End of the season posts are tough. No more possibilities to get on a run and win a few games, no more “next game” to look forward to…..especially for the seniors and especially for the parents of seniors. For the parents, we just love watching our kids play and watching the team. It’s pretty harsh, it just ends for most seniors who will never play another competitive game of soccer and for parents who will never watch their kids play another game of soccer….after watching them every year since they were 5-6. AYSO, ECU, High School…and then…BAM….nothing!! I lived it twice. The first was a bit easier as we had one more player headed to High School. The second was tough, that was the hard one, no more kids, no more soccer. Ugh! So what to do then…..well, maybe start a soccer blog and try to share the love of the game and watch the next generation step up each year. That sounds okay I guess, not quite having your kid play, but helps me scratch the itch.

Memorial Season Ends in Round 1

They had been on a nice roll, winning 8 of the past 9 games and looked like they might be dangerous in the Playoffs….but it was not meant to be. A 4-1 loss to DePere in the opening round ended the Old Abes season. I don’t have all the details, but sounds like the team was missing a few key players for the game….and that maybe sums up the season. Multiple line ups, injuries, key players missing time….and that all adds up to the inability to find rhythm and flow during a season. Continuity, consistency, comfort, and confidence….it felt like the team was just getting there, but fate would not work in their favor. Lots of talented and hard working players make up the team and the 9 seniors will be missed. They all saw time as starters and all played significant roles over their time in the program. Congratulations to all they accomplished over their careers and thanks for all their hard work over the years. I know a few injuries and players fighting back to get on the field. You feel for all the players, you know they wanted a few more games together, you know they wanted to go a bit deeper into the playoffs and make one last big run. We will always have the great memories, but sports can be tough, will and determination are not always enough and the Abes will now look to build on this year and try to get back to the top of the BRC.

How do we Rate Hanson’s First Season

Second place in the BRC….not bad. An 8 game winning streak late in the season…pretty good. Managing thru some tough challenges as a first year Varsity coach was impressive. Adjustments to the roster and formation were strong as well. She absorbed some tough losses and had her best weekend of the season late, winning two non-conference games in the midst of the 8 game streak. I think you call it a success, although I am confident she wanted more and is feeling she left a few games out there, but that’s good. Let’s give her time to build the program she wants and develop the players in her mold and her style of play. And by the way, she is following two really strong coaches… I mean really strong…. who had massive success at Memorial. That is tough. With a full off season of training and development, we will have a much better idea of her program next year. The future is bright and replacements are coming for the departing seniors.

Season Recap and Highlights

Small disclaimer….getting results is hard and so there might be a little margin for error in the following….but hey, my statistician is me, an unpaid, part time blogger, so you get what you pay for! But where else do you get this type of coverage for High School Girls Soccer!!

Overall Record: 13-7-1 League Record: 11-2-1 Second in the BRC

Best League Win: 5-2 against River Falls. It started to come together.

Best Non-Conference Win: 3-0 vs. Notre Dame during their 8 game winning streak. Was getting excited about then!

Goals Scored: 70 Goals Allowed: 28 Shut Outs: 9

14 Players Scored Goals: L. Carmody 14, Kison 10, J. Beaudrie 8, Etzel-Steines-Gross-Hanson 6 each, Sorenson 3, Graaskamp-Priem 2 each, B. Beaudrie-Thompson-Ivey-Hinden 1 each.

12 Players had Assists: L. Carmody 8, Kison 7, J. Beaudrie 5, Steines 4, Lindsay-Hanson-Etzel 3 each, Gross-Graaskamp-Thompson 2 each, Priem-Hower 1 each.

Scoring by Year: Seniors scored 46% of the goals. Juniors 43% of the goals. Sophomores 7% of the goals. So that means 50% of the goals return….that’s a pretty good start to next year.

Top Goal: Here is the best goal I saw this year.

Thank You Seniors

Jacquelyn Beaudrie, Madison Etzel, Molly Grasskamp, Madelyn Green, Leah Hujik, Ava Kison, Claire Steines, Elayna Chambers, Sarah Lindsay. Quality players and quality young women. You will be missed. Best to all of you!

