Whitewater set to host Grafton Saturday afternoon
By Heather Ruenz
Community Editor
The No. 1 seeded Whitewater High School girls soccer team delivered an 8-0 shutout to North Fond du Lac Thursday night in the first round of playoffs.
Leading up to the regional action match, the Lady Whippets had closed out the regular season with two important, conference victories.
On May 26 the team played Clinton and delivered an impressive, 10-0 shutout.
Two days later iIn the final regular season game, Whitewater traveled to Jefferson for yet another rematch and while not as easy as the Clinton game, Whitewater took the win, 3-0.
The much-improved Lady Eagles squad was ready and put up a very tough, high-pressure defense for the first half of the game, according to coach Rich Gunter, so good in fact, that Jefferson didn’t’ allow many opportunities for the Whippets to attempt quality shots.
As they’ve done all season however, Whitewater found a way to score in the 43rd minute when Milena Maroske was able to drive a shot from 25 yards out, perfectly placed in the upper left corner of the goal, according to Gunter.
That score was it for the first half with Whitewater up 1-0.
The second half was an entirely different story, not so much for the Eagles but for the Whippets, who figured out the high-pressure, Jefferson defense and took control of midfield play.
In the 58th minute, Autumn Bultman took a through ball and beat the Jefferson keeper for the second Whippet goal, making it 2-0.
The Whitewater girls continued to dominate, taking six more shots and the persistence paid off when in the 78th minute, Aly Quass was able to beat the Eagle’s keeper for the third and final goal of the game.
After the game, head coach Rene Menager said the Jefferson team was much improved from the prior meeting between the Whippets and the Eagles.
“The girls struggled a bit in the first half to solve the Eagle defense but then played very well in the second half,” he stated in a recap of the game.
Whitewater finished the regular season 13-2-1 in conference and 15-2-2 overall.
For round two of regional competition, the Lady Whippets will host Grafton Saturday, June 6. Game time is set for 3 p.m.
