MILWAUKEE — The first time Sugar River boys soccer went to state in 2004, the Raiders came home empty handed. This year, Sugar River brought home the gold ball with a 4-1 win over Plymouth in the Division 3 championship game on Saturday, Nov. 4.

“It hasn’t sunken in yet,” Sugar River head coach Bob Gentilli said. “I was there for the girls in 2016 and 2018 when both my girls (Sydney and Jenna) were on the team. As a coach now — oh my. I tried to look into the stands as much as I could to savor the moment. I told the boys to as well. It goes by so fast that we can’t take these moments for granted.”

Second-seeded Plymouth shut out No. 3-seed Somerset 5-0 in the other semifinal, with two of the goals coming from senior Owen Plate. It was the Panthers’ 13th shutout of the season. In fact, Plymouth allowed just 0.62 goals against average. The Panthers’ 4-3 loss to Notre Dame during the regular season was an anomaly.

No. 4-seed Sugar River proved up to the task, though, out-shooting Plymouth 3-1 before Aiden Hatleberg’s first goal in the 23rd minute. Alvaro Perez chipped it over the top, hitting Hatleberg in stride for a goal. The duo has connected eight times this season and developed an instant chemistry.

“He’s from Spain,” Hatleberg said of exchange-student Perez. “We’ve just had some chemistry ever since we got together. It’s been amazing this season.”

Shortly after the goal, the scoreboard went out. For the rest of the half, coaches, players and fans didn’t know how much time was left on the clock. That didn’t phase the Raiders, though, who went on to score less than two minutes later.

Hatleberg sent a free kick into the box, connecting with a sliding Jack Leonard. Plymouth goaltender Isaac Falk stopped Leonard’s initial shot but let up a rebound. Josh Potter stood ready and waiting, scoring his fourth goal of the season.

Sugar River scored once more in the first half, as Hatleberg beat his defender and kicked it into the bottom right corner.

The Raiders nearly took a 4-0 lead into halftime, as another one of Hatleberg’s shots hit the pipe. Brady Mousseau was there for the bounce back, but Falk stopped the second-chance shot. Regardless, Sugar River had a 3-0 lead after the first frame — the same halftime score against Pius XI. In that game, the Popes came out stronger than the Raiders in the second half.

“We have to act like it’s 0-0 the whole game,” Perez said of his team’s mentality starting the new frame.

Despite the halftime message, Plymouth managed to score just over two minutes in. Jack Jacquat took the free kick and connected with Jaren Baltus. His shot hit the post, but Plate was there for the rebound.

“Obviously, there were a little bit of nerves there,” Hatleberg said of the score. “But we maintained it.”

For the next thirty minutes, the two teams matched each other’s energy — Plymouth took six shots, while Sugar River had five. Two of the Panthers’ shots came in two minutes, as it looked like Plymouth was gaining momentum.

The final goal of Hatleberg’s hat trick put the nail in the coffin, though, as Sugar River took a 4-1 lead with just three and a half minutes to play.

As time expired, the Raider bench ran to the field where seniors Hatleberg, Mousseau and Ben Johnson were hugging. The three are part of the 14-player senior class that has compiled a 60-8-5 record in the last four seasons, which includes three regional titles, a sectional title and now a state title.

“It’s been an amazing season and we finally got this result,” Hatleberg said. “We’ve been working for it the past four years.”

In the process of earning a gold ball, Sugar River set three new Division 3 state tournament records and tied another. Junior goaltender Clayton Streiff, who had a season-high 12 saves against top-seeded Pius XI in the state semifinal game, added another six against Plymouth for a total of 18 in the tournament. The mark bested that of The Prairie School and its goaltender Devin Stoltenberg, who set the previous record of 17 in 2020.

Hatleberg, who will continue his soccer career at UW-Platteville next fall, tied the Division 3 record for goals in a tournament with five. He shares that honor with Mount Horeb’s Jaden Neumann, who set the record in 2017. However, with Hatleberg’s assist to Potter in the championship game, he set a new record for points in a tournament with 11. Neumann did not tally an assist in the 2017 state tournament.