Grafton’s soccer run comes to storm-delayed end

This time, the Grafton High School girls’ soccer team ran out of clock.

The Black Hawks answered New Berlin West’s early score in a few minutes with one of their own in last Thursday’s Division 3 sectional semifinal in Grafton, but when the Vikings found the back of the net with less than four minutes to play, that was it.

Grafton’s best soccer season in years came to a close with the 2-1 loss.

“We really were trying to put everything out there for the last game. We tried really hard, especially in the second half. We thought that things were going really well until they weren’t,” senior Olivia Ruff said.

“They just don’t quit,” coach Jason Rogers said. “It would be one thing if we went out without heart, without playing to our full potential. We went out there throwing haymakers as best we could. It was a tightly fought game. A couple of decisions go a different direction, and we’re looking at a different scoreline.”

The Vikings final goal came after a foul was called and a direct kick was deflected into the goal. The Hawks tried to battle back in the final three and a half minutes, but the Vikings denied them.

The Vikings scored in the seventh minute on a through ball and shot on the run.

Katelyn Valenta, Grafton’s leading scorer with 22 goals, was taken down from behind in the box in the 10th minute. The Vikings’ keeper saved her penalty kick but not the rebound.

“Getting the PK (penalty kick) definitely hurt, getting hit that hard. Turning around and composing yourself to take the PK and calm your body down is difficult,” Valenta said. “I didn’t make it on the first try, but I followed up and just put it in the back of the net. I just had to shake it off. I got the goal.”

The game stayed tied for the next 66 minutes.

Play started four hours late due to storms. The 7 p.m. start time was moved to 4:30 p.m. to try to beat the weather, but the game didn’t start until about 8:25 p.m.

“We were warmed up, ready for everything. We were mentally prepped,” junior Ava Dotson said. “The almost four-hour delay really got to us. That’s why we started a little slow on their first goal.”

The Hawks soon picked up the pace.

“We definitely had more possession in the end of the first half,” senior Brayleigh Sumner said. “Being cooped up by the rain for a couple of hours definitely didn’t help, so it took us a couple of minutes. We started finding our rhythm and we were getting a lot of chances.”

“We just weren’t ready for their pace, I think. It felt as we got into the game we picked it up a little better,” Rogers said.

“In a game like this, when you’re playing against two high-powered front lines, it’s about who can take their chances and finish them off. They were fortunate with a couple of theirs. Not for the lack of trying ­— we just weren’t able to tonight.”

The Vikings’ defense tightened on Valenta in the second half, smothering her whenever she got the ball.

“I had no room to breathe,” she said.

Grafton finished 14-4 with its first regional title since 2019.

“It’s amazing. So proud, so proud,” Dotson said.

“I’m very proud of our whole team,” Valenta said.

The Hawks lose all-conference players Ruff and Sumner, along with reserve Hailey Miller, to graduation but return a strong core. The team started with one win when they were freshmen and built to this season’s 14.

“To see where they’ve come from year one to year four is massive. Their ability to play, the way they see the field. That is just leaps and bounds from where they were as freshmen,” Rogers said.

Rogers said he hopes the playoff loss resonates with the underclassmen.

“To suffer a loss like this almost bodes well. They get that hurt, and it’s going to do one of two things,” he said. “It’s either going to stick with them forever or it’s going to drive them to be better. Thankfully, we’ve got a lot of players on our team where it’s going to drive them to be better and take it a step further next year.”

Sumner and Ruff said they’ll be watching next year.

“We just love our team, and we’re excited to watch in the future and come and support,” Ruff said.

“We’ll be their No. 1 fans. They were our family and we’ll miss them,” Sumner said.