CG-Belgium, RLO soccer to face off in key match-up

Last Thursday was youth night for the Random Lake/Ozaukee high school girls’ soccer team, and it put on a show for the kids.

Mya Schroeder scored four of her five goals in the first half, and RLO romped over St. Mary Catholic, 9-2, for its sixth straight win.

Emily Luza, Faith Wilson, Lexi Wilson and Mia Evraets each added a goal. Addison Kurlinski had two assists and Schroeder, Lexi Gruman and Lexi Wilson each had one.

Bianca Marini returned as keeper after missing two weeks with a hamstring injury and made five saves.

RLO had 23 shots on goal.

“We have had an unbelievable amount of shots taken on goal this season and this past week we worked on finishing, I challenged the girls to make better decisions and make sure they are taking high percentage shots and limit the wasted opportunities,” coach Matt Wilson said.

“They did a much better job this game but still need to improve moving forward. I will say that overall they have done a nice job improving in that area as a whole this season.”

The Zephyrs scored twice in the second half.

“Midway through the second half our backline got a little too comfortable at midfield and did not drop in time for two long balls,” Wilson said.

RLO is 7-2 overall and 4-0 and in first place in the Big East Conference. It was to play at Manitowoc Lutheran on Tuesday, May 12. It hosts Cedar Grove-Belgium (3-0-1 Big East, 9-3-2 overall) at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, May 14, in a game that could go a long way in determining the league champ.

RLO plays in a tournament at Kiel on Saturday and at Sheboygan Lutheran/Christian on Tuesday, May 19.

CG-Belgium forges tie with the Tigers

Before last week, Cedar Grove-Belgium soccer coach Zac Garza could barely remember the last time his team was outplayed for a half of a Big East Conference game.

It happened last Thursday at Howards Grove in a 1-1 tie.

“Howards Grove took it to us in the first half. They had a game plan and they executed it.”

The Rockets, on the other hand, looked like they had been executed.

“Our warm-up was not good at all. You would have thought we were at a funeral,” Garza said.

The team learned Aubrey Johnson will miss the rest of the season with a fractured foot, and some girls came late from Advanced Placement testing.

Despite sluggish play, the game was scoreless for nearly the first 40 minutes. The Tigers snuck a ball past Tess Krause, who had an obstructed view of the play, with less than 10 seconds left in the first half, Garza said.

The coaches had a little chat with the team at halftime, and the Rockets came out stronger.

“I do believe we were the better team in the second half,” Garza said. “Not as dominant as Howards Grove was in the first.”

Arden Getschman fired an “unbelievable free kick into the upper left corner,” from at least 30 yards away, Garza said, in the 69th minute to tie the score.

“At the end of the day, I think 1-1 was deserving,” he said.

All-conference defender Mia Grisolono played most of the game before leaving with leg pain. The timetable for her return is unknown.

On May 5, the Rockets beat Sheboygan Lutheran/Christian, 6-0, at home.

“We had a game plan to take their best player Keeran Blattner out of the match as best we could. Regan Bializk, a freshman stud in the midfield, man-marked her and she wasn’t able to create much aside from some desperate 30-yard shots,” Garza said.

Getschman and Gracie Schmidt, the team’s two leading scorers, each had three goals. Schmidt had two assists and Getschman had one.

“Both Arden and Gracie were absolutely phenomenal,” Garza said.

Kami Horn returned from injury to play wing and added two assists. She wasn’t 100%, “she’s a phenomenal soccer player with a high IQ,” Garza said.

Getschman and Alivia Szyszkiewicz each had an assist. Krause made four saves.

The Rockets, 9-3-2 overall, were to host Oostburg (4-1 Big East) on Tuesday, May 12, before playing at RLO at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, May 14. They host Kohler on Tuesday, May 19.