By Chris Bennett
Correspondent
The Elkhorn Area High School girls soccer team outlasted Union Grove and finished third in the Southern Lakes Conference tournament. The Elks beat the Broncos 1-0 May 28 at home in the third-place match of the tournament.
Elkhorn (10-5-1, 5-3-1 SLC) plays Stoughton today at home in a WIAA Division 2 regional semifinal.
The winner plays either Wilmot (5-9-5) or Waterford Saturday in a regional final. The Panthers and Wolverines play today at Waterford in a regional semifinal.
Waterford beat Elkhorn 2-0 May 26 at Waterford in the opening round of the SLC Tournament. The Elks ended their regular season May 30 at home with a 4-0 non-conference loss to Racine St. Catherine’s.
Against Union Grove (10-6-4, 3-3-3 SLC), Megan Skoczylas scored in the second half for the only goal the Elks needed to defeat the Broncos.
Elks coach BZ Kayser said the Broncos played a physical match in the team’s first meeting, which ended in a 1-1 tie May 14 at Union Grove. The rematch unfolded in different fashion.
“It was the first time this year I saw us wear a team down,” Kayser said. “They were gasping for air. You could see how tired they were.”
Kayser said the match against Waterford was tied 0-0 with 15 minutes to go before the Elks fell victim to an own goal. Waterford forward Lauren Torhorst, who is second in the state in scoring, scored again for the final deficit.
“We had to push to try to get something going, and she scored another goal,” Kayser said.
Waterford (14-6-1, 7-2 SLC) beat the Elks 6-3 May 21 in a SLC match at Waterford. Kayser said the Elks played better in the rematch.