Looking Ahead to 2020

So, always a bit tricky looking ahead, but heck, why not take a shot. The team will need to replace about half the starters next year. Big losses with Kison and Beaudrie out wide. Wing play will be critical to replace next season. Chambers turned into a rock at CB and Hujik was a two year starter at GK. As well, a bunch of starts and minutes with Grasskamp, Green, Steines, Etzel and Lindsay. That’s a ton of minutes in midfield, defense, wing play and some as forward. So where do we start for next year. The core spine looks pretty solid. Feels like with L. Carmody, C. Carmody, Gross Jochimsen, and Hanson you have a pretty strong core. Who will fill those open spots in the starting group. Who will step up and whose game will blossom. That’s the big question every year. There are 13 returning Varsity players and 5-6 open spots. Plus you have maybe 6-8 JV players moving up, pending how many they want to carry on Varsity next year. Will there be some surprise players take a starters spot, or will the new V players be role players and developing for the future. All great questions. That’s the fun part of the off season. Who will put in the work and earn their spot. JV is loaded. I think 1 tie and might not have lost a game. 11 Sophomore/Juniors and 11 talented Freshman ready to challenge. That competition will serve the program well. A few freshman called up to V might give us some clues but it’s wide open. I can’t wait! Another year for Hanson to build her program, another year for players to develop their skills. Tons of talent, but you still need to find a team. I am pretty confident it will be fun and could be real fun. One question–can we find some more goals and a few more dynamic offensive threats….I am pretty sure the midfield and defense will be stout. Plus–who steps into the GK spot. Some interesting questions as we head into the off season.

LET’S GO ABES. 2020 is the Year

State Tournament Update

Sectional 1 games this week: #1 Kimberly v. #5 Appleton East and #2 Bay Port v. #6 Appleton East. The BRC is out of the tournament with Hudson’s loss to Appleton East. In the other sectionals, all the #1 Seeds are still Alive: Arrowhead, Waunakee and Muskego. Not many upsets yet. Seeds remaining are:

Sectional 1: 1-2-5-6

Sectional 2: 1-2-3-4

Sectional 3: 1-2-3-5

Sectional 4: 1-2-3-4

So, here we go. The Big Rivers season has ended their season and now we move on the the State Tournament.

Big Rivers Conference

1. Hudson 13-0-0 39 points
2. Memorial 11-2-1-0 34 Points
3. River Falls 7-3-2 23 Points
4. Rice Lake 5-5-4 19 Points
5. North 5-5-3 18 Points
6. Menomonie 4-9-1 13 points
7. Superior 2-11-1 7 Points
8. Chippewa Falls 0-14-0 0 Points

Hudson rolled thru the league undefeated this year, an impressive feat, no matter the competition. Their toughest battle this year, a hard fought 1-0 win over Memorial last week, on a late second half goal off a corner. It was definitely a sign that Memorial has improved and also a sign that Hudson earned their title. Let’s take a look at the seedings as we go forward.

Chippewa Falls #17 already played #16 Superior as a play in game. First time I have seen that. Superior won 4-1 and now wins the right to play top seeded Kimberly…uff daa for Superior.

No respect for the Big Rivers this year. DC Everest gets the #3 seed and the top BR team, Hudson gets the #4 seed. Pretty sure Hudson beat DC Everest 1-0 in the EWEC Tournament. What the heck! Although at 18-1-1, DC Everest has been very consistent all year. But Hudson is 18-2 and beat DC Everest….I don’t get this one, oh well. Other seeds in the D1 tournament include: Memorial #10 seed and North #14 seed. A litle more love for the Big Rivers in D2 where River Falls is the #1 seed in Sectional 1 and favored to get to State. As well in D3, where Rice Lake is the #1 seed in Sectional 1 also. A great chance for a few teams to go deep. I think Memorial and Hudson may surprise some of the other teams in their Sectional, not sure Hudson is getting any respect at all.

