steel followed behind and bent a left-footed boot around the Eagles’ defensive wall and into the left corner of the net. Asked what she saw from her perspective, Apel said: “Literally nothing. I literally saw it when it was crossing (by me). It did go around the wall, but I also had two of my defenders right there, basically blocking my vision. It was perfect for them, for sure.” After all of the shots on goal Oregon mustered over the first 47 minutes, one finally found the net. “For us to go out on a set piece — Oregon’s an unbelievable team, one of the top five teams in the state regardless of division — we’ve got a lot to be proud of,” Kornish said. It took a bit for Oregon to start generating strong attacks as both teams felt each other out a bit, but once the Panthers got going they didn’t relent. Apel’s first big save came when she went to the ground to prevent an open look in the box in the 11th minute. Then in the 13th minute Katelyn Studebacker was able to get a clean look from the top of the box — despite three defenders swarming her — that went right into Apel’s arms. And in fact most of Oregon’s good chances were stopped by Apel with relatively little drama. Kornish said that’s a credit to Apel, not just dumb luck. “One of the things that she does so well is her positioning,” Kornish said of Apel. “A lot of those shots that they took ended up looking like they were right at her, but that’s because she gets herself in the right spot. She does the work prior to needing to make the big diving save.” Added Apel: “It’s all about seeing everything and thinking about the next thing that could happen. Constant changing and switching and flowing with the game.” Despite Apel’s ability to limit the damage, the Eagles couldn’t take advantage on the scoreboard. They had a strategy, it just wasn’t bearing fruit. “We knew we were going to have to try to and counter (their attack),” Kornish said of hoping his team could bleed out from one of Oregon’s strong attacks and get numbers going the other way. “We had the space in back to do so. We were very specific with what we wanted to do, we worked on it all week and I think the girls executed it to perfection.” The execution was, indeed, good. But the results were not. Still, the Eagles continued pressing. And in the 65th minute, they pulled Apel from goalkeeper to the field and put Greta Shadewald in as goalkeeper. “It was something we had discussed early in the game. Erelyn is an incredible athlete. We can put her anywhere on the field,” Kornish said. “We thought maybe at that point her fresh legs, that little spark, might be able to ignite something for us. “And we’re confident with Greta back there, too. She wasn’t going to shy away from the ball any.” Shadewald faced a handful of shots on goal and stopped them all, keeping the deficit at one. “We trained her for goalie last year when I got injured,” Apel said of Shadewald’s effort against Oregon. “She did good.” And Sauk Prairie nearly capitalized on Shadewald holding serve. Late in the 77th minute, McKenna Breunig uncorked a left-footed shot from 40 yards away that seemed destined to be a highlight reel goal only to be redirected just over the crossbar by the fully extended arms of goalkeeper Reese McCabe. “That would have made it very interesting,” Kornish said. “But front to back, Oregon — including their goalkeeper — is who they are because of the players they have and doing the right thing. So give them all the credit.” On the ensuing corner kick, the ball went into the goalie box, but McCabe was able to corral it before anything wild happened. And that was the Eagles’ last chance, thus ending their season. It’s one that both Apel and Kornish will remember most for all the fun the team had. “Just the happiness and the overall comedic timing of everybody on the team,” Apel said. “We’re always laughing. We can lock in and focus for games, but it’s all about having fun and enjoying the game of soccer, both in practice and at games.” Kornish agreed. “This team is so much fun,” he said. “After we all had a little cry, it was all laughs. And that would have been the same if we won tonight or lost tonight, it doesn’t matter. The attitude of these players is always so positive. “They truly care about each other as a family. It’s awesome to be a part of.”   June 6 WIAA Division 2 sectional semifinal Oregon 1, Sauk Prairie 0 Oregon ................... 0 1 — 1 Sauk Prairie .......... 0 0 — 0   First half: No scoring. Second half: Kylie Steel, 47:38.