Wildcats Lose One, Win One in Eastside Cup Girls Soccer Tournamment

The University School girls’ soccer team lost to Nicolet 2-0 Friday night, but then defeated Green Bay Southwest with a 3-2 shoot win after a scoreless game Saturday morning while playing in the fourth annual Eastside Cup Tournament held at Shorewood High School. 

In the victory over Green Bay, the Wildcat defense held tight and kept the Fighting Trojans off the scoreboard during regulation play.  After a 0-0 tie during the 60 minutes of regulation play, the teams went to a dramatic shootout. Emily Wigdale, USM’s goalkeeper, made two saves and a third shot went wide.  Then with the shootout score tied at 2-2, Kate Nosbusch put the winner past Green Bay’s Lydia Froistad-Ladsten to give USM the victory.

USM’s head coach Jock Mutschler commented, “Green Bay Southwest posed a real challenge with their big, strong, physical play.  This Division One school, with 1,207 students, looked to control things from the outset, attempting to dictate play.  They were effective in changing the point of attack early on.  They tried to generate seams in our defense through which they could penetrate.  They pushed forward aggressively.  They had the wind at their backs and that certainly helped them maintain momentum and control the ball in the first stanza. Our girls were resolute and presented a stout, disciplined defense.  Emily saved us several times by coming off her line to smother through balls.  The girls applied themselves with newfound vigor after the halftime break. Our midfielders as a group increased their work rate.  We continued to be extraordinarily well organized in the back, while our midfielders acted as an effective linchpin between our striker and our stopper.  I must add congratulations to Emily!  She was the ‘Woman of the Match’ for her outstanding leadership and communication.  She saved two goals during the penalty kick shootout, and coupled with Kate's pressure filled last kick, propelled us to victory.” 

USM Scoring (Shootout)                       

Name

Goal

Amber Baker

 1

Kat Schmidt

 1

Kate Nosbusch

 1

Saves

Team

Goalkeeper

Save Total

Shootout saves

USM

Emily Wigdale

  6

  2

GBSW

Lydia Froistad-Ladsten

  6

  2

In Friday’s game, played in wind-driven snow that began to cover the field and make running difficult, Nicolet scored two corner kick goals to gain the win.   Michelle Peltz scored the first at 13:44. Hilary Miller scored at 52:28.  Danielle Doucette assisted on each by taking both corner kicks for Nicolet.

Mutschler said, “I was quite proud of our strong performance a week after being manhandled by Nicolet 4-0 at home. I knew we were going to see substantial improvement. The girls ingested a ton of tactical information during the week.  They displayed a heretofore-elusive intensity.   Catherine Jacobus was terrific at sweeper - orchestrating the iron dome that was our back line and midfield.  We conceded two set piece goals, which was disappointing, but we held strong during the run of play.   In particular, Chloe Schaefer did a wonderful job neutralizing Nicolet’s striker.  I was pleased to see that we were able to generate several dangerous scoring opportunities, both in the first and second half.  We certainly had our chances to win outright!” 

Goal Scoring                       

Name

Team

Time

Goal

Michelle Peltz

NIC

13:44

 1

Hilary Miller

NIC

52:28

 1

Saves

Team

Goalkeeper

Save Total

USM

Emily Wigdale

 15

NIC

Michelle Margolies

  0

Summarizing the weekend, Mutschler said, “The team is starting to mature and gain an identity faster than I expected. We will strive for better focus at practice and an increased work rate.  We also need to transition more efficiently from defense to offense and finish our chances. We remain a work in progress, but a weekend like these this is something for our girls to be proud of.”

USM is now 1-2-2 (according to WIAA rules, a shootout officially counts as a tie).  The Wildcats are also 1-0 in the Midwest Classic Conference.  They hope to improve their record when they take on St. Joan Antida in a conference game at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at USM.