By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
The past week had a little bit of everything for the East Troy High School boys soccer team.
There was a 2-2 tie with Whitewater to open the week, followed by a tough 3-1 loss to Evansville two days later, and finally, a scoreless non-conference tie Saturday with visiting Watertown Luther Prep.
The 0-1-2 week left the Trojans at 4-2-3 overall heading into the start of a busy week Tuesday night against visiting Rock Valley Conference foe Big Foot-Williams Bay.
Results of that matchup were not available by press time.
East Troy coach Nick Datka said he continues to see improvement every time his team takes the field.
“We progressed with each game,” he said. “We had some less-than-ideal conditions against Evansville, but we battled through.
“The tie against Whitewater was nice, because that (is) a team that has really had our number in recent years. (Against) Watertown Luther Prep, we were missing four or five starters. I had some guys who were able to show me things, and it was a great opportunity.”
In the opener, both Whitewater and East Troy each scored one goal in both halves. Nathan Mack had both East Troy goals, while Andreas Evensen had both assists.
East Troy goalie Ryan Griffa was credited with eight saves.
Evensen and Mack switched roles to account for the Trojans’ only goal in the 3-1 loss to Evansville.
Datka said he’s starting to see signs of success from the back two-thirds of the field – now he wants to see the other third make that jump as well.
“Our defense and midfield are starting to become a bit more synchronized,” Datka said. “Now we just need to get the attackers tied into that.
“We are also gaining a bit more confidence, and that is always a huge plus.”
But as always, there’s still work to be done in other areas, Datka added.
“We still have a hard time battling adversity,” he said. “Whether it’s the referees, weather or just any other outside distraction, we let it impact us too much. We have to just play the game.”
Following the Big Foot matchup, the Trojans host Edgerton Thursday, followed by a trip Saturday morning to the Berlin Invitational.
“It won’t be an easy week,” Datka said. “Big Foot is very strong, Edgerton is always a challenge, and we are going to see some good competition at the tournament.
“To be successful, we need to play one game at a time, and try to have combined success rather than individual success.”
