Loss breaks 29-game winning streak for Comets
By Kevin Cunningham
Correspondent
The undefeated, defending state champion Delavan-Darien High School boys soccer team fell to Whitnall 2-1 in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association sectional semi-final on Oct. 29. The defeat marked the first time the Comets have lost since Oct. 7, 2014.
The 2-1 loss in the third round of the state tournament snapped a 29-game winning streak, which now marks the second-longest streak in Wisconsin history. Over the past two seasons, the Comets built a 46-3-2 overall record and their 140 goals scored this season set a new state record.
“Our game plan was the same as it was all year,” Comets head coach Mike Marse said. “We just couldn’t finish. We had twice as many shots and possessed the ball well. We made two mistakes on our half of the field, and they scored goals on both. When you are this deep into the playoffs, you can’t make those mistakes.”
The Comets’ final game of its 2015 campaign began with a goal from Whitnall’s Joe Schauer in the 23rd minute. The game then went scoreless into halftime, but in the second half, Schauer found the net again and gave Whitnall a 2-0 lead.
Sixteen minutes later, the Comets’ leading goal-scorer on the season, Tigrio Huerta, scored to make the game 2-1, but that marked the end of the goal scoring. Entering the game, the Comets were wissports.net’s No. 1-ranked team, while Whitnall was ranked No. 5.
Whitnall went on to play Grafton in the next round and lost 4-1. Despite the Comets’ 21-0 record in the regular season, Marse wasn’t sure heading into the year what his group of boys would do after last season’s state championship win.
“We started the season with three returning starters and a total of six seniors,” Marse said. “After the first week, I knew we would do well. I am proud of this group.”
In the first week of the season, the Comets played three games and won by a combined score of 20-4. The three goals given up to Waukesha North in the third game were the most the team allowed all year.
In eight of its 21 games during the regular season, the Comets scored at least eight goals. The closest game prior to Whitnall was a 2-0 victory over Milwaukee Lutheran and a 2-0 win over Big Foot-Williams Bay, which was the season opener for the Comets.
The team’s top two goal-scorers, junior Tigrio Huerta and sophomore Jason Cano, will return next year along with junior goalkeeper, Ricardo Huerta.
Ricardo Huerta ends his 2015 season with a 0.85 goals against average. Tigrio Huerta scored 51 goals on the season while Cano finished with 37. The Comets end 2015 with a 23-1 record overall.
