MONROE - The Monroe girls soccer team battled back from a two-goal deficit, but Stoughton escaped and knocked off the Cheesemakers 3-2 at a blustery Honey Creek Park Friday.
Monroe senior Kennedy Ludwig scored two second-half long-distance goals with a strong wind at her team's back.
"I think the wind was definitely a tough element especially in the first half," Ludwig said. "We could have had some more chances with long balls. I think we really took advantage of our opportunities and finished on them. We didn't give up and we kept up good intensity throughout even when we were getting tired and sore. With these conditions, I feel we handled it really well against a tough team."
Stoughton senior Jacqueline scored a goal on an assist by senior Cassidy Bach at 13 minutes, 1 second to give the Vikings (6-5-1, 2-3 Badger South) an early lead. Freshman teammate Sydney Schipper cashed in on a breakaway goal that resulted in a bad bounce. During a breakaway, the ball bounced high off the field over Monroe senior defender Ally Einbeck's head and Schipper tracked it down to slip it by Monroe senior goalkeeper Reily Pond for a 2-0 lead at the half.
"I thought that the girls played a really good first half," Monroe coach Kyle Kasten said. "I would say in looking at the game I think we made three key mistakes and unfortunately all three of them led to goals. I thought even though the wind was in our face we handled it very well and we still had scoring opportunities into the wind. In the second half, we wanted to get a lot of high energy stuff and close the lead. It was a good overall performance."
Kasten moved Monroe sophomore Sabina Gonzalez up to play as an outside midfielder in the second half. With Gonzalez at outside mid and with the wind at their back, it didn't take the Cheesemakers long to cash in. Ludwig scored a goal from about 18-yards out to cut the Vikings' lead to 2-1.
"Both of my goals I just took the right touch away from pressure and I had space," Ludwig said. "I kicked it and the wind took it in the right way for me today."
The Cheesemakers had four corner kicks and more than two times the amount of shots on goal compared to the first half.
"With the wind at their back, the message is don't be afraid to take shots," Kasten said. "Really what the message to my girls is always if you feel like you have a shot and you can put it in then have that confidence to take it. It's all about their confidence and how they see their play. With the wind at our back, we knew we would have more opportunities. We just came up a little short."
Ludwig scored her second goal again from about 18-yards out on a throw-in by freshman Maddison Markham at 81:48 that sliced the Vikings' lead to 3-2.
"This game was a tough team again because our conference is tough," Ludwig said. "It helped us experience working together more because one person can't do it all against a good team. We all have to work together to make the right plays and score the right goals. It's a really tough conference and we want to try to get a win and we have one more chance to do that. Hopefully, we can to take advantage of that."
Monroe sophomore Alexa Bader missed the game due to illness and freshman Zoee Pond was out due to a knee injury. Junior goalkeeper Anna Latimer has a torn ACL and is out for the season.
Kasten liked the way Gonzalez played in her switch to outside mid with more of an offensive responsibility to attack the goal.
"We are dealing with an ever-changing roster," Kasten said. "People are going to have to play different positions. That's part of Sabina moving up to an outside mid. It's to get her speed and energy up closer to the net. What Sabina has is a high soccer IQ. She's been around the game her entire life. She kind of knows naturally where the ball is going to go, what options her opponent have and she naturally fills those places. Her speed and energy definitely look good going forward."
The Cheesemakers (4-7, 0-6) will play six games over the next two weeks with one more Badger South Conference game against Fort Atkinson Thursday at Honey Creek Park.
"It will be a tough stretch and the girls will have to prepare themselves," Kasten said.
Monroe senior Kennedy Ludwig scored two second-half long-distance goals with a strong wind at her team's back.
"I think the wind was definitely a tough element especially in the first half," Ludwig said. "We could have had some more chances with long balls. I think we really took advantage of our opportunities and finished on them. We didn't give up and we kept up good intensity throughout even when we were getting tired and sore. With these conditions, I feel we handled it really well against a tough team."
Stoughton senior Jacqueline scored a goal on an assist by senior Cassidy Bach at 13 minutes, 1 second to give the Vikings (6-5-1, 2-3 Badger South) an early lead. Freshman teammate Sydney Schipper cashed in on a breakaway goal that resulted in a bad bounce. During a breakaway, the ball bounced high off the field over Monroe senior defender Ally Einbeck's head and Schipper tracked it down to slip it by Monroe senior goalkeeper Reily Pond for a 2-0 lead at the half.
"I thought that the girls played a really good first half," Monroe coach Kyle Kasten said. "I would say in looking at the game I think we made three key mistakes and unfortunately all three of them led to goals. I thought even though the wind was in our face we handled it very well and we still had scoring opportunities into the wind. In the second half, we wanted to get a lot of high energy stuff and close the lead. It was a good overall performance."
Kasten moved Monroe sophomore Sabina Gonzalez up to play as an outside midfielder in the second half. With Gonzalez at outside mid and with the wind at their back, it didn't take the Cheesemakers long to cash in. Ludwig scored a goal from about 18-yards out to cut the Vikings' lead to 2-1.
"Both of my goals I just took the right touch away from pressure and I had space," Ludwig said. "I kicked it and the wind took it in the right way for me today."
The Cheesemakers had four corner kicks and more than two times the amount of shots on goal compared to the first half.
"With the wind at their back, the message is don't be afraid to take shots," Kasten said. "Really what the message to my girls is always if you feel like you have a shot and you can put it in then have that confidence to take it. It's all about their confidence and how they see their play. With the wind at our back, we knew we would have more opportunities. We just came up a little short."
Ludwig scored her second goal again from about 18-yards out on a throw-in by freshman Maddison Markham at 81:48 that sliced the Vikings' lead to 3-2.
"This game was a tough team again because our conference is tough," Ludwig said. "It helped us experience working together more because one person can't do it all against a good team. We all have to work together to make the right plays and score the right goals. It's a really tough conference and we want to try to get a win and we have one more chance to do that. Hopefully, we can to take advantage of that."
Monroe sophomore Alexa Bader missed the game due to illness and freshman Zoee Pond was out due to a knee injury. Junior goalkeeper Anna Latimer has a torn ACL and is out for the season.
Kasten liked the way Gonzalez played in her switch to outside mid with more of an offensive responsibility to attack the goal.
"We are dealing with an ever-changing roster," Kasten said. "People are going to have to play different positions. That's part of Sabina moving up to an outside mid. It's to get her speed and energy up closer to the net. What Sabina has is a high soccer IQ. She's been around the game her entire life. She kind of knows naturally where the ball is going to go, what options her opponent have and she naturally fills those places. Her speed and energy definitely look good going forward."
The Cheesemakers (4-7, 0-6) will play six games over the next two weeks with one more Badger South Conference game against Fort Atkinson Thursday at Honey Creek Park.
"It will be a tough stretch and the girls will have to prepare themselves," Kasten said.