Memorial vs. DePere

Big game tonight for the Old Abes. Based on theor recent run of play and some confidence they built in the last third of the season, I expect them to play well and have a chance to advance. Hard to predict these type of games but we do have some common opponents to five us some clues. Both teams played DC Everest and Kimberly. DePere lost both games, 0-1 and 1-4. Memorial also lost both games, 1-3 and 0-3. I will say, memorial is playing much better than during this 2 game tournament stretch. If they played both teams again, I would expect much closer games. DePere played Bay Port, #2 Seed to a 0-1 game as well. What can we learn…..DePere has a really good defense with only giving up 1 goal in games against DC Everest and Bay Port. Can Memorial get some goals with their new confidence and late season adjustment on player positions. It feels like a pretty close match up to me. My hope….that the Memorial girls have a chip on their shoulder having been given a #10 seed. They come out with a bit of attitude that we have something to prove. That the recent good form continues and they build on that tonight.

http://halftime.wiaawi.org/CustomApps/Tournaments/Brackets/HTML/2019_Soccer_Girls_Div3_Sec1_2.html

I tried to drop in the link to Tournament Bracket but not sure if it will launch. You can check it out at wiaawi.org. Click on the link to Tournaments, then Girls Soccer. There is an Assignments/Brackets box on the left where you can launch D1 bracket with all the scores and teams advancing for each sectional.

Big Game tonight. Go Abes!

We enter the final stretch of the season in Big Rivers, just a few league games remaining. Things are pretty well defined at this point. Hudson continues its undefeated season and looks like a lock for the BRC title. I think that will be the first in 5-6 years. Memorial has found some late season rhythm and has strung together a nice series of wins. They had an impressive win over River Falls and seem locked into the #2 spot in the league.

The surprise for me is Menomonie. They have found something in their program and have become competitive in the lower half of the league. Even against the top teams, the results are promising. Recent wins over Superior and Chippewa Falls give them some confidence and a promising future. They are knocking on Norths door for the 5th position in league. Chippewa Falls is also a surprise,…they have hit some tough times with their program and are winless this year, and not very competitive in most games.

Big Rivers Conference

1. Hudson 11-0-0 33 points
2. Memorial 10-1-1-0 31 Points
3. River Falls 7-3-2 23 Points
4. Rice Lake 5-4-3 18 Points
5. North 4-4-3 15 Points
6. Menomonie 3-8-0 9 points
7. Superior 1-9-1 4 Points
8. Chippewa Falls 0-11-4 0 Points

Week of 5.20 Schedule

Tuesday Games: North @ Memorial, Hudson @ Rice Lake, River Falls @ Chippewa Falls, Superior @ Menomonie

Thursday Games: Chippewa Falls @ North, Memorial @ Hudson, Rice Lake @ Menomonie, River Falls @ Superior

Memorial Old Abes

So, a few interesting results this week we need to talk about. As a season progresses, you get a chance to determine progress along the way. Playing teams twice gives you some instant feedback as well. For Memorial, we are starting to see some nice improvement in the past week of results. What gives? A few thoughts. The Carmody Effect: No question that having both Lauren and Cameron in the line up consistently makes Memorial a better team. That’s the easy one. Dropping Elayna Chambers into a Center Back role to me has been the other big move. She is big, strong, fast and physical. A natural Center Back. That allows Hanson to play out wide, that allows Kison a bunch of time as a winger, and that has created much better possession, flow, and scoring opportunities, etc. Combine the Carmody playing time with the Chambers move, throw in some added time for Jaiden Ivey in midfield and things are starting to look better for the Abes.

I had the chance to attend the River Falls game this past week and the team was noticeably better. The ball moved better, there was improved shape, the attack looked crisper, the defense looked stronger. The players seemed more comfortable. The first game against river Falls was tough. Down 2-0 early and 3-1 late, the Abes had to fight back for a hard fought 3-3 tie. Thursday was a completely different game. Out of the gate quickly and up 3-0 for a good portion of the game. A direct kick closed the gap to 3-1, but Memorial responded to go up 5-1 before a late River Falls goal finished the scoring at 5-2. Same two teams but significantly different results. Progress Memorial. River Falls was ranked 5th in D2 in the recent poll, so this is a quality result for the Abes. Maybe the best they have played all season.

