MONROE — Sugar River opened the season with a No. 5 ranking in the state in Division 3, while the Cheesemakers were firmly outside the Top 10. But despite a 6-1 Raiders win April 2 between the two Green County clubs, both sides saw positives.

“Monroe is always a tough matchup for us. It’s kind of a friendly rivalry and they always bring their best against us,” said Sugar River coach John Ziperski, whose team scored on three set pieces to set up the win. “We’re happy to be down here and play them. Hat’s off to (Monroe), they played a spirited game.”

Monroe (0-2) has a slew of underclassmen on this year’s squad, and the Cheesemakers’ starting goalie is out with an injury. That meant freshman Kyla Ziolkowski moved into the net, and she shined in many first half opportunities.

“She hasn’t played goalie in years,” Monroe coach Kyle Kasten said. “Having her step in with just a few weeks of training, I can’t speak more to how awesome Kyla has done. She’s stepped in, she’s embraced it and done great.”

In the fifth minute, the Raiders (2-1) had a corner kick and nearly scored on a clean rebound off the left side of the box, but Ziolkowski made a forearm save that energized the fans in the stands at T.R. Holyoke Field.

“The girls’ intensity came right from the start,” Kasten said. “They had a lot of heart, a lot of drive and they wanted to be successful.”

Sugar River’s Emma Anson scored the first goal of the game on a penalty kick off of a handball in the box. Anson went to Ziolkowski’s left, low and hard to make it 1-0 at the 18:36 mark.

Just five minutes later, the Cheesemakers got a penalty kick opportunity of their own, also due to a handball in the box. Zoee Pond’s low kick was blocked by Raiders all-state keeper Rachael Heittola, but Pond pounced on the rebound and flushed the ball clean into the back of the net on the right side to even the score.

“It was great to get one in the back of the net, and it was great awareness by Zoee to follow up with that shot. I’m sure she was probably frustrated after the keeper saved it, but she had the wherewithal to continue in on the play and do what she’s trained to do and follow it in,” Kasten said.

Heittola allowed just five goals last season — only two of which came in the regular season. After suffering a 2-0 loss to Edgewood in the opener, her goals scored against now stands at three for 2019.

“It was unfortunate we gave up the PK — PKs are just always unfortunate both ways,” Ziperski said.

In the 40th minute, Ellie Gentilli made it 2-1 with a 35-yard high lob that arched over the outstretched arms of Ziolkowski and into the back of the net.

In the second half, the Raiders were much more spirited. Sugar River scored just 65 seconds into the frame on a free kick from the left side of the box by Kirsten Krantz that curled around the blockade and past Ziolkowski. Just 70 seconds later, Morgan Hustad scored the first of her two goals to make it 4-1.

“I was happy with our efforts early second half, probably happier than I was in the first half,” Ziperski said.

Krantz sent a corner kick into the box that Julia McNamar lightly poked into the net to make it 5-1, and Ziolkowski was replaced in net by Lily Frehner.

“I would have left her in for 90, but I know that she’s more than talented and I wanted her on the pitch as well,” Kasten said. “She stepped up. Yes, the score line is five, but I told her it’s more than one person. There’s 10 other girls in front of her and we have to work as an 11-girl unit.”

In the 85th minute, Hustad scored her second goal off a pass from Francesca Schiro.

“My teammates did a really great job of passing tonight. That second goal, Franny did a great job — I give her all the credit for that one, because I just had to pass it in (to the net),” Hustad said.

Ziperski said scoring three goals off set pieces was a nice development to see.

“We are hoping that this year that we could continue with some of our luck around set pieces. Losing Amie (Sies) last year, she was kind of a specialist around that. To see some success on our corner kicks and the direct kick — Kristen had a great shot on goal — happy about that,” Ziperski said. We’re not always going to get those. We have some cleanup on some of the other stuff in the attacking third.”

After losing to Division 3’s third-ranked Edgewood in the opener March 29, the Raiders dominated West Salem 4-0 March 30. Krantz and Gentilli each scored a goal, while Jaylynn Benson put two in the net. Sugar River was set to play April 5 at Stoughton, followed by a road game against Platteville-Lancaster April 8 and a trip to Lake Mills April 9. The Raiders first home game is set for April 11 against Sun Prairie, the third-ranked team in Division 1.

“Against Edgewood we really found things that we needed to work on,” Hustad said.

Monroe’s season opener was a 5-0 loss to Platteville-Lancaster March 29. The Cheesemakers were scheduled to host Portage/Poynette at the high school field April 4 and then play April 8 at Jefferson and April 9 against Edgewood at home.

“Having Sugar River as our second game is not necessarily ideal, but it’s fun to see that talent so they realize what we’ll see going up throughout the season,” Kasten said. “There’s a few mistakes that we want to get cleaned up, but it’s only April 2. We have some new girls out who are just getting used to going hard and going fast.”