BELLEVILLE - With Monroe and Sugar River acting as the only two soccer teams in Green County, it's kind of a big deal when they meet. Thursday was no exception.
"It's always a great game (with Sugar River)," Monroe coach Miriam O'Neill said. "It gets physical. We had some injuries, but they are all recoverable."
The two teams have developed a strong non-conference rivalry over the past several years, with Monroe getting its first win ever in 2010. This year, it was the Raiders regaining the crown, 4-2.
"I'm happy with how we performed. Sugar River is very talented with a lot of depth," O'Neill said. "If we had more depth, we could meet them the whole way. Kernen is a great player, and Lily Priewe and Allie Coplien did a fantastic job on her."
Sugar River is one of southern Wisconsin's most targeted teams. The Raiders are a senior-laden, experienced squad, with one of the state's best players in Hannah Kernen, a senior bound for UW-Green Bay.
"We have high expectations this year," Sugar River coach John Ziperski said. "It's always interesting playing Monroe. We needed this kind of game. The girls didn't give up or look past Monroe. And my hat's off to Monroe, they are a good squad and they play hard."
The Raiders (4-0) outscored their opponents 19-3 through their first three games, and hadn't allowed a shot on goal in the last two. Monroe not only got a shot on goal early, but Vanessa Studer scored and the Cheesemakers went into halftime tied 1-1. Kernen had scored Sugar River's lone goal.
"It's nice to see us pressure their defense. We got some nice goals from Vanessa (Studer) and Maddie (Knutson)," O'Neill said.
In the second half, the Raiders got going right away. Just 54 seconds after play started, Trisha Boley scored on a cross pass in front of Monroe goalkeeper Katie Coplien. With 23:20 left, Katie Viney scored on a breakaway goal to make it 3-1.
"You need to get back at them and get back into the game," Monroe senior Kylee Ritschard said of playing from behind. "It's a big rivalry too. We know we have to come out hard. It gives you an extra punch."
Despite trailing, Monroe never gave up. The Cheesemakers charged hard at backup Raiders goalie Raylynn Jelle and freshman Maddie Knutson scored on a rebound with 17:33. Jelle had come up to make a stop on a loose ball, but juggled the catch and Knutson fought through another defender in front of the net to score.
"Sometimes those things can lead to a few hiccups," Ziperski said of the goal on his backup. "But Raylynn made a few big saves after that and didn't let it get to her."
Sugar River bounced back with Kernen scoring her second goal of the game on a penalty kick with 8:08 left. Viney had been knocked down inside the box while attacking Monroe's goal.
The Cheesemakers had two more chances to score in the final seven minutes, but came up short. The closest Monroe got to another goal was on a free kick by Studer, who hit the crossbar.
"It's good to play a physical game like this. It only makes you better. You have to be able to handle those kinds of skills in our conference," O'Neill said.
Monroe (2-2-1) gets back into Badger Conference action on Tuesday at Fort Atkinson. Sugar River hosts Janesville Craig on Tuesday and then Cambridge-Deerfield for a Capitol Conference matchup on Thursday.
"It's always a great game (with Sugar River)," Monroe coach Miriam O'Neill said. "It gets physical. We had some injuries, but they are all recoverable."
The two teams have developed a strong non-conference rivalry over the past several years, with Monroe getting its first win ever in 2010. This year, it was the Raiders regaining the crown, 4-2.
"I'm happy with how we performed. Sugar River is very talented with a lot of depth," O'Neill said. "If we had more depth, we could meet them the whole way. Kernen is a great player, and Lily Priewe and Allie Coplien did a fantastic job on her."
Sugar River is one of southern Wisconsin's most targeted teams. The Raiders are a senior-laden, experienced squad, with one of the state's best players in Hannah Kernen, a senior bound for UW-Green Bay.
"We have high expectations this year," Sugar River coach John Ziperski said. "It's always interesting playing Monroe. We needed this kind of game. The girls didn't give up or look past Monroe. And my hat's off to Monroe, they are a good squad and they play hard."
The Raiders (4-0) outscored their opponents 19-3 through their first three games, and hadn't allowed a shot on goal in the last two. Monroe not only got a shot on goal early, but Vanessa Studer scored and the Cheesemakers went into halftime tied 1-1. Kernen had scored Sugar River's lone goal.
"It's nice to see us pressure their defense. We got some nice goals from Vanessa (Studer) and Maddie (Knutson)," O'Neill said.
In the second half, the Raiders got going right away. Just 54 seconds after play started, Trisha Boley scored on a cross pass in front of Monroe goalkeeper Katie Coplien. With 23:20 left, Katie Viney scored on a breakaway goal to make it 3-1.
"You need to get back at them and get back into the game," Monroe senior Kylee Ritschard said of playing from behind. "It's a big rivalry too. We know we have to come out hard. It gives you an extra punch."
Despite trailing, Monroe never gave up. The Cheesemakers charged hard at backup Raiders goalie Raylynn Jelle and freshman Maddie Knutson scored on a rebound with 17:33. Jelle had come up to make a stop on a loose ball, but juggled the catch and Knutson fought through another defender in front of the net to score.
"Sometimes those things can lead to a few hiccups," Ziperski said of the goal on his backup. "But Raylynn made a few big saves after that and didn't let it get to her."
Sugar River bounced back with Kernen scoring her second goal of the game on a penalty kick with 8:08 left. Viney had been knocked down inside the box while attacking Monroe's goal.
The Cheesemakers had two more chances to score in the final seven minutes, but came up short. The closest Monroe got to another goal was on a free kick by Studer, who hit the crossbar.
"It's good to play a physical game like this. It only makes you better. You have to be able to handle those kinds of skills in our conference," O'Neill said.
Monroe (2-2-1) gets back into Badger Conference action on Tuesday at Fort Atkinson. Sugar River hosts Janesville Craig on Tuesday and then Cambridge-Deerfield for a Capitol Conference matchup on Thursday.
