Port Washington’s saving grace

Another magical Madi Uselding direct kick from long range and multiple highlight-reel saves by keeper Kamryn Knaub gave the Port Washington High School girls’ soccer team a 1-0 win over rival Grafton at home last Friday.

The victory stopped Grafton’s winning streak at five, and it was the first time the Black Hawks, ranked sixth in the Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association weekly poll, were held without a goal this season. It also gave Port confidence heading into two Glacier Trails Conference matches this week.

“This definitely just builds the momentum even more as we get later into the soccer season and the playoffs,” Port senior Mia Blum said.

Uselding scored in the 21st minute, sending a ball she couldn’t have placed any better if she would have walked up to the goal and thrown it in. Keeper Paige Proefrock leapt and got her outstretched fingertips on the ball, but the angle of the rainbow shot slid into the net.

“It was basically just like last time. They set it up. Kamryn told me to go again. I put it in the air and it went in again,” Uselding said, referencing a similar score against Luxemburg-Casco on May 2. “I personally thought that it was over. Then everyone else started cheering.”

The Black Hawks started the game slower than they would have liked but came out for the second half with the wind at their back and a chip on their shoulder.

The intensity ramped up almost immediately, and Port matched it.

Nearly the entire half was played on the Pirates’ side for a few reasons.

“The wind helped, already being down 1, we just really wanted it. Port being our rival, we just really wanted to bring out this dub, so I think that gave us some more energy,” Grafton senior Brayleigh Sumner said.

Physicality and near desperation increased as the minutes ticked off. Grafton kept pushing its offense, and the Pirates went into survival mode with an all-conference keeper at the helm. Knaub made diving save after diving save, sometimes alone and other times with a Black Hawk storming in for a rebound.

As soon as one scoring chance was thwarted, the Hawks quickly reorganized and pushed forward again. Knaub kept turning them away.

“I think this is one of the best games I’ve played,” Knaub said.

Port coach Sandra Bennett told her team she couldn’t pick a player of the game, but the Pirates all pointed to Knaub.

“Their keeper made some absolutely huge saves for them,” Grafton coach Jason Rogers, whose team outshot Port, 18-3, said.

Grafton, which came out a little flat for the first 40 minutes, made adjustments.

“We realized our forwards weren’t getting the ball to our feet so we made that adjustment,” Ava Dotson said. “They were outworking us. We have the talent to beat them.”

The Hawks’ second-half barrage included some fouls on both sides as teams increased their physical play.

“As you know, rivalry games get a little chippy, a little aggressive,” Port’s Mia Blum said. “We were just focusing on what we practiced, our skills, connecting passes — just keeping a level-minded game.”

Uselding said, “it was very hectic. Everyone was just going at the ball attacking it. We did get a lot of calls on us, but I think that was just good defense.”

Grafton’s Aliza Emanuele picked up a red card as time expired for jawing with an official. Rogers said she will learn from it.

Knaub survived the Black Hawks but not so much the celebration. An innocent post-game high five bumped her in the nose, and she had to stuff it with tissue to keep it from bleeding. She smiled all the way through it.

Port, 3-3 in the conference and 5-3-2 overall, lost to Plymouth, 4-1, on May 5. Port was to play at Kettle Moraine Lutheran on Tuesday, May 12. The Pirates host West Bend Co-op on Thursday, May 14.

Grafton wins buzzer-beater

It’s rare in soccer, but Grafton scored as time expired at Living Word Lutheran on May 6.

Abby Widmann played a shot to the box, and the Timberwolves cleared it to Mila Dotson, who took a shot to the far post.

“Literally, it crossed the line and (the clock) turned 80 (minutes),” Rogers said.

The officials conferred before confirming the goal in the 1-0 game.

Port on May 5 beat Nicolet, 1-0, for the first time in Rogers’ tenure. Grafton’s leading scorer Katelyn Valenta converted a penalty kick, and that was all the Hawks needed.

Rogers highlighted his back line for allowing one goal on a free kick during the three-game stretch.

“We kept three teams in a row out of the box from scoring,” he said.

Grafton, 2-1 in the North Shore Conference and 9-2 overall, hosts Slinger on Tuesday, May 19.