Let’s take a look at some of the highlights.

Ava Kison was a beast in this game. Her energy is infectious. She just plays so hard! Two goals and almost a third. Memorial needs her scoring to become a great team.

I think the best goal I have seen Memorial score this year. Top quality soccer. It starts in the back with a step and steal for Hansom who advances with a few dribble and then the fun starts. A wide ball to Beaudrie, an early ball into Carmody who makes a great touch forward. Carmody tracks down the ball and calmly lays off a one time pass across the box to Kison, who takes a nice one touch into the back of the net. Great 1-2 touch soccer. From defense to offense and a goal in 6 easy touches. A great goal!! No really, a really high quality goal. A great sign for the future.

Another dangerous player is Beaudrie. Early crosses and pinpoint crosses lead to 2 goals along with her scoring the 4th goal. She can be sneaky fast and she has a pretty dangerous left foot.

Sometimes in the playoffs, you just need a player that can get a goal. When nothing is happening, you just need a moment to get a win. You need a player who can create that moment. I think Lauren Carmody has a little bit of that in her game. A nice goal and reminiscent of Abigail Stow.

You also need to find ways to get goals when the offense is struggling. Set plays can be the difference in advancing or your season ending. With Hanson from deep and Carmody in the box….you have a chance.

A big week ahead for Memorial. they get cross town and improved EC North and then the game that will give us the best clue to their recent run of positive play, Hudson away on Thursday. Building on their league performances, Memorial had a strong weekend, winning games 3-0 against Notre Dame and 1-0 against Assumption. Notre Dame ranked 5th in D3, so a quality opponent. I think the first two non-conference wins on the season. Another good sign. It’s that time of year, the playoffs are looming, time to find your mojo and reach your potential. We’ll learn a lot on Thursday. Go Abes.

About halfway thru the season and it appears Hudson has taken control of the conference race and is now the clear favorite for the Conference Title. Fighting it out for second and a high seed in the tournament is Memorial and River Falls. North and Rice Lake are in a battle for 4th and the teams struggling so far this year include Chippewa Falls, Menomonie and Superior.

Hudson is the class of the BRC. 8 wins in 8 tries. The most impressive was their recent win over River Falls, 6-2 and a 2-0 win over Memorial. As well, this past weekend they had a nice win over DC Everest, ranked #5 in D1, 1-0. Their only loss this year against a very good Middleton team, ranked 7th in the State. Memorial and River Falls have one more game left and likely the winner of that game finishes second in the Big Rivers. If I have it right, Memorial has won 5 straight BRC Titles….I guess it was going to happen at some point…another champ. Not over yet, but feels like Hudson has this under control right now.,

Big Rivers Conference

1. Hudson 8-0-0 24 points
2. River Falls 6-1-1 19 points
3. Memorial 5-1-1 16 Points 1 game behind.
4. Rice Lake 4-2-1 13 Points
5. North 3-4-1 10 Points
6. Chippewa Falls 0-0-6 0 Points
7. Menomonie 0-0-6 0 Points
8. Superior 0-0-6 0 Points

Week of 4.29 Schedule

Tuesday Games: North 7 v. Chippewa Falls 1, Hudson 2 v. Memorial 0, River Falls 8 v. Superior 0, Rice Lake 2 v Memonomie 1.

Thursday Games: River Falls 2 v North 0, Hudson 11 v Chippewa Falls 0, Memorial 4 v Menomonie 1, Superior 2 v. Rice Lake 6

Week of 5.6 Schedule

Tuesday Games: Rice Lake @ Memorial, Chippewa Falls @ Menomonie, North @ Superior, River Falls @ Hudson

Thursday Games: North @ Hudson, River Falls @ Menomonie, Chippewa Falls @ Rice Lake, Memorial @ Superior

Game of the Week: River Falls @ Hudson. OOnly really 2 more chances to hand Hudson a defeat, the game with River falls and Memorial. Can RF have a statement win?

