MONROE — While the Cheesemakers remain at the bottom of the Badger South standings this spring in girls soccer, the improvement of the squad from the 2019 season is noticeable to the naked eye. That doesn’t mean the team still isn’t without mistakes or finding themselves in the wrong position from time to time.

On May 21, Monroe fell to Watertown 4-1 on senior night. It didn’t help that the deficit lasted nearly the entire contest.

“Those first 11 seconds I am not thrilled about, obviously, because we weren’t quite ready when we stepped on the field. But we stayed competitive and had just as many shots as them — if not more. We had a lot of chances that just didn’t go our way, again. That’s kind of a theme for this year,” said Monroe coach Samantha Rudi. 

The opening goal came moments after kickoff. Monroe was caught flatfooted as the opening pass backward turned into a deep through ball to left winger Autumn Meyers, who beat a couple of Monroe defenders and slipped a shot past freshman goalkeeper Kaelyn Welch just 11 seconds into the game. 

With a light rain hitting the pitch at T.R. Holyoke Field, the home team refocused and went on to hold the pressure for much of the next 40 minutes, though unable to scratch across a goal despite multiple chances. 

“I think we held possess more than Watertown through this game. We just didn’t get a few things to go our way or the finishes we wanted. We had maybe one defensive lapse that let a goal in,” Rudi said.

Then, in the 43rd minute, Watertown’s Aubrey Schmutzler put a free kick from just outside the box off over the defensive wall and to the left of Monroe goalkeeper Kaelyn Welch. The ball ricocheted off the post and bounced all the way back out beyond the 18, where Schmutzler put another shot on net, with Welch diving to deflect it. However, there was no defender marked up on Meyers, who snuck into the 6-yard box for an easy tap in and a 2-0 lead at 42:18.

The Cheesemakers went right back on the offensive attack. Megan Benzschawel’s kickoff to Addison Bartholf on the right side was deflected out of bounds. Bartholf rushed over for the throw in, and found Benzschawel sprinting up the pitch. Moments later, a clear-out attempt was blocked by a leaping Benzschawel, and the ball rolled to the touchline, though not out of bounds.  A Watertown defender thought the ball had gone past the touchline for a throw-in, but the sideline official deemed the ball was still in play and a handball was ruled.

Zoee Pond came up from the defense for a free kick from the touchline, even with the top of the 18-box. Pond sent a shot right at the goalie, and Benzschawel stepped near the keeper, forcing a flinch, which allowed the ball to squirt by at the 43:44 mark. 

The Goslings went right to work again, sending the kickoff deep into the Monroe zone. Though the initial rush was cleared, Monroe defender Emilie Perdue was called for a push from nearly 40 yards out. Schmutzler set up for the free kick and went right for goal herself. Welch leapt to swat the ball away, but instead it went through her finger tips and into the back of the net with just 38 seconds left before the break.

The Goslings made it 4-1 on Meyers’ third goal of the night, just four minutes into the second half — which made it four total combined goals in just a 7-minute, 5-second stretch of game time. From there, however, neither team struck net again.

“I told the girls after the game that I am so proud of them. Two years ago against Watertown, we lost 10-0. So here we lost 4-1 in a game that was every bit competitive for the full 90 minutes. I’m so proud of the effort they gave the entire time. In fact, the other coach (Julie Allweil) came up to me after the game and said that if her girls played hard the entire game like we did, she would be thrilled,” Rudi said. “We coaches see that effort, and now other people are seeing it too. Their effort and their hustle and the way they continue to fight is remarkable.”

Neither team scored again the rest of the match.

“I think we played exactly how I hope we play every single game, because if we keep doing this, they are going to start falling our way,” Rudi said.

Monroe (1-3) is already halfway through the regular season, as the Cheesemakers had just nine games on the schedule. Monroe was set to travel to Monona Grove May 25, then host Platteville-Lancaster May 28 at Honey Creek Park. On June 1, Edgewood comes to Honey Creek Park, with the final two games of the of the regular season set for road trips: Fort Atkinson June 3, then June 5 at Stoughton. 

“We’re going to keep working on those fundamentals and doing the things we are doing — repetition makes it second nature for us. We’re going to work on finishing — if we can get some of these to drop, we can keep it more competitive and some of these games can be close the whole time,” Rudi said. “Then we just need to come with the intensity from the very first second next game.”