Two steps from state

Two down. Two to go. Sauk Prairie’s boys soccer team cruised through their WIAA Division 2 regional last week. The Eagles rolled past Mauston, 6-0, in a regional semifinal last Thursday, then posted a 5-0 win over Portage in a regional final last Saturday. Sauk Prairie, the No. 1 seed in its half of the sectional, hosts second-seeded Dodgeville/Mineral Point Thursday at 4 p.m. in a sectional semifinal. The winner meets either top-seeded Mosinee or third-seeded West Salem Saturday at 1 p.m. in a sectional final. Sauk Prairie coach Drew Kornish said that everyone remaining in the sectional is somewhat of a mystery to the Eagles, much as Sauk Prairie is to them. “When we play teams we know so little of, we always want to make sure we are only focused on ourselves and what we do well,” Kornish said. “We know that if we play to our potential, we are a tough game for anyone.” The Eagles were certainly a tough foe for both of their regional opponents. Sauk Prairie raced to a 5-0 lead over Mauston in the first 26 minutes and cruised home. James Fishnick got the Eagles on the board in the sixth minute, then Sam Drescher, Joe Baumgardt, William Judge and Philip Enerson followed with goals to make it 5-0. Quinn Baier, who also had a first half assist, scored in the 53rd minute to account for the final score. “Mauston was a team we knew nothing about coming into the game,” Kornish said. “We saw they have a pretty good record (6-2-3) and were very surprised by their seeding. We knew they had an athlete up front that given the opportunity could score, but that was based solely on stats we had from online.  “We started off really well, creating chances in the first few minutes of play including a few one-on-one opportunities, but were not able to finish. It wasn’t long after, though, that we found our stride in front of goal and finished five chances in the first 25 minutes. From there, we were able to see the rest of the game out with really nice spells of possession. A lot of these teams are new to us, so to come out strong right away is a great start.” Sauk Prairie followed that with its third win of the year over Portage. The Eagles captured the first two meetings by 1-0 and 3-0 scores. “Any time you are asked to play a team for the third time in the same season, it is going to be an uphill battle,” Kornish said. “We knew (Portage) would be full of confidence and playing with a nothing to lose mindset. This showed early on as we had a few chances, but nothing we were able to finish.” Although it took the Eagles a while to get going, once they did, they soared. Drescher scored in the 30th minute to give Sauk Prairie a 1-0 lead. Baier then scored in the 47th minute off a penalty kick and the Eagles took off from there. Baumgardt and Drescher scored just three minutes apart to make it 4-0 in the 60th minute. Then Jade Hilden added another goal in the 73rd minute. “At half, we stressed the idea that we need to play the way we are capable and not worry about some of the changes Portage was throwing at us,” Kornish said. “Coach (Mike) Rauls and I made a few small adjustments to the lineup and the new self-focus by the boys paid off early and often in the second half. Really pleased with the second half of this one.” The Eagles also survived the loss of starting keeper Luke Baumgardt, who went knee to knee with an attacking player from Portage in the seventh minute and left the game for good. In his stead, reserve keeper Ellis Kirner stepped up and posted a shutout. “Thankfully, we have an extremely talented reserve keeper that we are very confident in,” Kornish said. Now, the Eagles hope to carry that confidence to sectionals, as they try reaching the state tournament for the first time since 1996. “We are going to potentially be playing two teams we know nothing about,” Kornish said. “Dodgeville is up first. We were fortunate enough to see them play against (Wisconsin) Dells on Saturday, so we do have that in the back of our mind. They are a strong team that does not concede many goals. They also have a few really nice playmakers that will really test us.  “The same will be said of Mosinee/West Salem. Again though, we are confident that we can put together a really tough 90 minutes if we play to our potential.”   Oct. 24 WIAA Division 2 regional final SAUK PRAIRIE 5,  PORTAGE/POYNETTE 0 Portage/Poynette ……. 0 0 — 0 Sauk Prairie …………..1 4 —5 First half: Drescher, 29:30.  Second half: Baier (pk), 46:27; Baumgardt (Baier), 56:34; Drescher (Carlson), 59:57; Hilden, 72:58. Shots: P 3; SP 17. Saves: P (Lynch) 13; SP (Baumgardt 0, Kirner 3) 3.   Oct. 20 WIAA Division 2 regional semifinal SAUK PRAIRIE 6,  MAUSTON 0 Mauston ………….…. 0 0 — 0 Sauk Prairie ……...…. 5 1 — 6 First half: SP — Fishnick (Dominguez), 5:05; Drescher (Baier), 7:49; J. Baumgardt (Dominguez), 20:07; Judge 21:21; Enerson (Drew), 25:27.  Second half: SP — Baier (Fishnick), 52:37. Shots: M 5; SP 14. Saves: M (Gray) 8; SP (L. Baumgardt) 2.