Soccer team in 3-way tie for second place in RVC
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
With eight regular-season games remaining, the East Troy High School girls soccer team is right in the thick of the Rock Valley Conference race.
And the Trojans did nothing to hurt their chances Monday night.
East Troy saw a first-half lead disappear but rallied for two second-half goals to hand visiting Evansville a 4-2 setback.
The win improved the Trojans to 7-5 overall and 6-2 in the RVC, good for a three-way tie for second place with Big Foot and Whitewater. McFarland holds a half-game lead at the top with a 6-1 mark, while Evansville is right behind at 5-3.
“Every win is big,” East Troy coach Ed Furey said. “In this conference, no one team has really stood out. We need to continue to focus every moment of every game.”
Furey was pleased to see his team not panic after Evansville knotted the score at 2-2 in the second half.
“The girls did not let that affect them,” he said. “The defense clamped down a little more and we continued to press the attack.”
A pair of goals by senior Monica Zoellner gave East Troy a 2-0 lead. After Evansville tied the score, the Trojans answered with goals by junior Brianna Probst and senior Brianna Casper to account for the final score.
Zoellner, Casper and sophomore Sydney Probst had assists for the Trojans. Sophomore goalie Jessica Gulig had two saves.
“Monica (Zoellner) had a great game, as did Bri Casper and Bri Probst,” Furey said. “We still make some mistakes, but the entire team was playing some smart soccer.”
Furey said several girls had a hand in one of Zoellner’s goals, a header she got past the Evansville goalie.
Freshman Anna Stephan took pass in traffic, waited for things to clear and found Casper, who crossed the ball to Zoellner, he said.
The win Tuesday came on the heels of a two-match split Saturday at the Trojans’ own invitational.
East Troy opened play with a 2-0 win over West Allis Hale, but fell 4-2 to Mukwonago.
“We were missing a couple of players for the invite, which can hurt a smaller program like ours when we are competing against the Division 1 schools,” Furey said.
“Overall, the girls played smart, solid soccer. We could have used a few more finishes, but that is always the case for most teams.”
Furey added he liked that his team never quit.
“One of the things we have seen over the last week is the girls’ competitiveness has really started to show,” he said. “The team does not quit. They never give up and will battle anyone for as long as there is time on the clock.”
Scoring goals against Hale were Brianna Casper and Brianna Probst, while sophomore Kayla Casper had an assist. Gulig had five saves.
Brianna Casper had a goal and an assist in the loss to Mukwonago, while junior Savanna Black added a goal and senior Olivia Healy had an assist. Gulig was credited with 10 saves for the Trojans.
Mukwonago proved to be a bit too deep talent-wise for the Trojans, Furey said.
“Bigger (in enrollment) does not necessarily mean better,” he said. “But in the case of Mukwonago, we don’t have the quality from top to bottom of our roster like they do, (but) we learned that our team has heart and will not just surrender.”
East Troy was back in action Tuesday night at Clinton and travels to Evansville next Monday for a rematch with the Blue Devils.
The keys this week don’t change, Furey said.
“(We need to) stay healthy and keep that focus,” he said.
Trojans blank Chiefs
East Troy opened its week April 30 with a 3-0 win over visiting Big Foot.
Sydney Probst, Brianna Probst and Zoellner each had goals in the win. Brianna Probst also had an assist, while Gulig was credited with 16 saves.
Furey also was pleased with his defense, which included key contributions from Healy, Black, Maddie Rosin and Kayla Casper, along with Gulig in the goal.
“They played extremely smart defense and were very good at communicating switches and when and where help was needed,” Furey said.
“(Gulig’s) confidence has increased and her play has been stronger and stronger with each passing game.”
