Wauwatosa West soccer team tied for first in Woodland with 4-0 record

Wauwatosa West went 3-0-1 last week and is tied for first in the Woodland Conference with the New Berlin schools, all with 4-0 records.

The Trojans are 6-1-1 overall, scoring an average of 3.38 goals per game.

Coach Ryan Bailey's crew jumped off to a 4-0 lead over Pius XI on April 19 at Wisconsin Lutheran College, before earning a 4-1 win to begin the week.

West scored four goals in 20 minutes, right before and after intermission, to roll to the win.

Emily O'Connell scored the first on a ball in the 39th minute off a pass from Gaby Zabala to put West up.

Zabala scored the second goal four minutes later on an unselfish pass from Kate Murphy for a 2-0 halftime lead.

Chloe Pepke scored in the 57th minute, scoring off a rebound off a ball from Zabala. Irene Phillips capped off the furious attack on a pass from Lindsey Starrett just after both had re-entered.

"Our depth wore them down, and our starters used it to take advantage," Bailey said. "Everyone on the roster played and was effective tonight; (it's a) good way to start the week."

South Milwaukee

West hosted South Milwaukee and came away with a 10-0 win on April 21 at Whitman Field, after taking a 7-0 lead at halftime.

O'Connell tallied three goals and two assists, Zabala added two goals and two assists, Hannah Fuerstenau notched four assists, and Murphy had a goal and an assist to lead the way.

Anna Ganser, Erin Schaut, Emily Wagy and Pepke each scored a goal, while Becca Barton added an assist.

Middleton trip

Tosa West went 1-0-1 in the Middleton Tournament on Friday and Saturday.

The Trojans tied Oshkosh West, 0-0 to begin the tournament.

"In the first half, we did not play as strong defensively as we expected to," West said. "They had two dangerous players that we let run free and chased. Coming out of halftime, we put together our most impressive 45 minutes, despite not scoring a winner. All the play was on their side, and we kept our shape and organization just as I envisioned."

West then whipped De Pere, 4-1, in its third game in three days in what Bailey called "our most complete game to this point."

The Trojans went down, 1-0, but responded quickly with an O'Connell goal off an assist by Zabala. After halftime, Zabala gave West the lead, 2-1, off a ball by Lauren Mayer. In the next minute, O'Connor and Zabala closed down their back four, and Zabala slotted O'Connor for her second goal and a 3-1 lead.

Two minutes later, Schaut took a pass from Phillips and struck it firm to the far corner to put the game away.

"Everyone on our roster once again contributed; our depth has been an advantage," Bailey said. "Starrett has been a stalwart off the bench."

Bailey was pleased with his team's progress last week.

"This week showed tremendous growth for this group on and off the field," he said. "We have a great group of girls from all four grade levels that are competitive in training and compassionate during games. They genuinely want each other to do well, so the team is successful."