RLO brings the gusto:

Mya Schroeder’s soccer skill has become well known across the area this season. The sophomore is tied for fourth in the state in goals with 30.

Now, she’s added the clutch gene to her arsenal.

Schroeder found the back of the net from close range at the last second in Fredonia last Thursday to forge a 2-2 tie with Howards Grove and ensure that Random Lake/Ozaukee finishes the Big East Conference undefeated.

“As I heard the time counting down, I knew this was my last shot. I just pushed through everything and knew it was the only chance we had left,” Schroeder said.

Senior Faith Wilson sent a through ball and two Tigers collapsed on it.

“There was kind of a deflection. I kept dribbling and the goalie kind of shifted in front. I just slotted it past her,” Schroeder said.

“We just didn’t stop,” Wilson said. “We had 10 seconds left. We didn’t give up. I trust Mya so much. I dished her off the ball and she made it like she normally does.

“It felt like the state championship all over again.”

The score bailed RLO out of perhaps its worst game of the season.

“We did not play the way we normally play. I hate to be hard on the girls, but we looked horrible. Nothing was there. It did not look like our team,” coach Matt Wilson, father of players Faith and Lexi, said.

“In the last five, 10 minutes all of a sudden you see them come to life.”

Freshman Addison Kurlinski scored RLO’s first goal on a direct kick in the first half that just snuck over the fingers of the Tigers’ keeper.

“Since I had that open free kick I just took that chance to get it up there. I originally wanted to get it to Mya to get that header in, but I try to aim for goal,” Kurlinski said. “It felt amazing scoring the first goal of a conference game.”

Schroeder, who played club soccer year-round before joining the high school squad this year, has been a difference maker.

“She’s amazing. Words can’t describe it. That kid has everything that she needs,” Wilson said. “I can’t find one area of her game that needs a ton of work. Her vision, the way she talks, all of it.”

RLO finished 7-0-1 in the Big East, dethroning Cedar Grove-Belgium’s hold on the conference title since 2019. RLO made it all the way to the state title game last season and brought home a silver ball, and now it added a conference title to its resume.

“It means so much to this team,” Faith Wilson said. “I remember my freshman year we had 10 people on the field, and now we’ve worked our way up to conference champs, which in Random Lake we have never done before. So it’s such a special moment for all of us.”

Junior Lexi Gruman said, “We’ve gotten to state, but this is something that we’ve been working toward so we can get all those checkmarks checked.”

“It means a lot, especially coming off a big season last year,” senior Savannah Quade said. “We had a lot to prove again, and doing that with a great team like this, you love doing it with your friends.”

For sophomore keeper Bianca Marini, “It just shows how well we’ve worked together. Winning it finally just means so much.”

Cedar Grove-Belgium finished 6-1-1 in second place. Howards Grove ended in third at 4-0-4.

RLO’s 5-3 win over the Rockets on May 14 turned out to be the key game. RLO built a 5-0 lead before Cedar Grove-Belgium started to come back.

“It’s just so awesome because of how good they’ve always been,” Marini said. “We played our best game of the year, which we needed to. They’re still such a good team and to be able to beat them is such an accomplishment for our team.”

Sophomore Lexi Wilson, who had two goals in the game, said, “It was a really big moment. All those days that we’ve worked have paid off.”

Coach Wilson said, “I have nothing but respect for Cedar Grove-Belgium, the coaches, even the players. It tells us now where we’re at. It’s a good confidence builder.”

RLO won the league without two of its best players. All-conference defender Chloe Dybul missed most of the season with a knee injury, and all-conference forward Reese Prom is slowly coming back from a knee injury sustained last season.

Ozaukee last won the conference in 2015. Random Lake never did.

RLO sealed the conference title with a 4-1 win at Sheboygan Lutheran/Christian on May 19.

Gruman had two goals, and Schroeder and Kurlinski each had one. Schroeder had two assists and Kurlinski had one. Marini had 10 saves.

Schroeder’s goal was her sixth with a header.

“The goal was to get at least four of them as a team, but she pretty much took care of that one on her own. I love having the ability to attack from the air with this team, and Mya is a huge part of that,” coach Wilson said.

“This was just a nice solid game played by the girls as a team. They moved the ball around well and the backline forced Sheboygan Lutheran/Christian to take a lot of shots from far out. Faith Wilson, Bianca Marini and Abby Depies were all game-time decisions whether or not they were able to go. All three powered through and played pretty well.”

RLO was to host Living Word Lutheran on Tuesday, May 28. It hosts Port Washington for senior night on Thursday, May 28.

RLO, 12-3-1 overall, got a 2 seed in the Division 4 playoffs. It hosts No. 15 Hustisford/Dodgeland on Tuesday, June 4. The winner plays the winner of the game between No. 7 St. Mary’s Springs and No. 10 Kohler on Saturday, June 6.