Wailing Winds Won't Hold Back Wildcats

As September winds wailed and cold rains blew, the varsity field hockey team blew into Wales and scorched Kettle Moraine 8-0 in a Wisconsin High School Field Hockey Association game Friday afternoon.

The weather didn't seem to bother the Wildcats. They kept playing the way they have throughout the season. They kept their unbeaten streak alive and improved their record to 14-0-3. The Wildcats’ offense stayed hot. From the start, they quickly moved the ball into the Lasers' side of the field and kept it there most of the game, leaving their senior goalkeeper all alone in the defensive half of the field. On the few forays the Lasers made into USM territory, the USM defense gave Hagemann plenty of time to employ the age-old formula, D=RT, to calculate the speed of her opponents' approach. Kettle Moraine did not get a shot on the USM net during the game, and the Lasers only had one short corner, which the Wildcats swiftly stifled.

Meanwhile the USM offense put 22 shots on the Kettle Moraine net and had 16 short corner plays. The Wildcats scored four goals in each half.

The first came on a short corner play. Senior Sally James began the play by sending the ball to senior Jenna Seter at the top of the circle. Seter furthered it to sophomore Kendall Youngblood, who immediately sent it deep into the right side of circle to senior Erika Hurth. Hurth fired it toward the far side of the goalmouth where James popped it past Kettle Moraine's goalie Alyssa Pacala with 24 minutes left in the first half.

USM scored its second goal less than two minutes later. Seter got the ball near the top of the KM D and passed it to the center to sophomore midfielder Catherine Jacobus. Jacobus displayed her stick skills as she wound her way around several defenders like a master spinning wheel operator.  As she closed in on Pacala, Jacobus banged a low shot off the goal cage backboard at 22:30.

The Wildcats used another corner play to score their next goal. James injected the ball to Youngblood at the top of the circle. Youngblood moved it to the right to senior Cassie Bence. Bence blasted a shot that rebounded off Pascala right to James who calmly tucked it in like she was mailing a college application at 6:08.

Youngblood scored USM's final goal of the first half unassisted. Like she was stripping paint off a wall, Youngblood pulled the ball from a defender's stick near the KM circle. She deftly avoided a jab, moved in, and blazed a shot past Pacala with just seconds left before halftime.

As the second half tilted on its fulcrum toward the game's end, the USM attack maintained it balance. As they had in the first half, the Wildcats scored their next goal in the opening moments of the second half.

On a long corner self-start, Senior Georgia Hoagland moved toward the Lasers' D.  As a defender approached her, Hoagland pulled the ball to the right and sent a quick pass to senior Billie Fritz in the circle. Fritz passed it in to Seter who shot it into the net just 1:32 into the half.

The Wildcats made it 6-0 on a tic-tac-toe type play. James fired the ball into the center of the circle where Hoagland got it and fired another shot. The ball rebounded to senior Libby Aik in deep, and Aik continued the connection by shooting her shot past Pacala at 14:22.

USM's head coach Tom Carter commented, “Libby played a great game today; one of her best.  I'm glad she got a goal."

Large lead gives defenders a shot

With the Wildcats' lead large, Carter gave his defenders a chance to score goals. He moved seniors Catie Downey and Emil Hendrickson, junior Michelle Bal, and sophomore Abby Wigdale forward. Each had chances to score, and Downey made good on two of those chances.

Downey put KM down by seven at 11:06. On a short corner opportunity, Junior Meredith Jeffers began the play by inserting the ball. Downey moved in, got the ball, and pulled it away from an on-rushing defender like a teasing pickpocket.  Downey then coolly fired it in.

Downey scored USM's final goal on a nice play by Bence. With fighting spirit, Bence got the ball along the right side, sped past several defenders like they were watching from an Indianapolis 500 pit stop. Deep in Lasers' end, Bence crossed a pass into Downey, who had slipped in to the post on the far side. Downey rapped it in at 10:44.

After the game, Carter complimented his team, “They kept playing well all day despite the cranky weather. They listened at the half and passed the ball well.  That made a difference. Our short corners were also well executed. That will help in our next game against DSHA.”

Wildcats varsity reserve simultaneously snags an additional win

While the USM varsity was beating Kettle Moraine, the varsity reserve field hockey team was beating the Divine Savior Holy Angels Varsity Reserve team 3-2 in a Wisconsin High School Field Hockey Association game at USM.

DSHA scored the game’s first goal during a short corner. Sophomore Julie Evanich lined a straight shot from the top of the circle past USM’s sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Williamson at 25 minutes in the first half to give the Dashers their only lead of the game.

The Wildcats tied the score at 15:00 on their own short corner opportunity. The ball went to sophomore Chloe Schaefer on the insertion. Schaefer fired it on net and the deflected off of the pads of DSHA’s junior goalie Maggie McLachlan. The ball bounced to USM sophomore Harriette Hauske. Hauske bopped the ball in.

The game stayed close and the score stayed tied for the final half of the first period and the first half of the second period. USM finally broke the tie at 10:33.  Schaefer brought the ball down the side and centered a pass to junior Elka Daroga at the stroke line. Daroga immediately swept it past McLachlan for the goal.

With just 3 minutes left on the clock, the Wildcats put the game out of reach.  Once again Schaefer got the ball. From the top of the Dashers’ D she gunned a shot toward the far post. Hauske was positioned there like a soldier on the front lines and she tipped it in to make it 3-1, USM.

DSHA scored another goal in the dying seconds of the game, but it was not enough to revive their hopes and USM took the win.

In the game Williamson made four saves and McLachlan made seven saves.

The victory improved the USM Varsity Reserve’s record to 4-7.  The Wildcats hope to improve it even further when they travel to Brookfield for a 3:45 p.m. game at Brookfield Academy on Tuesday.