MONROE - Usually defense rules in a game marred by wind and cold conditions. That was the case again Monday when the Cheesemakers shut out Lodi 2-0 to pick up a non-conference win.
"Our defense was outstanding. They all did a really nice job," Monroe coach Miriam O'Neill said. "In the first half I thought we were very disorganized. We talked about it at halftime. In the second half we really organized ourselves. Our passes were connecting and we were making really nice runs on the outside."
Goalkeeper Katie Coplien had some early work in the net, and didn't let a little mud spoil her eventual Senior Night post-game smile.
"It's cold, but I keep warm by moving - that's all I can do," said Coplien, a senior. "I lost feeling in some of my fingers and dropped the ball once. But other than that, the cold doesn't matter. You get so focused on the game you don't even notice it."
Lodi made an early charge at goal in the first half. Just four minutes in on their second offensive possession, the Blue Devils had a grand scoring opportunity. A shot across the box rolled past Coplien and ricocheted off the left post, but Coplien leapt from her knees and covered the ball right on the goal line.
"I was a little nervous about that one. It scared the crap out of me, I'm not going to lie," said Coplien, who nearly lost the handle on a ball deep in her own territory with under 10 minutes left in the game.
Monroe's offense again continued its onslaught of pressure. Outside of a 10-1 win against overmatched Wisconsin Heights, the Cheesemakers (2-1-1) had scored just two goals in their other three games. With returning offensive threats Chelsea Haffele and Kylee Ritschard, last year's Badger South's leading scorer - and incoming freshman Vanessa Studer - the offense is set up to score a handful of goals a game. The law of averages suggests Monroe's offense is ready for a string of breakout games.
"It's clicking more. We're getting a lot more combinations up in our attacking half. We're getting into the box and moving better off the ball," O'Neill said. "We had more crosses in this game than I've seen."
Studer scored both of Monroe's goals on Monday on free kicks. The first one came in the 22nd minute of the first half from the right wing.
"That was a beautiful free kick from Vanessa. It's always nice to see them score from a nice set play like that. It's what you really want," O'Neill said. "Vanessa is such a well-rounded player. We can put her at forward, at midfield, she'll come back and help out on defense - it's great to have a player like that. She just wants to play, play well wherever you put her, she has a great attitude to the sport and teammates, she distributes the ball and has such great vision of the field - she's a huge contribution to our team."
Studer then gave the Cheesemakers some breathing room in the closing minutes of the second half. With elbows being thrown and bodies bumping together late in the game, Studer was given back-to-back opportunities from the top of the box for another free kick. She put the ball just past the Lodi's goalie with 6:33 left in the game.
"That was huge, because everyone could relax a little bit more," O'Neill said. "Things were getting a little bit intense on the field. But after that (goal), people started to relax on the field a little bit."
Studer said she just loves to play and win.
"Whatever the game gives us we're going to get. Someday all those shots will fall for us," Studer said.
Taking over for her sister Alyssa, who graduated last spring, the younger Studer says she's learned a lot about soccer from her sibling.
"She definitely helped make me a lot tougher mentally and physically," Vanessa Studer said. "I feel fine out there. The team makes me really feel apart of the team and we get along really well."
The Cheesemakers travel to Belleville on Thursday for a Green County rivalry game against Sugar River. Last year the Cheesemakers upended the Raiders for the first time in program history, 1-0. This year Sugar River has outscored its opponents 19-3 in three games, with two of those games being shutouts - in which the opponent never got off a shot attempt.
"Our defense was outstanding. They all did a really nice job," Monroe coach Miriam O'Neill said. "In the first half I thought we were very disorganized. We talked about it at halftime. In the second half we really organized ourselves. Our passes were connecting and we were making really nice runs on the outside."
Goalkeeper Katie Coplien had some early work in the net, and didn't let a little mud spoil her eventual Senior Night post-game smile.
"It's cold, but I keep warm by moving - that's all I can do," said Coplien, a senior. "I lost feeling in some of my fingers and dropped the ball once. But other than that, the cold doesn't matter. You get so focused on the game you don't even notice it."
Lodi made an early charge at goal in the first half. Just four minutes in on their second offensive possession, the Blue Devils had a grand scoring opportunity. A shot across the box rolled past Coplien and ricocheted off the left post, but Coplien leapt from her knees and covered the ball right on the goal line.
"I was a little nervous about that one. It scared the crap out of me, I'm not going to lie," said Coplien, who nearly lost the handle on a ball deep in her own territory with under 10 minutes left in the game.
Monroe's offense again continued its onslaught of pressure. Outside of a 10-1 win against overmatched Wisconsin Heights, the Cheesemakers (2-1-1) had scored just two goals in their other three games. With returning offensive threats Chelsea Haffele and Kylee Ritschard, last year's Badger South's leading scorer - and incoming freshman Vanessa Studer - the offense is set up to score a handful of goals a game. The law of averages suggests Monroe's offense is ready for a string of breakout games.
"It's clicking more. We're getting a lot more combinations up in our attacking half. We're getting into the box and moving better off the ball," O'Neill said. "We had more crosses in this game than I've seen."
Studer scored both of Monroe's goals on Monday on free kicks. The first one came in the 22nd minute of the first half from the right wing.
"That was a beautiful free kick from Vanessa. It's always nice to see them score from a nice set play like that. It's what you really want," O'Neill said. "Vanessa is such a well-rounded player. We can put her at forward, at midfield, she'll come back and help out on defense - it's great to have a player like that. She just wants to play, play well wherever you put her, she has a great attitude to the sport and teammates, she distributes the ball and has such great vision of the field - she's a huge contribution to our team."
Studer then gave the Cheesemakers some breathing room in the closing minutes of the second half. With elbows being thrown and bodies bumping together late in the game, Studer was given back-to-back opportunities from the top of the box for another free kick. She put the ball just past the Lodi's goalie with 6:33 left in the game.
"That was huge, because everyone could relax a little bit more," O'Neill said. "Things were getting a little bit intense on the field. But after that (goal), people started to relax on the field a little bit."
Studer said she just loves to play and win.
"Whatever the game gives us we're going to get. Someday all those shots will fall for us," Studer said.
Taking over for her sister Alyssa, who graduated last spring, the younger Studer says she's learned a lot about soccer from her sibling.
"She definitely helped make me a lot tougher mentally and physically," Vanessa Studer said. "I feel fine out there. The team makes me really feel apart of the team and we get along really well."
The Cheesemakers travel to Belleville on Thursday for a Green County rivalry game against Sugar River. Last year the Cheesemakers upended the Raiders for the first time in program history, 1-0. This year Sugar River has outscored its opponents 19-3 in three games, with two of those games being shutouts - in which the opponent never got off a shot attempt.
