K.H.S. Soccer Season Ends Short of State Title

KHS BOYS SOCCER

Only one team per division can end their season with a win and a state title. Unfortunately, for the Kewaskum boys’ soccer team, that will not be them as they were officially knocked out from the state tournament Thursday, October 31, by their long-time conference foe, the Ripon Tigers. In an extremely competitive matchup of two evenly matched programs, it took extra time to decide the outcome.

Both teams came into this affair knowing it was going to be a tough battle, as these matches usually are between these two teams. Ripon took the regular season meeting between these two but Kewaskum was very optimistic as they were not at full strength when the Tigers came to town a month earlier.

The game began with Kewaskum heading directly into the teeth of a 20-35 mile per hour wind. The wind would definitely play a factor, no matter which way the teams were going. The first half proved that to be true as Kewaskum could not utilize their strength of going big to the outside and utilizing their athleticism in the wing positions. So, to avoid forcing passes into the heavy wind, the team opted for an even more possession style game than they already play and Ripon definitely seemed to accommodate by not pressing or over committing and allowed the Indians to just pass the ball around on their own half and near midfield.

Ripon, always well organized and a tough defensive nut to crack, along with the wind, didn’t allow for the Indians to penetrate deep enough to generate very many goal-scoring opportunities at all.

The one corner kick Kewaskum earned in the first half was back into the wind and was not even able to get all the way to the goal. With the possession style Kewaskum was playing and the trouble they were having working it into and keeping it in Ripon’s half of the field, the big concern was to not turn the ball over allowing the Tigers to counter attack through the defensive back line and down wind.

The wind that held up the Indians’ attacking advancement did aid in stifling the Tigers attack as well, though. Ripon’s main attacking game plan is to send their all-conference striker through the defense and get one-on-one opportunities with opposing goalies.

Normally a good plan, but with a tail wind like they had, it was difficult for anyone to catch up to the runaway ball. There were no shots in the first half recorded for Kewaskum. They had a couple See SOCCER page 32 SOCCER

from page 30 of turnovers in their own end with one shot saved by senior goalkeeper Riley Kuehl...

A 0-0 draw at halftime was seen as a win by the Kewaskum team and in particular, the defensive unit of the Indians. Right and left fullbacks David Brown and Braydin Gell had a big task when asked to continually press up to help support the Indians’ limited attack but to be cautious enough to be able to race back on Ripon’s counter-attacking opportunities.

They handled the responsibilities very well, not allowing Ripon to get anything going on the outsides by dropping back quickly and defending up field rather than allowing the Tigers to get too deep into Kewaskum’s defensive third. The few opportunities that Ripon did have in the first half were due to careless or rushed mistakes from the Indians which put unnecessary pressure on center backs Oliver Grover and Will Haydin, who both stepped up and played some of their best soccer of the season.

Forty minutes to determine who moves on with their season and who goes home to start planning for next year.

Changing direction had the Kewaskum lads very optimistic about their chances and wanting to run and gun to try to get that all-important, goahead goal. Too much confidence maybe, as early on in the second half Ripon was able to get the best chance of the match and fired off a shot at Kuehl, who fortunately was in the perfect spot to handle the blast.

The Indians refocused and got back to their possession style of team play. After the first halves, more defensive and passive play, the team definitely looked to push the offensive agenda in the second half to get the ball on Ripon’s side of the pitch.

The plan worked well as Kewaskum was finally able to get some shots off and put the Tigers on the defensive. Still looking to counterattack, Ripon just could not get anything too threatening against the defense of Kewaskum.

A physical back and forth saw midfielders Mac Hasse and Eli Steinbauer battered and bruised all game with fouls, a number of which were not called, having to pick themselves up off the ground repeatedly. Never ones to quit or back down, they continued to get up, which inspired the team to continue to keep fighting and keep pushing closer and closer to that elusive first goal.

As the time ticked by, neither team seemed to be able to sneak through to get that potential game winner. A couple late charges by the Indians saw some shots fired but again, nothing too threatening to their opposition. As the second half came to a conclusion, it saw a second straight 0-0 tie for both teams.

With another overtime period in the works and the lack of offensive opportunities, it felt like another penalty shootout for both teams was in the stars. The home team won the toss and elected to go with the wind in the first overtime putting Kewaskum on their heels to start the extra session. With tired legs and after a hard fought regulation, that saw very little substitutions from either team, Kewaskum blinked first.

A quick switch of play near midfield had Ripon’s star goal scorer with the ball and 20 yards of space moved through the Kewaskum midfield and into the Indians’ defensive line. A pass out wide had a Tiger winger in behind Kewaskum’s defense and then chipped a shot up and over a sprawling goalkeeper. Just two minutes into overtime and the scoreless draw was broken. Just twoand- a-half minutes after that came the second, and three minutes later the third.

A heartbreaking start to overtime. There was still one more ten minute period left and as always, the young men of Kewaskum weren’t going down without a fight. They came out looking to get an early goal to put some pressure on the host team but with a well-executed game plan of keeping away from Ripon and just having the Kewaskum guys chasing.

The best opportunity to get back into the game came late in the second overtime when a great hustle play from freshman Joel Maas who pressured the Tigers right fullback and was able to steal the ball and go directly to goal. It was a pretty wellstruck shot that forced the Ripon goalie to dive to his left and make a one-handed save that popped up right back to himself, which didn’t allow the always crashing Tyler Kehres a final opportunity to get one of his patented redirected goals.

The Indians just ran out of time on the game and their season.

A heartbreaking way to end a terrific season. The tears and hugs on the sideline demonstrated the passion and commitment the team has for one another. The winningest senior class in school history, a second straight Regional Championship, and the best season win percentage in school history proves that this team has absolutely nothing to hang their heads about.

The fun-loving nature of this team will not have them down for long, as a large returning contingent has the future bright for this program and this team is right on the doorstep of making the next step in their success.

A huge thank you to seniors Riley Kuehl and captain Tyler Kehres for all of their efforts and memories throughout the years! Good luck to them and the Kewaskum Indians’ boys soccer team next year. Go Indians!