WIAA DIV. 3 GIRLS SOCCER - Exciting game ends in shootout disappointment for Raiders

WIAA DIV. 3 GIRLS SOCCER

Since Medford’s unexpected run to the WIAA Division 3 girls soccer sectional final in 2019, post-season games involving the Raiders have not been boring.

But, the end results haven’t gone Medford’s way either.

In Thursday’s WIAA Division 3 regional semifinal, the Raiders found themselves in their third penalty-kick shootout in four years to start tournament play and for the third time they came up short in the shootout after playing Waupaca to a 1-1 overtime tie at Raider Field.

The Comets were a perfect four for four to clinch the shootout win as Medford, shooting second in each round, made just one of its three kicks.

Fourth-seeded Medford finished 7-84 after its fourth tie of the season, while the fifth-seeded Comets (6-5-3) advanced to Saturday’s regional final at top-seeded Ashland, which it lost 5-2.

Ashland (18-2-1) will host two-seed and Great Northern Conference champion Lakeland (13-3-2) in a sectional semifinal today, Thursday.

While just two goals were scored in 100 minutes of play, both teams had plenty of chances, in a game that surely kept fans both sides on the edge of their seats.

Medford’s statistics showed Waupaca with a slight 20-19 edge in total shots with the Raiders putting 10 on goal compared to Waupaca’s seven.

While much of the attention will deservedly go to the shootout at the end that ultimately decided the outcome, Medford head coach Tanya Tessmann said the start of the game was crucial too as the Comets had most of the offensive action in the first half and outshot the Raiders 10-5 in the first 40 minutes.

“In the first half, we were not very urgent with our play,” Tessmann said. “We were on top of each other, we had a hard time keeping our passes on the ground and settling the ball down. In the second half, it kind of flip-flopped and we did improve. But their defense was all over us in the first half.”

The Comets got their goal at 29:33 off a corner kick. The corner kick itself didn’t create a shot, but the ball eventually bounced to Waupaca freshman Olivia Kneer, who put her shot from just inside 25 yards right in the perfect spot past Medford goal keeper Sophia Brunner and into the upper left corner of the goal.

After a quiet start, the Raiders did get a couple of opportunities in the latter stages of the half. At 23:05, Comet keeper Sophia Saunders had to make a diving save to stop a ricochet from going into the net. At 33:55, Megan Schaefer was fouled, giving the Raiders a free kick from just outside the penalty area. Saunders caught Sierra Tessmann’s boot to keep Waupaca in the lead at the half.

After halftime, Medford began pushing passes forward, making runs and creating more opportunities.

“We started covering them better, started getting to the ball faster and shooting more,” Tanya Tessmann said. “We switched up our formation, which is something we haven’t done much this year. We moved Talyn Peterson up to defensive mid and kept three on the back line. We moved Megan Schaefer up top along with Shayla Radlinger, hoping to create more opportunities and we did get more opportunities.”

Kneer made a non-goalie save on a shot by Medford’s Shayla Radlinger off a Tessmann centering pass at 42:30. A through ball got to Madison Clarkson for a shot at 44:40 that went wide right. Mallory Richter’s crossing pass missed Radlinger at the 56-minute mark, but it got to Tessmann, whose shot was saved.

Tessmann gave Waupaca a big scare at 59:55 with a shot that was deflected by Saunders and, unfortunately hit the crossbar and bounced over. Schaefer’s header off a corner kick went high at 60:20 and Radlinger was able to break out and get a one-on-one that Saunders made the play on at 64:45.

The pressure, though, finally paid off at 65:40.

Off a throw-in by Alexis Szydel, Schaefer gained control of the ball and passed it back to Szydel. She found Radlinger, who pushed the ball to Tessmann. Tessmann got through some traffic with her first touch and suddenly found herself with a short one-on-one with Saunders. She went slightly left with her shot and buried it.

“Scoring that goal and getting some opportunities really gave us an offensive mindset,” Tanya Tessmann said.

The scoring chances went back and forth after that through the rest of regulation and the two 10-minute overtime periods. Waupaca’s Ava Kneer had a couple of good shots sail too high, while Radlinger was stopped on two of Medford’s best looks. Medford defender Nikki Poetzl broke up a chance for Kneer at 78:30 and Ava Widdel nearly won it just as the second overtime period was about to expire, sending a hard crossing shot that just sailed by the upper left corner.

Tessmann and Schaefer finished the game with six shots apiece. Radlinger had three, while Peterson, Clarkson, Richter and Metz each had one.

With the game officially going down as a tie, advancement then came down to the five-round shootout. Waupaca jumped ahead 2-0 in that with Taylor Kling and Mia Koehler both connecting with shots toward the left post. After Schaefer’s shot went high in round one, Clarkson nailed hers going low to the left to make it 2-1 through two rounds.

“That was good to see Madison score that goal to end her season,” coach Tessmann said.

Waupaca’s Greta Olson got her thirdround shot inside the left post, while Saunders stopped Radlinger’s hard liner. Olivia Kneer went left yet again to start round four and scored to seal it for the Comets, who lost 2-0 to Medford back on May 2.

Medford lost regional semifinal shootouts to Amherst/Iola-Scandinavia in both 2021 and 2022. The Raiders dropped a 1-0 heartbreaker at Rhinelander last year on a late goal by the Hodags.

“We were excited and hopeful when the season began,” coach Tessmann said. The Raiders at one point were 6-2-3 and were in the Great Northern Conference title mix halfway through the league season. “We lost some momentum mid-season after one or two pivotal games didn’t go our way. But the girls always played hard and they had fun doing it. We’re sad to see our graduating seniors go, but we also are excited for next year. We should have a larger returning team again next year.”

The seniors Medford is sending off include Sierra Tessmann, who was named the Great Northern Conference’s co-Offensive Player of Year; Brunner, named the GNC’s top goalie for the second straight year; Clarkson, Masaeda Krug, Szydel, Hannah Fleegel, Nikki Poetzl and Lydia Way.

Mallory Richter puts pressure on Waupaca’s Olivia Kneer as Kneer tries to get the soccer ball away from the goal area during the second half of Thursday’s WIAA Division 3 regional semifinal at Raider Field. MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS

Teammates celebrate with Sierra Tessmann after her goal ties Thursday’s regional semifinal game at 1-1. MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS