Soccer team shuts out competition in tournament
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
The East Troy High School girls soccer team made a little school history last week.
And now the Trojans are just two steps away from making even more.
East Troy pulled off two shutouts in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 3 regional tournament to improve to 14-8 overall and move into sectional play this week.
The second-seeded Trojans blanked seventh-seeded Waupun 7-0 in the opener, followed by a 1-0 win over third-seeded Cambridge-Deerfield Saturday in the regional final.
East Troy will make its first-ever journey into the sectional round Thursday night when it hosts fourth-seeded Grafton (8-9-1) at 5 p.m. The winner advances to a sectional final Saturday against either top-seeded and three-time defending state champion Catholic Memorial (20-3-2) or second-seeded St. Thomas More (9-3-6).
That match, with a state tournament berth at stake, is set for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater campus at 3 p.m.
“We are very excited (to play in the sectional),” East Troy coach Ed Furey said.
Furey said he was pleased with many aspects of the regional – and with his team’s play in recent weeks as well.
And those two things combined led the Trojans to the regional title hardware with sights on something even bigger.
“(Our) immediate pressuring of the ball led to turnovers and opportunities,” Furey said. “A lot of good touches kept us in control and strong play by the defense helped keep both games shutouts.
“(It) seems like every game, and even every half, the team plays better together. We continue to look for improvement in every moment.”
Grafton, which is looking for its 11th state trip in school history, advanced to the semifinal with a 1-0 win over East Troy’s Rock Valley Conference rival Whitewater last week.
While the Black Hawks may not have as impressive a record as other teams, Furey knows his squad needs to be ready for a tough battle.
“They come from a very strong conference,” he said. “We are going to need to finish a high percentage of opportunities, because they don’t give up much.”
East Troy landed in the sectional with a tough 1-0 win over Cambridge-Deerfield.
The game’s only goal came about two minutes in the match when junior Savanna Black scored off an assist by senior Brianna Casper.
From there, it was a defensive battle, but the Trojans were able to hang on.
“It was a very tough battle,” Furey said. “I thought we won possession and had more and better opportunities than Cambridge-Deerfield.
“It was also probably the hottest it has been for a game this year, which can wear the players down. The girls dug down deep, and although it wasn’t textbook clearing (of the ball) during the last 10 minutes of the game, they remained determined and finished it out.”
When the final horn sounded, the reality of the situation hit home for the entire team, Furey said.
“When it was over, they were ecstatic and knew they had accomplished something,” he said.
Trojans roll in opener
Casper scored off an assist from junior Brianna Casper just six minutes into the match, and from there, the rout was on in East Troy’s 7-0 victory June 4 in the regional opener.
All totaled, Probst had three goals and four assists to lead the offensive barrage. Casper had three goals, while Black had the other.
Furey was pleased with the effort.
“Everyone on the team knew they had to step up,” he said. “We were playing without one of our best players for the first two to three games of the playoffs.
“Most of the team, but specifically some of the younger players, seemed to play with much more confidence than they had all season.”
Probst obviously took the message to heart with her play, Furey said.
“We discussed that she would need to become even more involved in the attack, and she was able to deliver,” he said.
“She is a player that trusts her teammates tremendously and is not afraid to get them involved and help create opportunities, but she also knew when it was her time to finish.”
