Wauwatosa East kickers go 2-1 at Mt. Prospect Invitational, lose to DSHA, beat Homestead

The Wauwatosa East girls soccer team was 3-2 last week, seeing its overall record improve to 5-4. The team won two matches during the week and then went 2-1 in the Mount Prospect Invitational.

Tosa East opened with a 3-1 loss to Divine Savior Holy Angels of the Greater Metro Conference at Quad Park.

The Red Raiders playing exceptionally well in the first 65 minutes of the match.

"After 55 minutes of play, I honestly thought we had put together some of our most consistently efficient soccer of the season," coach Eric Dale said. "We pressed well, gained possession in the middle third of the field and went at goal effectively."

In fact, the Red Raiders tallied first in the highly competitive match in the 51st minute when sophomore Elyse Reagan collected a ball from 10 yards away inside the Dashers penalty area and blasted her left-footed shot into the upper netting. The play started with an excellent run by Liz Bueckers up the far right sideline. Her serve into the box caromed off several players, and the ball wound up on the foot of Reagan.

The lead would not last long. as DSHA pulled even, 1-1, in the 70th minute on a goal by Sarah McLeod.

"That goal was hard to swallow," Dale said. "It wasn't hit very well from a terrible angle at goal, and, unfortunately, Lily Brock, our keeper, couldn't find the handle off the slippery turf, and the ball lazily crossed the touch line. It really proved to be a tough momentum swing for us."

DSHA would claim its first lead of the match in the 74th minute off a goal by Elizabeth Snyder, with the assist coming from Taylor Massie. Two minutes later, the Dashers added a final insurance goal when McLeod scored again from 11 yards out off an assist from Emily Crevoiserat.

"Again, it's tough to come out on the losing side in a match that was evenly contested for the first 65 minutes," Dale said. "To DSHA's credit, they looked like a completely different team after drawing even. We were very timid and tentative after that first goal, and it's something we'll have to work on for the rest of the season, which is remaining cool and composed when under pressure."

Homestead

Tosa East defeated Homestead, 3-0, on April 20 at Whitman Field in a nonconference match.

The Red Raiders led 2-0 at halftime on goals by Bueckers at the 10-minute mark and Mariana Ibanez-Baldor in the 34th minute. East then scored a goal by Catherine Carter in the 51st minute to clinched the game and take a 3-0 lead.

Mt. Prospect Invite

Tosa East opened the Mt. Prospect Invite with a 1-0 win over University High School from Normal, Illinois.

"This was a team we had lost to in the past two seasons at this tournament, and it was finally nice to come away with a solid win against a very good team," Dale said.

Early in the second half, senior midfielder and Carter converted on a direct free kick opportunity just outside the box from 22 yards away.

"Cath has been tremendous over the past few seasons at being a consistent threat to put away dead ball chances," Dale said. "This was not one of her better strikes on frame, but it was enough to catch their keeper off balance, and it found the net.

"Their center forward (Illinois State recruit) was the best player we have seen all year, and that's saying a lot since we've seen Brookfield Central and DSHA already. She had incredible touch and speed, but it was clear our defenders had frustrated her for the entire match. I'd say it was our best effort from our back four all season."

The Red Raiders lost their semifinal game, 1-0, to the host team, Prospect High School, on Saturday morning in Illinois. The Raiders had the advantage in terms of ball control for most of the match, but unfortunately lost due to an own goal.

"Prospect did have some threats up top, and on one particular build they were able to serve a nice cross into our box. Our defender went up to attack the ball on a clearing header, and, unfortunately, due to some pressure from her opponent, placed the ball past our keeper's reach. It actually was a well-defended chance; it just took a bad bounce."

The Raiders' final match of the tournament earned them third place in a field of eight quality teams, as they easily beat Champaign Central High School, 5-0.

Sophomore Evan Knauss scored her first varsity goal in the sixth minute, with an assist from senior Chyna Sincere. Ibanez-Baldor added her second goal of the season in the 23rd minute, with an assist from fellow sophomore Crosbie Kowalski for a 2-0 halftime lead.

In the second half, Reagan scored in the 47th minute, with the assist coming from Knauss. Later, in the 58th minute, senior midfielder Riley Johnson put the Raiders up 4-0 with yet another assist from Knauss. The Raiders' final goal came in the 67th minute on an unassisted goal from Bueckers.