MONROE — After losing the season opener 16-0 to defending state champion Oregon, the Cheesemakers bounced back as good as any coach could have hoped.

On May 14, Monroe beat Lodi 3-2. It was the program’s first win in 1,079 days, going back to May 31, 2018. Just four varsity players from that game are still on the team: seniors Zoee Pond, Maddison Markham, Anika Einbeck and Kourtney Walter.

Against Lodi, Walter scored the game winning goal, while fellow senior Megan Benzschawel added two of her own. Freshman forward Addison Bartholf had two assists.

“The girls really took practice seriously all week,” said first-year head coach Samantha Rudi. “They gathered all the lessons, they worked hard, they took the information we were giving them and they decided they were going to work hard for the full 90 minutes.” Even when the school was shocked with the news of the death of senior Hunter Harrison, Rudi said her squad used the tragedy to begin to heal and grow together. “We had a rough blow in the middle of the week, and the way they kind of banded together over that and play together and work hard for 90 full minutes is what showed tonight.”

Monroe wasted no time showing the Blue Devils that the Cheesemakers would be on the attack. Just 20 seconds in the game, Walter found herself inside the 18 box and sent a pass toward net that escaped the arms of the goalie — but also Benzschawel and the goal. 

“Last week (against Oregon) we didn’t get a shot on goal, and I told them in practice this week that a shot on goal is an opportunity, and some of those opportunities will fall if you keep taking them,” Rudi said. “Just getting that (scoring) opportunity, we took that as a win.”

Both teams had ample offensive opportunities to score throughout the contest, and both goaltenders made big plays to save the score from getting out of hand. Lodi scored first right at the 17-minute mark when Grasyn Schmidt took a free kick pass from midfield and redirected the ball to teammate Taylor Peterson just as Monroe’s freshman goalkeeper, Kaelyn Welch stepped up to make a play on the ball.

The Cheesemakers didn’t let the score get into their heads — instead it amplified their offensive attack.

Just over seven minutes later Monroe players celebrated their first goal of the season — by Benzschawel, a state-qualifying track star that played soccer in her youth, but not yet at the high school level.

Einbeck sent a high looping pass into the far side of the 18 box, and Bartholf beat her defender for control and then sent a perfect to the chest of Walter in front of the net, but the defense disrupted the play just enough to keep the first touch from going into the net. Walter and Benzschawel boxed out a pair of Lodi defenders, and as Lodi keeper Olivia Lange dove for the ball, Benzschawel went down on one knee and punched the ball free and into the back of the net for the equalizer.

“The girls are so smart about understanding what they did to get that goal. They really paid attention to how that builds in the game while the game is happening — as a former soccer player, that’s not an easy thing to do,” Rudi admitted. “As they equalized, they knew exactly what they needed to do to get the next one.”

The Devils took advantage of an opportunity at midfield just a minute later, as Krista Mayberry won possession with a jumping chest, then sent a through ball to Schmidt, who perfectly timed her break to the net. Schmidt then sent a hard, lofted kick from outside the 18 into the corner of the net for a 2-1 advantage with just shy of 20 minutes left in the half.

The score would remain the same by intermission, but it wouldn’t last long in the second half. 

“We had a couple of unlucky moments in the middle of the game, but the girls were doing the exact right thing at the exact right time,” Rudi said. “They instilled that confidence and I think they knew they were doing the right thing to move forward.”

Just minutes into the second half, Benzschawel’s speed was on display — as was the athleticism of another Monroe freshman, Karlee Boll. Just 90 seconds into the half, Boll used a quick foot to punch an open ball away from a Lodi player, then burst forward in a hard sprint to midfield. She then sent a hard through ball up the middle for Benzschawel to sprint after. Lange came out to the top of the box to try and knock the ball away, but Benzschawel was able to touch the ball beyond her for the goal. At the 46:36 mark, both teams were all squared away.

The mixture of youth and experienced senior leadership has gelled quicker than Rudi expected it to.

“I’m the luckiest coach in the world, and I will say it to anyone who will listen. This is the best group of girls. I couldn’t imagine anyone better — I’ll get emotional talking about it, because they are so great,” Rudi said. “They come ready to play. They treat each other like family. They work hard. They have fun and there has never been a moment of hierarchy between seniors and freshman or juniors or anything. I can’t say I fostered any of that — they are wonderful girls who have the right attitude every day.”

Monroe’s third goal practically duplicated its first score. Freshman Marlies Brandli threw in to Benzschawel, who sent an air pass ahead deep into the Lodi zone for Bartholf, who then beat her defender on a sprint to the end line, perfectly sending the ball over the head of Lange and the other Lodi defenders. The pass curled in perfectly to Walter, who made sure her chest touch went into the back of the net and didn’t stray away with 35:31 left in the game.

“A perfect pass,” Rudi said. “We practice that, and to see it happen so perfectly in the game was a dream come true. To see a freshman (Bartholf) take a leadership role like that and be confident in her cross — and literally make a perfect pass — it was a special moment and so cool.”

Lodi continued to pressure the rest of the way — and the Cheesemakers had more offensive opportunities themselves, but Monroe’s defense was able to stay strong and close out the victory.

With the entire week of practicing leading up to the win, the squad won’t have much time to shore up any loose ends. After a weekend free from the pitch, Monroe had just one day of practice on Monday before hosting Milton.

“I really want to build on what we did tonight, because we had so many good components tonight that I just want to build on that. We’ll work a bit on our defense and tweak a bit in our midfield. We saw some things in our transition, but overall, what we saw in tonight’s game is exactly what we want to take into Tuesday,” Rudi said.

With a shortened regular season and no junior varsity team, the Cheesemakers have just six more scheduled games before the WIAA playoffs. Monroe is slated to host Watertown May 21, then travel to Monona Grove May 25 before a May 28 game back at T.R. Holyoke Field against Platteville-Lancaster. In the final week of the regular season, the Cheesemakers have three games: home against Edgewood June 1, then road games at Fort Atkinson (June 3) and at Stoughton (June 5). 

Sugar River sweeps Swiss Kick

NEW GLARUS — Sugar River improved to 6-1 with wins over Dodgeville-Mineral Point and Columbus May 15 at the Swiss Kick Tournament in New Glarus.

The Raiders defeated Dodgeville-Mineral Point 4-0, and then pummeled Columbus 9-1, just four days after narrowly beating the same squad 1-0 in a Capitol Conference game. 

Sugar River, ranked fifth in the Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association Division 3 poll, received a hat trick from Carrah Bainbridge against Columbus. Jaylynn Benson and Kirsten Krantz each had two goals, and Riley O’Flanagan and Regyn Jelle each added a goal as well. 

Defensively, the Raiders allowed just three shots on net in the contest.