Girls Cross Country takes fifth
The Big Foot-Williams Bay boys soccer team came away with a split at last weekend’s Janesville Craig Tournament.
Big Foot fell 3-1 to Craig in the opener, but bounced back for a 5-2 victory over Westosha Central. The split left the Chiefs at 2-1-2 overall.
“I thought we played well on Saturday,” Big Foot coach Keith Blakeman said. “We had a few guys out for various reasons, but the younger players stepped up and played well.
“Against Craig, we struggled to bring he fight to hem and were lucky to score our goal. They are a very good team, and we were not too disappointed with the loss.”
The Chiefs struck first against Craig on an unassisted by goal by Diego Lavariega at the 16-minute mark.
But from there, the hosts controlled the action.
Craig tied the game at the 57-minute mark and took the lead for good five minutes later. The Cougars iced the win with the final score of the match at the 1:09 mark.
Big Foot goalie Nico Tovar finished the match with eight saves.
The Chiefs and Central exchanged two goals apiece before Big Foot put the match out of reach with three unanswered goals.
Lavariega broke the 2-2 tie at the 52-minute mark, followed by the eventual game-winning goal by Hamilton Smith just to minutes later.
Juan Mercado assisted on a goal by Cory Shea to close out the scoring.
Big Foot held a 1-0 lead 22 minutes into the match on a goal by Lavariega off an assist by Adrian Hernandez. After the Falcons knotted the score at 1-1, Adrian Hernandez scored off an assist by Octavio Hernandez to give the Chiefs the lead back at 2-1.
Central pulled back to even two minutes later before the Chiefs’ three-goal onslaught.
“The key for us was to continue playing our game,” Blakeman said. “We dominated the first half, possession wise, but were tied 1-1 when it was done. We regrouped and continued to play according to our plan. The goals eventually game.”
Tovar finished the match with one save for the Chiefs.
Big Foot opened the week with a 3-2 win Aug. 28 over Jefferson. Shea had two goals and an assist, while Mercado added the other goal and Smith an assist. Tovar had four saves.
Big Foot hosts its own invitational Saturday at 9 a.m. Joining the Chiefs are Badger, Racine Park, Richland Center, St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy, University School of Milwaukee, Westosha Central and Belvidere (Ill.).
The Chiefs then will host East Troy Tuesday, Sept. 2, in a Rock Valley Conference matchup at 6:30.
“We need to keep improving our ability to finish the opportunities that we create as we eliminate the defensive mistakes that have cost us,” Blakeman said. “Nothing too exciting, just executing our game plan and maintaining focus for the entire game.”
Girls take fifth at invite
The Big Foot girls cross country team finished fifth overall with 141 points at last week’s Palmyra-Eagle Invitational.
New Berlin West was first with 52 points, followed by Deerfield with 65, Jefferson with 90 and Waukesha South with 121. Thirteen teams competed.
Senior Libby Brooks led the way in 20th place (22:30.1), followed by freshman Zanzie Demco, 25th (22:55.1); senior Kathryn Colby, 29th (23:06.1); sophomore Olivia Brigg, 33rd (23:22.1); sophomore Brooke Wellhausen, 34th (23:22.3); junior Kalen Gillingham, 41st (23:39.8); and junior Katie Oja, 60th (24:55.8).
The Big Foot boys had just two entrants in the race, led by sophomore Travis Berryman, 18th in 18:44.1. Senior Ben Nickels was 65th (24:34.8).
Both Big Foot squads were back in action Thursday afternoon at the Cambridge Invitational.
