Red Raiders win regional championship

The Wauwatosa East girls soccer team will have an opportunity to get revenge tonight when they travel to Divine Savior Holy Angels at Quad Park to take on the Dashers in a 7 p.m. sectional semifinal.

It was the Dashers (15-4-2, 6-1) who knocked off the Red Raiders (14-7, 5-2) by a 3-0 score at DSHA on May 22 in the season finale to win second place.

The third-seeded Red Raiders need to get by the second-seeded Dashers, considered by some to be the favorite to win the sectional despite Brookfield Central (17-5-1) being ranked No. 1 and having handed DSHA its only loss.

If coach Lauren Cervero's young but talented team can accomplish that feat, they will face the winner of tonight's Lancers/Brookfield East (7-9-3) game.

Central beat Tosa East, 3-1, in a match that took two days to play because of weather conditions and the Red Raiders beat Brookfield East, 5-2, early in the year.

The reason that the Red Raiders are in this position is because they won two games in the regionals last week, beating Milwaukee Reagan/WCLL (4-6-1) of the City Conference and Oak Creek (11-13) of the Southeast Conference.

REGIONAL FINALS

The Red Raiders beat Oak Creek, 4-2, on Saturday afternoon at Quad Park, but they actually trailed six minutes into the game when the Knights' Bianca Alarcon scored for a 1-0 lead.

But Cervero's crew made sure they were up by halftime, as Chrissy Hoefgen scored at 9:30 with an assist from Katie Salmon to tie the game.

Then the amazing Salmon racked up her second assist, setting up Maddie Packard's score at 29:10 for a 2-1 lead they wouldn't relinquish.

In the second half, the Red Raiders scored when Salmon chalked up a hat-trick when she passed to Alayah Walls at 47:52 for a 3-1 lead.

The Knights battled back, scoring on a shot by Brianna Reid in the 56th minute to make it a 3-2 game with 24 minutes left to play.

Tosa East then put the finishing touches on the match when Rebecca Pallo scored with 28 seconds left.

REGIONAL SEMIFINALS

Tosa East made quick work of the Wizards of Reagan/WCLL, winning, 10-0, on May 31 at Whitman Field.

Shea Conway and Walls scored three and two goals, respectively. Packard, Salmon, Sammi Osinski, Amanda Babler and Katie Hoefgen had the other goals.

Pallo assisted on two scores while Walls, Packard and Chrissy Hoefgen had one each.

Conway scored all three of her goals in the first half and Walls had one for a 4-0 lead at intermission.

Walls, Osinski, Packard, Babler, Katie Hoefgen, Salmon scored in the second half.

SECTIONAL LINEUP

June 7, 7 p.m.

Wauwatosa East vs. DSHA

Brookfield East at Brookfield Central

June 9, 1 p.m.

Winners play at Brookfield Central