Local teams have rough week on soccer pitch

Seymour 4, Shawano 1

The Hawks are going through some struggles right now as they are dealing with a rash of injuries. Not only are four starters missing from action, but an additional player who plays a vital role is also missing from the team, which is affecting the flow of the game for the Hawks. Shawano struggled to get much of anything going on the offensive end Sept. 12 while the defense couldn’t contain the Seymour offense, losing 4-1.

West De Pere 6, Shawano 0

Already with a loss under their belts, things continued to get worse for Shawano as they fell to the Phantoms 6-0 on Sept. 14. Despite what was a solid job by Andrew Van Den Heuvel in goal who came away with 10 saves, it was the lack of offense that did the Hawks in as they fell to the Phantoms 6-0.

West De Pere was all about a balanced offensive attack as six players found the back of the net. Tyler Kowalczyk opened the scoring for the Phantoms with the game’s first goal and West De Pere never looked back. Cooper Zimmer, Grayson Birder, Jon Romatowski, Johan Hernandez and Evan Capelle all scored for West De Pere in their victory.

Newman Catholic 10, Bowler/Gresham 1

After securing their first win of the season last week, the Wildcats of Bowler/Gresham were back on the pitch again Sept. 11, but things didn’t go as planned. Not only was it a long day for the offense, which scored just one goal, but their defense was being pestered from start to finish as they fell to Newman Catholic 10-1.

“It seemed like we never got off the bus tonight,” coach Wally Moesch said. “We had no energy and a lack of urgency from the start, and that won’t cut it against a program as tough as them.”

Porter Hoffman had the lone goal for the Wildcats in the loss as Colby Belongia picked up the assist.

Northland Lutheran 8, Bowler/Gresham 0

In what was a battle of the Wildcats, it was Northland Lutheran coming out on top for the 8-0 win Sept. 14. Like in a lot of their previous contests, Bowler/Gresham had plenty of great moments, but those moments were overshadowed by the mental breakdowns. Those mental breakdowns often lead to a flurry of goals, which was the case in this contest.

Merrill 4, Bowler/Gresham 0

A tough week of competition ended with another loss as Merrill took down the Wildcats 4-0 on Sept. 16.

De Pere 2, Pulaski 1

The Pulaski Red Raiders looked to keep their strong run of play going as they locked up against De Pere for a conference matchup Sept. 12. While the results weren’t what the Red Raiders wanted in a 2-1 loss, they continued to show plenty of promise, which excited coach Jeff Schneider for the remainder of the season.

The game featured two of the top four teams in the conference, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Both teams got off to a fast start with Maddux McKeefry opening the scoring for Pulaski in the fifth minute. Nolan Pratt picked up the assist on that play as he played the ball perfectly to the foot of McKeefry, who took care of the rest.

Not even two minutes later, it was the Redbirds getting on the board as Max Skruka tied things up. Those were the lone goals for the remainder of the first half, but it was the early stages of the second half that saw De Pere grab the lead for good. Owen Fawcett is credited with the game-winning goal, as he ripped a shot past Josh Roth in the 46th minute to lift the Redbirds to a 2-1 win. Pulaski is now 5-3-1 (0-1) on the season.

Pulaski 4, Green Bay East 0

After dropping a heartbreaker to De Pere earlier in the week, the Red Raiders returned to the pitch Sept. 15 and got back on track with a convincing 4-0 win over Green Bay East in non-conference action. All it took was a flurry of first-half goals to set the tone as Pulaski scored three times in the first 25 minutes to grab a 3-0 lead.

Two of those goals came in the first 16 minutes with Hudson Schultz (Aran Capella) scoring in the fourth minute and Riley Crocker (Maddox McKeefry) doubling the lead in the 16th minute. Austin Marchand would close out the first half scoring in the 23rd minute as Pulaski built up a 3-0 lead 40 minutes in. The lone goal of the second half for Pulaski was scored with just two minutes left in regulation, as Nathan Jossie went unassisted to give the Red Raiders a 4-0 win. Josh Roth picked up four saves in the clean sheet win.