Brookfield East rolls to another state title match
For the 12th time in program history, Brookfield East boys soccer advanced to play for a WIAA state title.
The No. 1 seed Spartans beat No. 4 seed De Pere, 4-0, in Friday’s first of two Division 1 state semifinals at Uihlein Soccer Park. Brookfield East had not appeared at the state tournament since 2019, but second-year head coach Brody Kraussel and his assistants Mike Lafferty and Reid Stevenson brought previous experiences as players into the weekend.
“Emotions can rise really quickly here. It’s a big field, bigger than we’ve played on all year. Lot of people here in the stadium and all those things,” Kraussel said of the types of notes he was passing on to players. “Just remember who you are, remember what we’ve done all year.”
The Spartans appeared to take the message to heart, putting together a dominant win to defend their top seed at the state tournament.
The first goal came in the 10th minute, as a free kick from senior Eren Evran led to a scrum and a header assist for Ryan Berghauer to a goal from sophomore Andrew Armbruster. Berghauer added to the lead in the 25th minute, finishing a free kick assist from the left corner by junior Ryan Hardy with a header into the far end of the goal for the 2-0 lead.
Kraussel singled out his senior Berghauer for his ability to create opportunities with his size and positioning.
“The way he jumps, he jumps higher than everybody, he jumps sooner than everybody, he’s stronger than everyone,” Kraussel said. “A lot of the time when the ball’s in the air, you can maybe adjust a yard or two. It seems like he can adjust five yards.”
“I just know that if I put a good ball in, he’ll find his way there and usually scores the goal,” Hardy added of Berghauer.
Just before halftime, Hardy assisted a second goal as he found Emre Evran for an open chance he converted in the 40th minute.
That score held until the 69th minute, as a Hardy corner kick was headed in by Berghauer to make it 4-0. The third assist for Hardy tied a WIAA D1 state tournament record for individual assists in a single game.
Marquette falls in its 22nd state tournament appearance
The 22nd state appearance for Marquette came to an uncharacteristic end in the Division 1 semifinals with a 5-4 loss in penalty kicks to Middleton.
Head coach Steve Lawrence said he hoped a young team led by nine-man sophomore and junior classes is able to take lessons and motivation away from a hard-fought loss. Marquette fell before reaching the state final for just the third time.
“They’re gonna be hungry this offseason, you use something like this as motivation to drive you in every game. Sometimes the losses are what drives you,” Lawrence said. “I hope they take away from this experience in the offseason and come back ready to go to try and get that championship.”
Marquette scored its only tally of regulation and overtime on a long, skipping free kick from Charlie Anguil in the 21st minute to take the 1-0 lead.
Middleton responded in the 28th minute with an equalizer from senior Oliver Mayer on an assist from junior Liam Hafeman.
In the 29th minute Middleton failed to convert on a penalty kick opportunity for Riley Kann saved by Marquette junior keeper Connor Wyatt.
Both teams had their chances from there in both regulation and overtime, as Marquette outshot Middleton 19-16 and 6-5 in shots on goal.
“I thought the guys came out strong, first 15 to 20 minutes I thought we did a good job controlling the game,” Lawrence said. “Middleton stepped it up the rest of that half, got a goal and I thought it was pretty evenly played both ways the rest of the way.”
Shoreland Lutheran advances
Shoreland Lutheran kept its second WIAA state tournament appearance alive with a 1-0 win over Sheboygan Christian/Lutheran on Friday.
The Pacers were playing a few players down in the Division 4 state semifinal, none more significant than leading scorer Owen Hahm. The sophomore 25-goal scorer was unavailable after drawing a red card in the sectional final.
Head coach Daniel Hahm said the absence created strategic challenges, but also opportunities for others to step up.
“Without having another 20-goal scorer, and the thing that we also have is a chemistry between Gavin (Moore) and Ethan Senkpeil. That group of guys just read each other perfectly,” coach Hahm said.
The offense broke through around midway through the second half, as Senkpeil scored in the 54th minute off an assist from junior Eric Flatow. Senkpeil described the moment the ball left his foot and hit back net as a “surreal feeling.”
“I saw the ball come across the crease, put it in and almost couldn’t believe it,” Senkpeil said. “(Coach Hahm) said that it would be frustrating, but that we would wear them out and get the goal that would send us to the state final.”