Elks take third in tourney without recording a goal
By Chris Bennett
Sports Correspondent
It’s no magic trick. The Elkhorn Area High School boys soccer team finished third in a prestigious, early season tournament without scoring a single goal.
The Elks took third in the Gusho Soccer Tournament, which took place Sept. 1 and 2 at Brookfield East High School.
“If you’d have told me we’d take third place in the tournament, I’d have said that was okay,” Elks coach BZ Kayser said. “We took third place in the tournament and didn’t score a single goal.”
The Elks (3-1-2) beat Middleton and Germantown by beating each squad 3-2 in shootouts after the score was tied at the end of regulation.
In another strange twist, Elkhorn’s Ben Burrows, Adam Riegel and Leo Loredo scored against each squad in each shootout.
“They were the best team there, and they finished fifth,” Kayser said of Middleton. “That’s how crazy the brackets and teams were set-up.”
Against Germantown, Kayser said the Elks completely dominated the match. Kayser said the Elks outshot Germantown 27-2, but were unable to score.
Elkhorn lost 4-0 to Waukesha West in the semifinals. Both West and the Elks advanced to the WIAA Division 2 State Tournament last season. West beat Oak Creek 1-0 in the tournament’s title match.
“I know it sounds crazy, but we were probably the better team against West,” Kayser said. “We had more chances than they had, and more possessions than they did. We just gave up some really dumb goals.”
Kayser said the Elks got what they wanted from the tournament. The team played quality soccer against good opponents, and learned a lot about where they stand.
“We had 55 shots in three games,” Kayser said. “We just missed. It could be a credit to these teams that they had really good goalkeepers, and we just missed.”
Elkhorn beat Mukwonago 4-0 Aug. 29 in a non-conference match at Mukwonago. Burrows, Kevin Romero and Bryant Romero each scored first-half goals for the Elks.
