MONROE - On senior night, the Cheesemaker veterans tried to push their team to a much-needed win against rival Sugar River. In their pushing for a goal, the two teams began pushing each other.
The Raiders came out on top of the shoving match in the end in a 1-0 contest.
A funky goal in the 13th minute of the first half by Dylan Bigler was the game-winner.
"I really meant to cross the ball, but it went in and I was really pumped," Bigler said.
Monroe (3-11, 0-5 Badger South) came out as hard and motivated as it has all season. The team has worked hard lately on pressuring the goal and crashing to the ball.
"I thought we were keeping (the ball) on their side more than they were keeping it on our side," Monroe head coach Tony Stamm said. "We had an awful lot of opportunities - at least three right in front of their net and within inches from going in the net."
For Sugar River, it was the grit and dirt of preparing for playoffs - and playing a rival - that made them dig just a little bit deeper.
"We didn't play our best out there, but we had a lot of guts out there and everyone was trying their effort. We played tough and physical," Sugar River sweeper Caleb Mabis said.
After Bigler's goal with 27:30 left in the first half, Monroe went onto the attack. Junior Andrew Aurit, senior Jordan Steiner and a slew of Cheesemakers pressured deep into the Raiders zone. Mabis and goalkeeper Eric Liegel did as well to keep Monroe from tying the game.
"Our defense played pretty good. Once we got the goal I was feeling pretty confident," Liegel said.
Between the two teams attacking and defending the ball, hard tackles and slides mixed in with pushing down the sidelines and bumping on headers led to several heated moments on the field.
"Both teams were getting physical and it just got over-heated at times. But we did a good job keeping our cool for the most part," Mabis said.
Sugar River's Mike Vetterli and Zach Luchsinger each got yellow cards.
In the end, though, it was Sugar River that finished on top.
"We've been spending a lot of time on pressuring and shooting in practice. And passing and working the ball up field - that's what we've been concentrating on," Stamm said. "Our guys played really good, we just didn't have the ball go into the net."
Stamm also made note of senior sweeper Brandon Wilson's play in the game. Wilson was all over the field and had several good throw-ins and passing kicks as well as playing great defense in the game.
"This was a big win. It helps us with seeding, and it helps that it was against our rivals," Bigler said of the victory.
The Cheesemakers next play at Janesville Parker at noon on Saturday. Sugar River travels to Lake Mills next Tuesday before ending its regular season Oct. 14 at home against Lodi.
"One thing we have to work on is our temper - we were yelling at the refs a lot. We just have to work on our overall skills, too," Mabis said of the remainder of the season.
Monroe's junior varsity team won 3-0 to improve to 8-2-2 on the season. Kyle Bruce, Zach Farrar and Tim Sanft scored for the Cheesemakers.
The Raiders came out on top of the shoving match in the end in a 1-0 contest.
A funky goal in the 13th minute of the first half by Dylan Bigler was the game-winner.
"I really meant to cross the ball, but it went in and I was really pumped," Bigler said.
Monroe (3-11, 0-5 Badger South) came out as hard and motivated as it has all season. The team has worked hard lately on pressuring the goal and crashing to the ball.
"I thought we were keeping (the ball) on their side more than they were keeping it on our side," Monroe head coach Tony Stamm said. "We had an awful lot of opportunities - at least three right in front of their net and within inches from going in the net."
For Sugar River, it was the grit and dirt of preparing for playoffs - and playing a rival - that made them dig just a little bit deeper.
"We didn't play our best out there, but we had a lot of guts out there and everyone was trying their effort. We played tough and physical," Sugar River sweeper Caleb Mabis said.
After Bigler's goal with 27:30 left in the first half, Monroe went onto the attack. Junior Andrew Aurit, senior Jordan Steiner and a slew of Cheesemakers pressured deep into the Raiders zone. Mabis and goalkeeper Eric Liegel did as well to keep Monroe from tying the game.
"Our defense played pretty good. Once we got the goal I was feeling pretty confident," Liegel said.
Between the two teams attacking and defending the ball, hard tackles and slides mixed in with pushing down the sidelines and bumping on headers led to several heated moments on the field.
"Both teams were getting physical and it just got over-heated at times. But we did a good job keeping our cool for the most part," Mabis said.
Sugar River's Mike Vetterli and Zach Luchsinger each got yellow cards.
In the end, though, it was Sugar River that finished on top.
"We've been spending a lot of time on pressuring and shooting in practice. And passing and working the ball up field - that's what we've been concentrating on," Stamm said. "Our guys played really good, we just didn't have the ball go into the net."
Stamm also made note of senior sweeper Brandon Wilson's play in the game. Wilson was all over the field and had several good throw-ins and passing kicks as well as playing great defense in the game.
"This was a big win. It helps us with seeding, and it helps that it was against our rivals," Bigler said of the victory.
The Cheesemakers next play at Janesville Parker at noon on Saturday. Sugar River travels to Lake Mills next Tuesday before ending its regular season Oct. 14 at home against Lodi.
"One thing we have to work on is our temper - we were yelling at the refs a lot. We just have to work on our overall skills, too," Mabis said of the remainder of the season.
Monroe's junior varsity team won 3-0 to improve to 8-2-2 on the season. Kyle Bruce, Zach Farrar and Tim Sanft scored for the Cheesemakers.
