BELLEVILLE - Sugar River senior Travis Loeffelholz scored three goals in his final regular season home game to propel the Raiders to a 5-0 win over Lodi Tuesday, Oct. 1.
The hat trick for Loeffelholz on Senior Night kept Sugar River (11-4, 7-0 Capitol South) in the driver's seat for a conference championship.
"I went into Senior Night thinking it would probably be my last home game," Loeffelholz said. "It feels really great to walk away with such an accomplishment."
The Raiders have been the conference co-champions three of the past four years. Sugar River remains tied atop the conference with Lakeside Lutheran. The Raiders are looking to win the championship outright this year and have no intentions of sharing.
"Tonight was all about the conference title," Sugar River coach Dick Sanders said. "It's a very important prize for the guys. We are tired of the co-champions."
The Raiders dominated the game out-shooting the Blue Devils 22-9. It was a special night for the seniors to shine. Sugar River senior Mitchell DeLorme scored two second half goals to put the Blue Devils away.
"I would have been happy if I didn't score any goals," DeLorme said. "I just love playing for this team. We have great chemistry. I don't care who scores."
Loeffelholz powered a corner kick to the near post that slipped past Lodi's goal keeper to give the Raiders a 1-0 lead 2 minutes into the game. Loeffelholz scored his second goal by making a move on a defender and driving the ball into the net on an assist by Patrick Blair at 9:02.
"We always go in against Lodi expecting a good game," Loeffelholz said. "We just want to play it one game at a time."
The Raiders scored three goals in the second half. Loeffelholz hit a driving shot to the far post for a goal at 64:02 on a pass from Nehemiah Noriega to give the Raiders a 3-0 lead.
"The key was to out-pressure them," Sanders said. "It was whichever team got to the ball first and wanted to play an up-tempo game."
DeLorme scored a goal on an assist from Nathaniel Sanders at 68:23 to give the Raiders a 4-0 lead. DeLorme scored his second goal of the game off a pass from Loeffelholz at 73:09.
"Our goal is to improve every game and from last year," DeLorme said. "We want to get better. We have been doing a good job so far. It's great to see how we are progressing."
Sugar River senior goalkeeper Alex Uebalacker had six saves in the shutout. As a first year goalkeeper, Sanders is proud of Uebalacker's development.
"Alex is a defender by nature," Sanders said. "He plays like a field player and being a first year goalie that really helps him at the net."
Sugar River will play another conference game at Wisconsin Dells Thursday before gearing up for an unbeaten conference showdown at Lakeside Lutheran Tuesday, Oct. 8.
"Soccer is a thinking game," DeLorme said. "If we can stay mentally in the game our feet will do the rest."
The hat trick for Loeffelholz on Senior Night kept Sugar River (11-4, 7-0 Capitol South) in the driver's seat for a conference championship.
"I went into Senior Night thinking it would probably be my last home game," Loeffelholz said. "It feels really great to walk away with such an accomplishment."
The Raiders have been the conference co-champions three of the past four years. Sugar River remains tied atop the conference with Lakeside Lutheran. The Raiders are looking to win the championship outright this year and have no intentions of sharing.
"Tonight was all about the conference title," Sugar River coach Dick Sanders said. "It's a very important prize for the guys. We are tired of the co-champions."
The Raiders dominated the game out-shooting the Blue Devils 22-9. It was a special night for the seniors to shine. Sugar River senior Mitchell DeLorme scored two second half goals to put the Blue Devils away.
"I would have been happy if I didn't score any goals," DeLorme said. "I just love playing for this team. We have great chemistry. I don't care who scores."
Loeffelholz powered a corner kick to the near post that slipped past Lodi's goal keeper to give the Raiders a 1-0 lead 2 minutes into the game. Loeffelholz scored his second goal by making a move on a defender and driving the ball into the net on an assist by Patrick Blair at 9:02.
"We always go in against Lodi expecting a good game," Loeffelholz said. "We just want to play it one game at a time."
The Raiders scored three goals in the second half. Loeffelholz hit a driving shot to the far post for a goal at 64:02 on a pass from Nehemiah Noriega to give the Raiders a 3-0 lead.
"The key was to out-pressure them," Sanders said. "It was whichever team got to the ball first and wanted to play an up-tempo game."
DeLorme scored a goal on an assist from Nathaniel Sanders at 68:23 to give the Raiders a 4-0 lead. DeLorme scored his second goal of the game off a pass from Loeffelholz at 73:09.
"Our goal is to improve every game and from last year," DeLorme said. "We want to get better. We have been doing a good job so far. It's great to see how we are progressing."
Sugar River senior goalkeeper Alex Uebalacker had six saves in the shutout. As a first year goalkeeper, Sanders is proud of Uebalacker's development.
"Alex is a defender by nature," Sanders said. "He plays like a field player and being a first year goalie that really helps him at the net."
Sugar River will play another conference game at Wisconsin Dells Thursday before gearing up for an unbeaten conference showdown at Lakeside Lutheran Tuesday, Oct. 8.
"Soccer is a thinking game," DeLorme said. "If we can stay mentally in the game our feet will do the rest."