Soccer Girls Rankings D1

1. Brookfield Central
2. Waunakee
3. Arrowhead
4. Kimberly
5. DC Everest
6. Bay Port
7. Middleton
8. Kenosha Bradford
9. Kettle Moraine
10. Germantown

Memorial’s non-conference schedule this year has been a bear. Not sure that was the plan, but if you want to face some tough competition to prepare your team for the post season…..you definitely got that accomplished. Memorial has played #3 Arrowhead, #4 Kimberly, #5 DC Everest and D2 #7 Pewaukee. And they have done okay….were competitive, played with great character, but just did not have enough fire power to compete with these teams….YET…the season is building and I think Memorial could become a dangerous team to play at the end of the season. In several of the games, the score was close for a half. But at some point the quality showed thru. Plus, need some more goals against the best teams. Only 1 goal in these games. Hudson might make an appearance in the Top 10 soon as they have only 1 loss (against #7 Middleton) and a win against a Top 10 team as well (DC Everest).

River Falls currently #9 in D2

Regis/McDonell currently #9 in D4

So, about halfway thru the season and time to reflect. Are we disappointed? Is Memorial a victim of their own success? Is it okay to have a bit of a down year….and is that a bit harsh…they are in second in conference and playing well. It’s just we have come to expect Conference Champion next to Memorial’s name every year. I was not able to catch the early season games and was only able to hear about the games thru the twitter feed—thank you to whoever is the tweet master–very cool to keep connected. I had a chance to catch parts of Menomonie, DC Everest and Kimberly this past week. A few observations. The team still has plenty of talent and great players across the pitch. But maybe not quite the talent of the past few years when there were All Conference players everywhere. Scoring goals has become more difficult. There is not a natural goal scoring threat up front. Lauren Carmody has the attitude and skill but has missed some game time this year and that impacts the offensive output. Against the best defenses in the State, Memorial has struggled to score and get quality chances. From width, Memorial looks dangerous. Both Kison and Beaudrie have speed, a good shot and the ability to put crosses into the box. The video below is a common site in the games I saw. Building from width looks like a promising opportunity.

Another way to get goals is Set pieces. When goals are not coming in the normal run of play then using all opportunities to score becomes vital. Memorial looks dangerous in these spots as well. The balls coming into the box on corners is really good. Direct kicks have produced some opportunities. Sometimes they look a bit ugly, but corners and a scramble and a ball in the net counts just as much as an upper 90 screamer. Kison knocks one home against Menomonie below.

And I cant have post on scoring goals and opportunities without giving a shout out to Gretchen Hanson. That flip throw in is pretty amazing. I had the chance to catch it on camera a few times and this was the one with the best chance to score. The ability to execute the throw is pretty freaky. I mean, who does that, really. And then the distance…the ball typically lands in the middle of the box….every time. Getting the throw off is one thing, but to then have it land in the middle of the box….crazy. Not sure how she figured that out, or what caused her to want to try that move, but again, pretty impressive. I picked the video below because it was one of the better scoring opportunities against Kimberly. the second ball after the header becomes very dangerous. The ball comes back out to Hanson who puts a great ball back across the face of goal….but on this day, it was just not meant to be.

Other quick observations.

The margin for error is very slim against the best teams. Memorial plays hard, fights the whole game, shows great character….but….a small wobble has cost them. …or an unfortunate goal goes against them. The DC
Everest game had a crazy deflection, Kimberly had a tough bounce on a shot, a tough call leads to a direct kick goal. Again, just no margin for error. Goods teams take advantage. The schedule has been tough as well. Games against top teams with no results….except I think the team is growing. You learn a ton is these games. Players grow, players learn to fight, players improve.

