MONROE - With little practice time and a lot of new faces, Monroe girls soccer coach Miriam O'Neill didn't know what to expect in Tuesday's season opener.
Monroe passed its first test after junior Kylee Ritschard scored three goals and had two assists to lead the Cheesemakers to a 7-0 win over Dodgeville at Honey Creek Park.
"You always kind of worry about the first game," O'Neill said. "The girls get kind of nervous about it. We have a young team and don't have a lot of depth. Everyone stepped up. I saw a really good team out there today."
There was no need to worry early as the Cheesemakers dominated the ball and took a 1-0 lead on junior Abbey Schneider's goal 30 seconds into the game. Monroe freshman Leeza Foley scored a goal at 7 minutes, 5 seconds on an assist from Ritschard to give the Cheesemakers a 2-0 lead.
"It's hard for a freshman to come into a varsity team and perform like that," O'Neill said, of Foley.
The Cheesemakers exploded for three goals in about three minutes. Sophomore forward Chelsea Haffele scored a goal on Ritschard's second assist to give the Cheesemakers a 3-0 lead at 32:13. Ritschard added a goal moments later on a pass from senior Alyssa Studer. Then, Ritschard capped off a scoring outburst with her second goal on an assist from senior midfielder Tessa Brown to give the Cheesemakers an insurmountable 5-0 lead at halftime.
"Kylee and Chelsea work so well together as a team," O'Neill said. "She (Ritschard) is just so good at using her body and turning. She just has that intensity to go get the goal every time."
Ritschard said everyone did an excellent job of passing the ball, hitting on some crosses and pushing the ball up on defense.
"I was a little nervous coming into it," Ritschard said. "I really have been at practice a lot. My teammates helped me get the ball up and get focused."
Ritschard added her third goal on a penalty kick at 50:48. Junior midfielder Briana Beck capped the scoring with a goal off a pass from Haffele.
Senior goalkeeper Gail LaVoie had one save in the shutout. The Cheesemakers' defenders limited the Dodgers to just one shot.
Studer, who usually plays sweeper, was moved up into an offensive position, and she took advantage of the opportunity.
"Alyssa Studer is a phenomenal player," O'Neill said. "It was nice to get her up the field in the middle and set up some scoring. We really did dominate the game."
Monroe passed its first test after junior Kylee Ritschard scored three goals and had two assists to lead the Cheesemakers to a 7-0 win over Dodgeville at Honey Creek Park.
"You always kind of worry about the first game," O'Neill said. "The girls get kind of nervous about it. We have a young team and don't have a lot of depth. Everyone stepped up. I saw a really good team out there today."
There was no need to worry early as the Cheesemakers dominated the ball and took a 1-0 lead on junior Abbey Schneider's goal 30 seconds into the game. Monroe freshman Leeza Foley scored a goal at 7 minutes, 5 seconds on an assist from Ritschard to give the Cheesemakers a 2-0 lead.
"It's hard for a freshman to come into a varsity team and perform like that," O'Neill said, of Foley.
The Cheesemakers exploded for three goals in about three minutes. Sophomore forward Chelsea Haffele scored a goal on Ritschard's second assist to give the Cheesemakers a 3-0 lead at 32:13. Ritschard added a goal moments later on a pass from senior Alyssa Studer. Then, Ritschard capped off a scoring outburst with her second goal on an assist from senior midfielder Tessa Brown to give the Cheesemakers an insurmountable 5-0 lead at halftime.
"Kylee and Chelsea work so well together as a team," O'Neill said. "She (Ritschard) is just so good at using her body and turning. She just has that intensity to go get the goal every time."
Ritschard said everyone did an excellent job of passing the ball, hitting on some crosses and pushing the ball up on defense.
"I was a little nervous coming into it," Ritschard said. "I really have been at practice a lot. My teammates helped me get the ball up and get focused."
Ritschard added her third goal on a penalty kick at 50:48. Junior midfielder Briana Beck capped the scoring with a goal off a pass from Haffele.
Senior goalkeeper Gail LaVoie had one save in the shutout. The Cheesemakers' defenders limited the Dodgers to just one shot.
Studer, who usually plays sweeper, was moved up into an offensive position, and she took advantage of the opportunity.
"Alyssa Studer is a phenomenal player," O'Neill said. "It was nice to get her up the field in the middle and set up some scoring. We really did dominate the game."
