Tuesday nights clash with Rice Lake marked the midpoint in Conference play for the Old Abes and they finished off a solid 3-0 win over Rice Lake and ended their first half of conference play at 5-1, just one game back of Conference leading Hudson. Tuesday nights game seemed to mark a turning point for the season.
-A full roster is now available to the coaches, although some tough luck for Biwer. Fingers crossed he might make it back.
-9 games played provides the coaching staff enough games to evaluate the roster and find the right combinations of play.
-Tough non-conference games….and a few difficult losses provide coaching opportunities, growth opportunities and maybe a little chip on the shoulder. They have been close, but the really big win has eluded them so far this year.
Against Rice Lake the team looked solid all night. Possession was strong and the new midfield combinations seems to be improving both the attack and shutting down counter attacks. Early this year, Jared Nunez spend most of his time on the wing, but lately his play in the midfield has steadied that part of the game. He is calm on the ball, makes good decisions, is able to find wingers and forwards and also is able to find shots. The combination of Brenner and Rosenberger in the 9 and 10 spots is starting to click as well. They lead the team with 9 and 6 goals respectively and are starting to combine for goals now. A very good sign.
The defense is finding their way. Simon Larson has helped steady the back line. Still a few wobbles now and then, but they are coming together. Two shut outs in the past 4 games after only 1 in the first five. It takes time for a young team to gel. It feels like maybe, we are at that point. Throw in Alex Sulzer who is starting to find his place and becoming more dangerous and thin=gs look promising for the Abes in the back half.Two conference games next week and then another big weekend of non-conference play. Can the Abes grab their first non-conference win and get onto a roll. Wauwatosa East and Madison Memorial (I think) will be two big tests for Memorial.
Lets take a look at a few highlights from the win over Rice Lake
Memorial controlled the play early and were able to get plenty of shots on goal. Nothing too dangerous but constant pressure. About 15 minutes into the game, the ball found Jacob Peloquin who found Luke Rosenberger loose in the middle. A nice aggressive take on from Like pushed him into the box where he executed a nice stop and shot maneuver. Side net. Classy finish.
As the half continued, Memorial continued their dominance. Later in the half during a nice period of possession, Ryder Woodworth got loose down the left side and was able to get into the box where he laid it off for Brenner. Normally he finds a shot but it just wasn’t there. He calmly dropped a nice ball to Nunez who drilled a hard low liner past the goal keeper. Getting goals from midfield during combination play is a nice development for this team. Trusting each other!
Big Rivers Conference Update coming tomorrow. Check back in for standing at the midway point of the conference.