Not all boosters in place for Rocket kickers

Cedar Grove-Belgium High School girls’ soccer coach Zac Garza knows he has a talented team this season despite the heaviest graduation losses in program history.

He just needs them to all play together at the same time.

Injuries have derailed the Rockets early this season with multiple starters missing time.

But junior Arden Getschman and senior Gracie Schmidt have started hot. Getschman has scored four goals and Schmidt scored three times and has six assists, including a hat trick and two assists in Monday’s 5-2 overtime win at Brookfield Academy.

“Those two working together have been phenomenal,” Garza said.

Freshman Polly Lemberg added a goal and two assists, and freshman keeper Tessa Krause had an assist in Monday’s win.

Krause made nine saves.

Garza isn’t shocked at Getschman and Schmidt’s early stat lines. Getschman had 36 goals and 29 assists last year, and Schmidt had 17 goals and a school record-tying 30 assists.

“Teams are going to be prepping for Arden and Gracie. That will leave opportunities for Polly to make a difference,” Garza said.

Getschman missed the first half of Monday’s game with knee soreness, but Lemberg scored in the fourth minute on an assist from Schmidt. Nine minutes later, Lemberg assisted Schmidt for a 2-0 lead.

The Blue Knights scored in the 24th and 39th minutes to tie it at halftime.

Getschman returned for the second half and gave the Rockets a boost.

“We were much better defensively in the second half and we controlled the play; creating a number of scoring opportunities,” Garza said.

“I was very happy to see Polly and Gracie get up and running in the goals department for the season. Their ability to combine with Arden should form a formidable attack.”

The Rockets have been without midfielder Kami Horn and center back Mia Grisolono due to quad injuries, and keeper Aubrey Johnson had an academic commitment and missed Monday’s game.

Garza praised the play of midfielder Raygan Bialzik.

“Raygan was absolutely everywhere. She won countless tackles, made sure our team kept possession, and fought throughout the entire match.. We played with a single holding midfielder, something we’ve never done in recent seasons,” Garza said.

On April 7, Getschman had a goal and Schmidt an assist in a 1-1 tie against Lake Country Lutheran at home.

“That’s a game we walk away from thinking it should have been ours. We had a number of clear-cut opportunities in the first half. We should have been up 4-0 at halftime,” Garza said.

The Lightning scored on a corner kick, something Garza said his team hasn’t defended well this season.

Lemberg began cramping in the second half and Schmidt got banged up.

Last Friday at Nicolet, the Rockets lost, 3-0.

Beyond the injuries, Ava Peterson and Alivia Szyszkiewicz had prior commitments and missed the game.

“We can’t find our rhythm when we don’t have everybody,” Garza said.

Freshman Carissa Konzak filled in on defense, and Claire Prinsen moved back to help her.

“We expected her to come in and most likely start right off the bat, but we didn’t expect her to necessarily fill a leadership role and that’s what she’s doing,” Garza said of Konzak.

Nicolet scored on a corner kick in the first half, then on a deflection in the second and on a cross from out wide with a few minutes left.

“We had a couple of opportunities and a couple of almost opportunities,” Garza said of his offense. Polly did a really nice job up high. She would block clearance from keeper.”

The Rockets, 2-1-1, play at Sheboygan North on Thursday, April 16, and start Big East Conference play by hosting St. Mary Catholic on Tuesday, April 21.

Port soccer starts with a tie

Port Washington’s soccer team started its season last Thursday at home against Sheboygan Falls.

The Pirates and Falcons tied at 1.

The Falcons scored in the first half and the Pirates evened the match in the second.

Port was to host Plymouth on Tuesday, April 14. The Pirates host Oostburg on Thursday, April 16, and Kettle Moraine Lutheran on Tuesday, April 21.