Wildcat Soccer Team Beats Nicolet in Eastside Cup Championship

“This is a game of heart,” said boys soccer coach Jason Rienzi Saturday evening. The words were loud and clear to the Wildcats, who held off an offensive onslaught by Division 1 , to win the Eastside Cup Championship game at Shorewood High School. The championship game ended in a 0-0 tie, but USM, a D3 school, won in the shootout, 5-4.

USM’s sophomore goalkeeper Jack Wells led his team to the victory. It was his diving save on a shot by Calvin Knox, the sixth kicker for Nicolet in the shootout, that demonstrated that Wells was playing with heart. But that was clear from the start. Wells made 12 saves, nine of them in the game’s second half. He made two stellar saves in the game’s 45th minute. First he dove with his hands fully extended to knock a low shot headed toward the right post out of bounds. On the ensuing corner kick, Wells leaped to pull down a ball headed to the upper left corner. On the final play of the game, Wells dove to stop another point-on strike. 

“I didn’t really have that one," Wells said. "Luckily it hit me in a sensitive part of my body. It hurt, but I was able to keep it out.”

Wells’ teammates also played with heart in the face of Nicolet’s constant pressure, as they coalesced around their goalkeeper stopping shot themselves and clearing the ball away from added danger. The USM defenders sophomores Jason Seter, Ben Zwief, Nelson Kies, and Brent Mackman and senior Ian McKinney came up big. The USM midfielders, sophomores Isaac Schlenker, Nico Dermond, and Sam Bernstein and junior Robbie Schmidt marked their men tightly and harassed the Nicolet ball carriers throughout the field. Even USM’s forwards, senior Josh Baker and junior Spencer Haas, got into the defensive act as both headed Nicolet shots away from the USM net in the game’s closing minutes.

USM did not garner much offense, but Nicolet’s goalie Kyle Silverhus played well when needed, making five saves during the game, including an outstanding leaping dive in the game’s 54th minute.

In the shootout, four of Nicolet’s five assigned players, Collin Gruener, Nick Sullivan, Michael Goldstein and Daniel Carpenter made goals. Four of USM’s first five shooters, Schlenker, Haas, Zwief and Baker, also tallied shootout goals. The resulting 4-4 shootout tie sent the shootout into a sudden death. First Wells made his diving save against Knox, Nicolet’s sixth shooter. Dermond then stepped to line. He drilled a shot past Silverhus to give his team the victory and allow USM to keep the tournament’s championship cup for the second straight year.

USM began its defense of the championship with a 6-1 victory over Messmer High School Friday evening.

The Wildcats wasted little time in showing their dominance of the game as they scored their first goal in just the fourth minute. Schmidt took a free kick from 40 yards out on the far left side. Schmidt lined the ball toward his runners breaking for the far post, but the kick was so well taken that the ball swerved straight into the net near the far post at 3:34.

USM made the score 2-0 just under five minutes later when Baker fired in a low penalty kick at 8:25.

Baker also scored the Wildcats’ third goal by leaping to head in a corner kick taken by Schlenker. Time of the goal - 20:59.

USM added two more goals to their total before the 30-minute first half was complete. Schmidt began the play for USM’s fourth goal by bringing the ball down the left side and serving a pass to Schlenker who was cutting through the middle of Messmer’s penalty area.  Schlenker got the pass under control, took a touch and blasted a shot past Messmer’s junior goalie Luis Villanueva at 22:08.

Baker gained a hat trick on USM’s fifth goal as he received the ball from sophomore Brent Mackman on the right side of the penalty area, turned and gunned a low shot into the Messmer net at 23:37.

Baker scored his fourth goal of the evening early in the second half. Schmidt took a free kick that hit off of Villanueva. The ball bounced out to Baker, standing 15 feet away. Baker chested it down to his foot and immediately kicked it past the startled goalie at 39:58.

Messmer scored its lone goal at 52:32 when senior Enrique Rodriguez fired a free kick from 20 yards out past a five-man defensive wall and past USM’s sophomore goalkeeper Jack Wells.

In the game the Wildcats outshot Messmer 23-5. Wells made two saves while Villanueva stopped five.

USM played its second game of the tournament early Saturday morning and defeated Riverside University High School, 2-0. 

“Early this morning I told everyone on the team to throw some cold water on their face. It helps wake you,” Rienzi said. It looked like both teams could have used a large splash of cold water at the start of the 8 a.m. game. Play went back and forth and most of it took in the midfield; neither team got off a shot for the first 10 minutes.  

Eventually the game began to resemble soccer instead of playground kickball, and the first goal of the game finally came on a set piece at 19:52. As he had done the night before, Schlenker served a beautiful corner kick to the center, and as he had done the night before, Baker headed it in.

The Tigers had a wonderful opportunity to tie the game in the 23rd minute when they were rewarded a penalty kick.  Riverside’s senior goalkeeper Rommel Ramirez trotted to the far end of the field to try to put the past his counterpart, Wells.  Ramirez hit a low shot and Wells dove to save it. 

“I read him like I knew where he was going," Wells said. "His hips showed me what to expect."

USM added its second goal early in the second half. Once again Schlenker sent a corner kick in to Baker. Baker knocked the ball out of the air and it went to the right to Schmidt who kicked it in at 35:15.

In the game USM took nine shots and Riverside took eight. Ramirez made three saves and Wells made four.

After the weekend’s tournament victory, USM is officially 2-0-2. The Wildcats plan to keep their winning streak alive Wednesday when they travel to Brown Deer High School for a 6 p.m. match.