MOUNT HOREB — With its second shutout of the playoffs, Sugar River (18-1-1, 8-0 Capitol) defeated La Crosse Logan (9-6-5, 4-4-2 Mississippi Valley) 2-0 to claim the regional title. Junior Aiden Hatleberg scored both of the Raiders’ goals, one on a penalty kick.
“He [Hatleberg] is such a dynamic player,” head coach Robert Gentilli said. “He covers so much of the field. He’s not just staying right in the middle shooting goals. Both sides of the ball — defensively and offensively — I’m glad we have him.”
Before the game even started, Sugar River’s adaptability was tested. The location of the game was changed twice — Reddan Park to Belleville — before settling on the third and final location in Mount Horeb.
“Whenever you play on a different pitch — grass or turf — it always affects you,” Gentilli said. “That’s the problem we’ve always had. We’re always practicing on grass, and then we come to a field that’s bigger. Then we went to Reddan, and that’s huge turf. It’s never consistent. Maybe that showed today. We were just out of sorts a bit.”
Despite maintaining possession for a majority of the first half, Sugar River didn’t score a goal until the 38th minute. Going against the Raiders’ initial beliefs, the wind proved to be more difficult than anticipated.
“The wind did two things for us. One, it kept the ball on their side of the field 90 percent of the first half,” Gentilli said. “Once we got it through their back line, the ball just kept going. We wanted the wind, but not so strong of a wind.”
Aiden Hatleberg broke the stalemate in the first half despite wind difficulties. He beat a La Crosse Logan defender to the ball and broke to the goal, getting tripped up at the end. Hatleberg was awarded a penalty kick on which he capitalized.
“Every game I know that they will come at me hard,” Hatleberg said of the increased pressure he’s been facing. “I know there’s going to be three or four guys on me every time, so I try to draw the guys away and create my own space that can lead to opportunities and goals.”
The Raiders adjusted their offense in the second half to use more of the pitch, which paid off with another goal from Hatleberg.
Tikeh Tazeh broke to the goal and kicked a centering pass to Hatleberg, who bicycled kicked it into the net.
Sugar River defense — rather offense — kept the ball out of its own net as the clock wound down for the win. Keeper Clayton Streiff earned a shutout with eight saves.
SUGAR RIVER 6, JEFFERSON 0
BELLEVILLE — To have the opportunity to play for the regional title, the Raiders had to get past Jefferson.
Breckyn Thompson scored 35 seconds into the game against Jefferson (2-17-3, 0-6-0 Rock Valley), proving to be the only goal Sugar River needed to secure a win.
With ten minutes left in the half, Hatleberg scored twice in two minutes. The first was assisted by Eli Leonard, while the second was unassisted. In the second half, Hatleberg completed his hat trick with a pass from Jack Leonard.
Eli Leonard, who was credited with the two previous assists, scored his own goal in the 55th minute. Tazeh earned the assist. With 15 seconds left in the game, Dylan Brooks connected with Jack Douma for the sixth and final goal.
Sugar River will host No. 4-seeded McFarland in the section semifinal on Thursday, Oct. 27. The Spartans handed the Raiders their only tie of the season on Sept. 6.
“The road always leads to McFarland for some reason,” Gentilli said. “They’re always tough. I don’t care what their record is. They are always well organized, well coached. They have the players that can make a difference. Playing McFarland in an opportunity like that is wonderful. The good part is we get to choose where we play.”
