Memorial makes it six straight

Winneconne proves no match

Create your own identity. Write your own story.

That’s what Catholic Memorial girls soccer coach John Burke asked of his 2017 Crusaders. They listened.

Catholic Memorial graduated one of the greatest senior classes in state history last June. But the newcomers more than held their own. Heck, they might have taken things up a notch.

The Crusaders won a record sixth straight state championship Saturday, rolling past Winneconne, 4-0, in the WIAA Division 3 title game. The Crusaders outscored their six postseason foes, 46-0, and set a state record for all divisions by scoring 14 goals over two games.

Catholic Memorial junior midfielder Carly Delforge scored three goals and sophomore midfielder Shannon McWilliams added another. And for the first time in school history, the Crusaders didn’t allow a goal in the postseason.

“The level that they were playing at by the end of the season was remarkable and brilliant,” said Burke, who has led the Crusaders to 10 WIAA state championships overall. “We’re after playing beautiful soccer and you saw that (Saturday).”

The Crusaders said goodbye to a senior class that scored 848 career points. Included in that group was Emily Cervantes, who finished second in state history in career goals, and Mo Burke, who broke the record for most assists in a career.

But Catholic Memorial never missed a beat. The Crusaders went 17-1-6 overall and improved to 35-0-1 in the postseason since 2012.

“One thing we emphasized this year is it was a team effort,” Delforge said. “Everyone played for each other. That worked throughout the whole season and our team chemistry was off the charts. We played for each other and we love each other.”

Winneconne keeper Sadie Kosciuk entered the game with an 0.39 goals against average. But Kosciuk and the Wolves haven’t seen anything like the Crusaders.

Catholic Memorial held a remarkable 20-0 edge in corner kicks and a 13-3 advantage in shots.

McWilliams scored in the ninth minute when she gathered a loose ball in the box after a corner kick. Delforge struck in the 21st minute on an assist by freshman midfielder Jenny Fuller to make it 2-0.

Delforge converted a header off a set piece to make it 3-0 in the 43rd minute. And Delforge scored in the 57th minute when she cleaned up a loose ball in the box.

As dominant as these Crusaders were, they could be better in 2018 and keep their streak alive. Catholic Memorial brings back seven of its eight top scorers and graduates just two senior starters.

“We’re not done yet,” Burke proclaimed. “The future is bright.”

Which is par for the course at Catholic Memorial.