MONROE - Stoughton senior Alexander Hartberg scored four goals to power the Vikings to an 8-1 win over the Monroe boys soccer team Tuesday at Honey Creek Park.
"It came down to playing when we were getting tired," said Monroe sophomore Aaron Ziolkowski, who scored the lone goal for the Cheesemakers in the second half. "We don't have a ton of depth and we don't like to come out of the game when we get tired. We like to play through it and show how tough we are. When they got a couple more goals, we hung our heads a little bit and we can't do that."
Monroe (5-8-2, 1-4 Badger South) has been outscored 16-2 in its last two conference games. The Cheesemakers have lost four games this year by five goals or more.
Hartberg scored his first goal at 25 minutes, 12 seconds. Less than two minutes later, Hartberg scored his second goal to give the Vikings a 2-0 lead that would stand until half. Stoughton broke the game open in the second half by scoring six goals.
"The guys got tired as the game went on," Monroe coach Tony Vasquez said. "The guys were playing against a team that was really soccer savvy. Their gamesmanship was better than ours. Our guys are used to just playing through calls. They (Stoughton) got a lot of calls because of their gamesmanship and because they went down at the right time."
The Cheesemakers had no answer for Hartberg's dazzling dribbling and speed in the open field.
"We put Julio (Vasquez) on him and he allowed (Hartberg) to get the ball in too much space," Vasquez said. "We are usually good at stopping a star from another team. If we had committed to have someone on him more, we could have been more committed."
Hartberg powered a low-lining shot to the far post for a hat-trick goal at 52:37 to give the Vikings a 3-0 lead. Ziolkowski later scored a header off a corner kick by junior Daniel Lapp to cut the score to 3-1.
Stoughton senior Anders Goetz lofted a shot from about 25-yards out that sailed over Monroe junior goalie Deven Schulte's outstretched hands and into the back of the net to give the Vikings a commanding 4-1 lead. The Vikings also got second-half goals from junior Noaj Mahieu, junior Jason Johnson and Matthew Johnson to give Stoughton an insurmountable 7-1 lead.
Hartberg scored his final goal at 84:25. Schulte had 11 saves.
"I think Deven did a pretty good job tonight," Vasquez said. "The first-half goals were because we didn't have enough pressure on the ball and they got to tee off on him (Schulte)."
Monroe plays a nonconference game at Edgerton Thursday and then a Badger South game at Watertown Friday.
"We have to move on from this and get into a better mindset," Ziolkowski said. "When we are in games and get tired we have to come out. If we get down a couple of goals, we can't hang our heads. Like our coach said, 'We have to play like we did against Sauk Prairie last year.' We got down against Sauk and came back to tie them. We have to play with that winning mentality against the good teams."
"It came down to playing when we were getting tired," said Monroe sophomore Aaron Ziolkowski, who scored the lone goal for the Cheesemakers in the second half. "We don't have a ton of depth and we don't like to come out of the game when we get tired. We like to play through it and show how tough we are. When they got a couple more goals, we hung our heads a little bit and we can't do that."
Monroe (5-8-2, 1-4 Badger South) has been outscored 16-2 in its last two conference games. The Cheesemakers have lost four games this year by five goals or more.
Hartberg scored his first goal at 25 minutes, 12 seconds. Less than two minutes later, Hartberg scored his second goal to give the Vikings a 2-0 lead that would stand until half. Stoughton broke the game open in the second half by scoring six goals.
"The guys got tired as the game went on," Monroe coach Tony Vasquez said. "The guys were playing against a team that was really soccer savvy. Their gamesmanship was better than ours. Our guys are used to just playing through calls. They (Stoughton) got a lot of calls because of their gamesmanship and because they went down at the right time."
The Cheesemakers had no answer for Hartberg's dazzling dribbling and speed in the open field.
"We put Julio (Vasquez) on him and he allowed (Hartberg) to get the ball in too much space," Vasquez said. "We are usually good at stopping a star from another team. If we had committed to have someone on him more, we could have been more committed."
Hartberg powered a low-lining shot to the far post for a hat-trick goal at 52:37 to give the Vikings a 3-0 lead. Ziolkowski later scored a header off a corner kick by junior Daniel Lapp to cut the score to 3-1.
Stoughton senior Anders Goetz lofted a shot from about 25-yards out that sailed over Monroe junior goalie Deven Schulte's outstretched hands and into the back of the net to give the Vikings a commanding 4-1 lead. The Vikings also got second-half goals from junior Noaj Mahieu, junior Jason Johnson and Matthew Johnson to give Stoughton an insurmountable 7-1 lead.
Hartberg scored his final goal at 84:25. Schulte had 11 saves.
"I think Deven did a pretty good job tonight," Vasquez said. "The first-half goals were because we didn't have enough pressure on the ball and they got to tee off on him (Schulte)."
Monroe plays a nonconference game at Edgerton Thursday and then a Badger South game at Watertown Friday.
"We have to move on from this and get into a better mindset," Ziolkowski said. "When we are in games and get tired we have to come out. If we get down a couple of goals, we can't hang our heads. Like our coach said, 'We have to play like we did against Sauk Prairie last year.' We got down against Sauk and came back to tie them. We have to play with that winning mentality against the good teams."
