It was a special night for the five seniors on the Bigfoot/Williams Bay soccer team, but not for the 21 girls on the team that pulled off a dominating 7-0 victory over Cambridge and Dodgeland on Friday, May 10th. It became even more special.
The Chief Dogs improved to 7-5-2 overall with three games left in the regular season.
“We've struggled with finishing offensively, but I think we played better tonight,” said Bigfoot/Williams Bay head women's soccer coach Rene Perez. “
Kaylee Wanat, Aubrey Hanna, Estrella (Star) Castaneda, Stephanie Rodriguez and Addy Larson were all recognized before the Bigfoot/Williams Bay game on Senior Night. Four of the five players played and made an impact, but none were more important than Larson's first kickoff.
Larson broke his foot and recently underwent surgery, but he is out for the season. But she went out there with her boots on to start the game, took a kick to her teammates, and left the field with lots of cheers and hugs from her teammates and coaches.
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“Adi played on our national team for four years and was our captain for two years,” Perez said. “Even though Addie was out for the season, she came to every practice and was a leader on the bench helping our young players.”
Larson plans to attend the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in the fall, studying biology and nursing.
Larson won't be the only future Blue Golds student to break into the Shaikhdogs' starting lineup, as Hanna also plans to attend the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire to study engineering and computer science.
“Aubrey is a phenomenal midfield player for us and a playmaker,” Perez said. “Sometimes she doesn't take a day off, but it's her fourth year on the national team, so I think she's used to it. Set an example.
Castaneda plans to continue studying and playing sports after graduation, Rodriguez plans to become a nurse and Wanat plans to attend Western Tech in La Crosse to study business management.
“The other three seniors were a big help to us as well,” Perez said. they're great. ”
As soon as the game officially began, the Chief Dogs were out of the race. For the first 13 minutes, they took shot after shot, peppering Cambridge Dodgeland's goalie with shots on goal.
But in the 14th minute, star freshman forward Jackie Lambat broke the tie with a breakaway goal. Two minutes later, she scored again to make the match 2-0.
Bigfoot sophomore midfielder and captain Mia Gonzalez scored her first goal of the game in the 31st minute with some nifty footwork in front of the goal, putting the United goalie ahead.
In sports, as the saying goes, sometimes it's better to be lucky than lucky. In the 34th minute, the Chief Dogs found some luck. BF/WB started attacking in front of the goalie and one of his passes hit a Cambridge-Dodgeland defender and was sucked into the back of the net, making it 4-0 and ending the first half. Wanat earned bragging rights as the only Chief Dog senior to score on Senior Night and was credited with scoring the goal.
BF/WB continued to press the accelerator in the second half and did not let up until the 80 minute mark.
Lambat completed his hat trick, his third goal of the game, in the 51st minute and scored his second goal of the game on a give-and-go pass to Gonzalez in the 53rd minute, making it 6-0.
Bigfoot sophomore defender Ryan Grunow scored another goal in the 73rd minute to round out the scoring with just one goal away from mercy rule territory.
“Right now, near the end of the season, it's a time when you want to play your best,” Perez said. “We're trying to build on the 2-1 loss against Evansville (Monday, May 6) where we played our best game. That was something we had to build on, especially defensively. Bianca (Mondragón) In goal, Ryan (Grunau), Lucia (Martinez) and everyone else on the back end are doing really well. We just need to come together offensively and finish a little bit to get us through the tougher games ahead. ”
6 photos from Bigfoot/Williams Bay women's soccer match vs. Cambridge vs. Dodgeland