Muskego seniors ready to make statement
Fourth straight state trip for Warriors
Eric Hess was hopeful, optimistic, encouraged.
Even in his wildest dreams, though, Hess didn’t expect this.
Hess, the girls soccer coach at Muskego, knew he had a gifted group of freshmen back in the spring of 2014. It was a class Hess believed could change the fortunes of a program that had gone 2-14-2 the previous season.
What’s happened since, though, exceeds anything Hess ever imagined.
Muskego (15-2-4) has reached the WIAA Division 1 state tournament four straight years and will meet Bay Port (19-2-1) in a semifinal game at 11 a.m. Thursday at Uihlein Soccer Park. Amazingly, those are the only four times in school history the Warriors have qualified for the state tournament.
Muskego is 66-16-17 in the last four years. And the Warriors shared the Classic 8 Conference title this season.
It’s been a remarkable trans- formation for a program that needed a boost.
“This senior class, they’ve just been leaders on the field throughout,” said Hess, who is in his 14th year at Muskego. “They’re the ones organizing things in the off-season, organizing things off the field.
“They’ve learned a lot in those four years. I can give them direction and they can implement it and that’s just what a coach wants.”
This 10-person senior class has given Hess everything he
wanted — and more.
Defenders Leah Bolskar, Taylor Simkowski and Hannah Kath, midfielder Katie Klak and keeper Alexa Schnittka are all four-year letter winners. All five of those players received some form of all-conference honors this season, highlighted by Bolskar’s selection to the first-team.
Three other seniors joined the varsity during their sophomore years. And senior defender Taylor Tabbert, a UWM recruit, joined the Warriors for the first time this year after having played club soccer year-round.
“We take a lot of pride in this turnaround,” said Bolskar, who ranks second on the Warriors in goals (14) and points (36). “We’ve almost all played together since we were really young, so to do this has been pretty neat.”
About the only thing these Warriors haven’t accomplished is winning a game at state. In Muskego’s three trips to state, it’s gone 0-3 and has been outscored, 6-1.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Schnittka said. “You get so far and then after one game it’s over. I think it’s helped us in the off-season because everyone is reminded that no one wants to feel that way again. And this time, we definitely don’t want to be one and done.”
This might be the year the Warriors — and their gifted group of seniors — finally break through.
Muskego has outscored its foes, 65-13, this season — an impressive 5-to-1 margin. The Warriors haven’t lost since May 11 and are 9-0-1 in that stretch. And Muskego shook up the area soccer scene when it defeated No. 1 ranked Brookfield Central on May 18.
“I think we made a statement that night,” Bolskar said.
While Muskego is a veteran-laden team, sophomore midfielder Katie Wasiak leads the team in goals (19) and points (41), while fellow sophomore midfielder Madeline Thorstad ranks fourth in both categories. The defense has helped post shutouts in 13 of 21 games. And Schnittka has been sensational in net, allowing 0.66 goals per game with a 91.0 save percentage.
“This is my best and most experienced team,” Hess said. “I’ve had some teams with great athletes, but this has been our best soccer team.”
All these Warriors — and their seniors — are missing is a win at state. Maybe two.
“After sectionals, we were excited we won, but that’s what we expected of ourselves,” Schnittka said. “That wasn’t our full goal. We still have work to do.”