Fort Atkinson ends soccer team’s season with 1-0 win
By Chris Bennett
Correspondent
One fluke goal in an otherwise dominant performance brought the Elkhorn Area High School boys soccer team’s season to a close.
Fort Atkinson beat Elkhorn 1-0 Oct. 24 in a regional final match at Elkhorn. Elkhorn entered the match seeded No. 1 in the regional bracket. Fort entered as the fifth seed.
The Blackhawks (4-15-1) ended Elkhorn’s five-year streak of WIAA regional titles with the victory. The Elks finish the season with an overall record of 13-6-1.
“It’s a tough way to go out,” Elks coach BZ Kayser said. “We were superior to the other team, but that’s soccer for you. You can outplay a team and still lose.”
The Blackhawks’ Martin Bernabe scored from about 45 yards out on a set piece. Kayser said the Elks backline held at the 18-yard line.
The wind aided the shot on goal. Kayser said the Elks goaltender challenged the shot and ended up slightly out of position.
“That’s a save he makes 99 times out of 100,” Kayser said.
Fort Atkinson coach Kent Lovejoy said the shot found the sliver of space between the goaltender’s outstretched fingers and the crossbar of the frame of the goalie box.
“If he hit 10 more I don’t know if you could put any more in like that,” Lovejoy said.
Bernabe scored in the 25th minute of regulation, and Kayser said the Elks had plenty of time to respond in kind.
“At that point, we had so many opportunities we could have easily been up two or three to nothing, at that point,” Kayser said.
Kayser said he thinks the Elks outshot the Blackhawks 18-2, with eight of those being quality shots that were on frame.
“We hit the post a couple of times, it went wide a couple of times, and a couple of times it went over the top,” Kayser said. “We just couldn’t put it away.”
Fort Atkinson plays second-seeded Milton today at Milton in a sectional semifinal match.
“You look at the success they’ve had for the last six or seven years – they run a great program,” Lovejoy said of the Elks. “We were fortunate to come out of there with a win.”
Fort Atkinson reached the regional final by beating Waterford in the regional semifinal. The two sides tied 1-1 at the end of regulation and Fort won 4-3 in a shootout.
Unsportsmanlike conduct
The Elks reached the regional semifinal by beating Burlington 6-0 in a match that featured the Elks’ student section being kicked out of the game late in regulation.
Kayser said the referees lost control of the match late. Some of the same officials that worked the match versus Burlington were scheduled to referee the Elks-Blackhawks matchup and were removed by the WIAA.
The ejection occurred with less than five minutes left in regulation. Kayser said the Elks crowd did nothing unusual.
“They were no different than any other crowd at any other sporting event,” Kayser said.
Sid Babu and Leo Loredo scored twice and Matt Nelson and Kevin Romero each scored once for the Elks against the Demons (0-13-1).