Midfield is critical. I am looking for some more consistency in Midfield. Winning 50-50 balls, winning possession, sustaining possession, shutting down attacks can all happen in midfield. If they get a full roster and a few weeks to find some rhythm, I think the midfield play starts to control the game better. Kimberly had a few studs in midfield and you could see the impact. There is plenty of season left, another game against Hudson and plenty to play for. These tough moments in the season can turn into the fuel for the late season run. Players are gaining valuable experience, they are learning from a few tough results and it can really be part of defining a team as they enter the final third of the season.

I also had the opportunity to watch the JV team in action this past week. I am a bit biased when it comes to JV….having the opportunity to be around many of these players over the past 4-5 years. I must say, the JV team has been impressive. Some of that is the competition….but in their biggest games, Arrowhead and Hudson, they have performed really well. No losses yet and some big wins against quality programs. 9 Seniors on the roster so Memorial will need these JV players to continue to develop to fill some holes next year. The future is bright based on the talent on JV.

Greta gets loose out wide and gets a nice pass and calmly slots it into the net.

Greta dangerous again, and puts in a nice cross. Molly gets a nice hustle goal, just fights thru the defense to poke it in.

Molly Hower with the long range effort.

It is really fun to see all these JV players in high school after the years of playing club soccer. Can’t wait to see them on Varsity in the coming years.

Go Abes…Finish Strong!

The season is rolling along, we are a few weeks in and teams are settling into their positions in Big Rivers. There are three distinct groups of teams currently. At the top, fighting it out for the BRC Title is Hudson, Memorial and River Falls. In the middle of the pack is North and Rice Lake and the teams struggling so far this year include Chippewa Falls, Menomonie and Superior.

Hudson is starting to look like the class of the BRC. 6 wins in 6 tries. All pretty easy…..9-0, 6-0, 10-0, 8-1, 10-0, 6-2. The most impressive was their recent win over River Falls, 6-2. River Falls was looking dangerous…..a 3-3 draw against Memorial when they led 3-1. They roll into Hudson and get beat pretty good. Of note for Hudson, Sydney Spencer scored 5 goals in the River Falls game. She is new to HS Soccer having played for St. Croix Academy the past two years instead of her high school team. Her first year with the Raiders is proving pretty good for her and Hudson. Wow….five goals….impressive. Their only loss this year against a very good Middleton team, ranked 5th in the State. Memorial is currently in 2nd position but has a tough test next week with a home game against Hudson. Hudson can really create some separation next week with a win at Memorial.

Big Rivers Conference

1. Hudson 6-0-0 18 points
2. Memorial 4-0-1 13 Points
3. River Falls 4-1-1 13 Points
4. Rice Lake 2-2-1 7 Points
5. North 20301 7 Points
6. Chippewa Falls 0-0-4 0 Points
7. Menomonie 0-0-4 0 Points
8. Superior 0-0-4 0 Points

Week of 4.29 Schedule

Tuesday Games: North v. Chippewa Falls, Hudson v. Memorial, River Falls v. Superior, Rice Lake v Memonomie.

Thursday Games: River Falls v North, Hudson v Chippewa Falls, Memorial v Menomonie, Superior v. Rice Lake

Memorial Old Abes

After a fast start, a tough weekend and then a few tight games, Memorial enters an important stretch of the season. Can they find their early season scoring form, tighten down their defense, improve their possession game and somehow find a way to get a result against Hudson. It is a big ask but an important game. The talent is there. With 7 games into the season, leaders are developing. They have faced some adversity. They rallied last week from 1 and 2 goal deficits to earn a tie and a win. Sometimes you have a week in a season that creates a tipping point. I think maybe the two games last week where the team had to fight back in both games showed a lot of character. A lot of fight was needed to come back for the results. That experience goes a long way to defining a young team. Its hard to replace the group that left last year….a ton of All Conference talent and great leaders. But…maybe….just maybe….the last few weeks have been exactly what this team and 1st year coach Hanson needed. Winning ugly, fighting, clawing, making comebacks. We’ll see this week as they face a strong team who is feeling good. Really excited to see how they fare against Hudson.