Norskies end Eagles’ season

DEFOREST — In the midst of a rebuilding year, any thoughts of Sauk Prairie’s boys soccer team reaching the sectional tournament might have been considered a pipe dream. On a brisk and windy Halloween evening, though, that is exacting where the Eagles found themselves for the second year in a row. Unfortunately for the second-seeded Eagles, top-seeded and host DeForest proved to be a season-ending roadblock for the second consecutive season and third time in four years. Sophomore forward Antonio Anchondo scored a second-half goal and added two assists as DeForest ended Sauk Prairie’s season with a 3-0 victory in a WIAA Division 2 sectional semifinal on Oct. 31. “We learned a lot this year,” Sauk Prairie coach Drew Kornish said. “The challenge is to avoid this feeling. The wind played a huge factor. It was tough to play. But at the end of the day, both teams are playing in it. “We thought we had the advantage with the wind in the second half. But it didn’t work out that way. It looked like in the first half, playing into the wind, worked out better for us.”  Last year, the Norskies scored off a corner kick in the 95th minute to escape with a 1-0 victory, also in a sectional semifinal. Three years ago on the same field, the Eagles lost, 1-0, when the Norskies scored in the 99th minute in a regional final match. So much for the third time is a charm adage as DeForest continued its postseason hex over Sauk Prairie (9-11-2). “They are a very great team,” DeForest coach Matt Scharpf said of the Eagles. “They are well-coached. They always challenge us. Every year they seem to save one of their best games of the year for us.”  DeForest (18-3-3), ranked sixth in the final Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association Division 2 poll, advanced to the sectional championship match and defeated River Falls 5-0 to advance to the state tournament for the second year in a row. But the Eagles did their best to make the Norskies earn the right to survive and advance. “DeForest had a strong work ethic,” said forward Zinedine Herrera, the Eagles’ lone senior. “They had the ability to get numbers behind the ball and sit in comfortably. But right away once they get the ball, they’re able to counter and send balls through to the wingers and have their forwards press on the defenders every minute of the game.” While the teams tied, 2-2, in a non-conference match on Sept. 12, just like the last two postseason meetings, Sauk Prairie was unable to find the back of the net all evening. “They were really good in the first half and really challenged us,” Scharpf said of the Eagles. “They got us out of our game. But in the second half, we settled in and found our game and became more comfortable and were able to find the opportunities.” Kornish said the Eagles had few scoring opportunities during the match. So, it was crucial that they take advantage of them. However, a strong DeForest defense limited Sauk Prairie to two shots on goal, which freshman keeper Kolby Herschleb turned away. “I thought we did a good job of pressing their backs when they had their back to our goal,” Kornish said. “They were facing their own goal and we put high pressure on them, and they weren’t super confident playing out, and we were looking to exploit that.” Kornish said what impressed him the most about the Eagles’ play was their ability to stay together as a unit. “We had guys playing out of position today because of things we wanted to achieve,” he said. “I didn’t hear a guy complain. Guys who were starting all season didn’t play today just based off formation, and we had some injuries.”  Kornish said the Eagles need to focus on an important part of the game if they hope to take it to another level next season. “It’s a matter of experience, but we have to figure out ways to close games,” he said. “We have to find ways to finish.” The teams traded punches, but failed to score in the first half. That gave the Eagles some confidence heading into the break. “It was really just about trying to stay in the game, but also weighing in the factors of the wind,” Herrera said. “The wind had a big impact on the game just in fact in the way the wind was facing. “That gave them an advantage in the first half. We were trying to get a couple chances (to score) if we could but also try to defend perfectly and not let up a goal in the first half when the wind was against us. We were able to execute that in the first half.” Sauk Prairie junior defender Otis Andres said he liked the way the Eagles came out ready to play. “I feel like we ran into tackles harder and just had a better mentality. We were more aggressive, too,” Andres said. “Our best scoring opportunity was right away. We had a one-on-one with the keeper. That was a good opportunity.” Herrera agreed. “Their center back made a bad pass, and we were able to get close to it,” he said. “Angel (Ibarra) was lined up, but their No. 6 (Caleb Brandl), who was a quality defender, slid in for the tackle and was able to scoop it out.”  Kornish said despite playing into the wind in the first half, the Eagles had their opportunities to score. “The set piece we had towards the end of the first half. Cris (Quezada Godoy) played a great ball into Otis (Andres),” Kornish said. “We were able to beat them down the right side a few times in the first half to get the ball across. But we just couldn’t find it.” DeForest, though, finally broke through in the second half to take control. At the 49-minute, 43-second mark, junior forward Ty Ngo corralled a pass from Anchondo and fired it into the back of the net to stake the Norskies to a 1-0 lead. “It was a great ball through,” Kornish said. “They caught us on a little bit of a transition. We were coming out, trying to get a higher line. (Anchondo) split the two defenders, and the wing was just quicker to it.”  Scharpf said the goal calmed his team down once the ball found the back of the net. “Antonio cut across. He’s got a great left foot and great vision,” Scharpf said. “I told our players to stay wide and stretch the field. He just cut in and on his sweet left foot played a beautiful ball right across the back, and Ty (Ngo) was right there. He was in the right place at the right time and had a great finish.  “We’ve been talking about a through ball like that, and it was a great finish and a great ball.” But Sauk Prairie kept battling and stymied DeForest until Anchondo converted a pass from Brandl at 67:45 to extend the Norskies’ lead to 2-0. “That pretty much helped us settle in and see the game out,” Scharpf said. “Antonio is such a difference maker for us. He can create something out of nothing, passing, scoring himself.” DeForest ended the scoring when senior forward Jacob Tutaj found the back of the net off an assist from Anchondo with 34 seconds remaining in the match. With just one senior on the squad, Kornish said the Eagles have a bright future which begins immediately for his youthful squad that included 10 sophomores and two freshmen. “Zinedine paved the way. He’s been a four-year starter for us,” Kornish said of Herrera. “His work level, his dedication to the program, his leadership, his stewardship for this program has really shown this young team what it’s going to take going forward. “We’ve got the horses. We’ve got the guys to do it. This season was about exposure, and we absolutely did that with the schedule that we played to reach this level, to play this team. I’m really happy with the foundation that was laid this season.” Herrera agreed the best is yet to come for the Eagles. “It was a rebuilding year,” he admitted. “I saw that from the beginning of the season when I saw that I was the only senior. We had a couple of others who decided to play a different sport. Overall, it was just a young team.  “Our main corps is made of up juniors and sophomores and one freshman. I definitely see this as a really young team and as a rebuild but also as an opportunity for them to grow as players as well.” Andres said advancing to the sectional semifinals was the high point of the season and something the Eagles can use to motivate them in the offseason. “Winning regionals was fun,” he said. “But next year, we need to play with better urgency to win games. We had a bunch of close games where we could have won, but we didn’t fight hard enough. We didn’t finish our games.”   Oct. 31 DeForest 3, Sauk Prairie 0 Sauk Prairie .........….. 0 0 — 0      DeForest …..….......... 0 3 — 3      Second period: D, Ty Ngo (Antonio Anchondo), 49:43; Anchondo (Caleb Brandl), 67:45; Jacob Tutaj (Anchondo), 79:26. Saves: SP (Ghiovanny Puga) 3; D (Kolby Herschleb) 2.