MONROE — The Cheesemakers opened the alternative fall boys soccer season with a clear picture of where to look: Up.
Milton beat Monroe by mercy-rule March 30, 10-0, the first time the Cheesemakers had taken to the pitch since October 24, 2019 (523 days ago), when they lost to Mount Horeb 11-1.
“There is nowhere to go but up,” first-year coach Matt Bodeau said. “We’re moving forward at this point. There’s a lot of climbing we can do.”
To make matters tougher, Monroe graduated seven starters since that WIAA Division 3 playoff loss to Mount Horeb. There are currently zero seniors on this year’s squad, and one of the team captains was lost prior to the season with an injury.
“We are fortunate that we have some guys with club experience from the offseason,” Bodeau said. “I am beyond pleased with everybody who got some of their first varsity minutes in this game. Some of the younger guys played against players that were probably two or three grades above them, and I am very proud of them.”
Of Monroe’s 22-man roster this spring, seven are freshman, and another seven are sophomores.
Wanting to give his young players some confidence, Bodeau took a risk in the scheme of his lineup. To the untrained eye, it appeared the defense was out of position or getting beat one-on-one, which led to Milton scoring three goals in a four-minute stretch in the first half. The Red Hawks went into halftime with a 5-0 advantage.
“That formation, they played it exactly how I asked them to. Those first five goals are on me,” Bodeau said. “I had them arranged in an attacking formation that left them open in the midfield. We changed that in the second half and it looked a lot better.”
Milton’s attack didn’t slow in the second half. The Red Hawks scored two goals in the first 8 minutes of the frame off the slick left-foot of junior Gavin Clarquist.
Monroe had a pair of runs at the net but couldn’t get a clean, decisive shot off. Bodeau said that was something he intends to work on with his players.
“I would have liked to have seen a few more shots on goal, but that’s something to build from,” Bodeau said.
With 11:38 left in the second half, Milton made it 10-0 to end the game early. Mason Vilbrandt and Joey Leverenz each had two goals for Milton.
Monroe junior Jack Carter spent the entire night in the net and made many athletic saves, which pleased his coach.
“He saved quite a few that should have gone in, but he got his hands on them. I would like to see us show to him when he has the ball and work off the ball,” Bodeau said.
Monroe is scheduled to play at Stoughton April 6, then host DeForest two days later.
Sugar River 1, Evansville 1
BELLEVILLE — The Raiders let a 1-0 lead slip away in the closing minutes in a season-opening draw with the Blue Devils March 30.
Breckin Faber broke the egg for both teams in the 23rd minute to give Sugar River the initial lead. Ryan Downing was credited with the assist.
In the final minute, Evansville put the equalizer into the back of the net to force the draw.
Luke Brecklin got the start in goal for the Raiders and knocked away four shots.
Up next for Sugar River is an April 6 game at Wisconsin Heights-Barneveld.
