Eagles are headed to state

Junior midfielder Samuel Drescher treasured every moment he spent on the Sauk Prairie Eagles’ home pitch last Saturday afternoon. The Eagles played this season literally day-to-day and game-to-game due to the uncertainty the COVID-19 pandemic has had on high school sports since last March. But Drescher’s own health issues have made him even more appreciative of the opportunity to play a game he truly loves. Drescher scored a pair of goals and the top-seeded and host Eagles held third-seeded West Salem to just three shots on goal in cruising to a 3-0 victory over the Panthers in a WIAA Division 2 sectional championship game at Sauk Prairie Community Stadium. “It feels great because I can’t play basketball anymore because of the injuries, so it feels good to be able to still play soccer,” said Drescher, who has had concussion issues in the past. “I can’t hit the ball with my head anymore. I have to work on hitting it with my shoulder. “So I can’t be as aggressive, but I can still play. I appreciate this because one more concussion and I’m done with sports for the rest of my life. This means a lot to me. Every game could be the last I play.”  Second-year Sauk Prairie head coach Drew Kornish said Drescher has been a key to the Eagles’ success this season. “We’re very cognizant and aware of where he is on the field and what he can do for us and how far we can push him,” Kornish said. “At the same time, he is a big difference-maker, so we’re thankful we can have him.”  Sauk Prairie (10-2-3), ranked eighth in the Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association Division 2 poll, earned the program’s fourth WIAA state tournament berth overall and first since the Eagles won the Division 2 championship in 1996. Current assistant coach Mike Rauls served as the head coach of that title team. The Eagles also lost in the Division 2 state semifinals in 1992 and 1995. “I told the boys in the locker room, thanks for taking me along,” Rauls said. “It’s been great to be a small part of this. It’s a really special group of kids.” The Eagles, seeded fourth at state, will meet top-seeded and second-ranked Delavan/Darien (11-2-0) in a WIAA Division 2 state semifinal at Marshfield High School on Saturday at 2 p.m. Second-seeded and fourth-ranked Manitowoc Roncalli/Two Rivers (12-1-0) and third-seeded and 10th-ranked Medford (11-3-0) will meet in the other semifinal at 11 a.m. The winners meet for the state championship at 7 p.m. Kornish said the Eagles weren’t concerned where they were seeded. “This has been such a unique year for everybody that we’re just enjoying the ride,” Kornish said. “We’re excited as a group to be able to move on and to represent the Sauk Prairie community at the state level. “At the same time, I feel a bit like this whole season has been really just an exciting season. Every game that we get to play is just an awesome opportunity for us.” West Salem (5-1-2), which was making its first sectional final appearance, won the coin toss and took the wind in the first half. Although the brisk south wind was gusting at 25-30 mph, it didn’t hamper the Eagles’ style of attack in the opening period or aid it in the second half. “For me personally and the style of soccer that we want to play, that wind in the second half, as nice as it is, isn’t really a huge benefit for us,” Kornish said. “We like to keep the ball on the ground and play with our feet. Overall, we don’t mind either way.” The Eagles struck first when Drescher corralled the ball near midfield and dribbled through three defenders before launching a left-footed strike into the right corner of the net for an unassisted goal at the 20 minute, 26 second mark. “It was just Sam making a Sam play,” Kornish said. “But I told him at halftime, as great as a goal as that is, we can’t rely on it. We need to score some more. We answered that in the second half.” West Salem could only muster one scoring opportunity in the first half. Sauk Prairie then dominated play the final 45 minutes to keep the Panthers at bay. Panthers’ striker Josh Iliff had a one-on-one opportunity in the 19th minute, but Eagles’ senior goalkeeper Luke Baumgardt turned him away. “We’ve come back the last three games,” West Salem coach Ammar Sabar said. “But they’re a good team, and it was tough playing on their field and on turf.  “We hadn’t played on turf this year. We didn’t use the wind in the first half, and didn’t execute. We tried to switch things in the second half, but we struggled and it didn’t work. Still the way it ended, I’m proud of them and thought we did well.” Junior forward Quinn Baier scored his 12th goal of the season at 48:19 when senior defender Jade Hilden delivered a perfect throw-in to the right side of the 18-yard box. Baier was able to control it with his back to the goal before turning and blasting a left-footed shot to the middle of the net for a 2-0 lead. “That was a great feeling,” said Baier, who recalled the Eagles’ disappointment after losing to Elkhorn 2-0 in a sectional semifinal a year ago. “It hasn’t happened for a long time, going to state. My dad (Jesse Baier) was a starter on the last team to go to state. He just said ‘play your game. You guys are good.’ So that’s what we did.” That also gave the Eagles some much-needed breathing room. “It was huge because one of the things that we discussed at halftime was that (West Salem) has been down a few times this season and has come back really well,” Kornish said. “So, we were not comfortable at all with the one-goal lead.  “We had an opportunity in the first 30 seconds (of the second half) to find one at the back post that we just missed out on, and so for us to turn around and get the next one early was a big confidence boost for us — and I think it took a little bit of the wind out of their sails as well.” Drescher capped the scoring with a penalty kick at 78:26 for his team-leading 13th goal. He said while he felt Sauk Prairie was the more skilled team, Drescher believed the Eagles outworked the Panthers, too. “That was very big for us, to win all the 50-50 balls, because it was hard with all the wind,” Drescher said. “I think hard work was a lot of what won us the game.” Luke Baumgardt finished with three saves for Sauk Prairie, adding another page to the Eagles’ stellar postseason story. Sauk Prairie has recorded three shutouts and outscored its opponents 16-1 in four playoff games. Baumgardt has allowed just 11 goals in his first varsity season between the pipes. The twin brother of starting midfielder senior Joe Baumgardt, Luke played primarily with the JV team his first three seasons in the program. “My sophomore year, I played goalkeeper on JV, but last season I broke my neck so I couldn’t try out for goalkeeper,” Luke Baumgardt said. “So I played forward all season.  “This is pretty awesome. I haven’t played with (Joe) for a while. It’s been fun to be with him. Going to state is amazing.”  Luke Baumgardt credited the Eagles’ defense for much of the success on his end of the pitch. “There haven’t been too many shots I’ve had to deal with,” he said. “In the center (of the defense) are Austin Keyser and Kyle Been. They’re really solid all-around. They can get anything in the air. They can chase down players.  “Out wide we’ve got Brooks McInerney on the left and Jade Hilden out right. Jade’s just a really fast guy. He gets up and down the pitch. Brooks is aggressive, he’ll go get the ball.” Kornish said the Eagles’ fourth state appearance will have a different feel to it.  “That euphoric feeling of making it to the state tournament isn’t quite there for us, just because the whole season’s just been this big high of ‘we get to be out here,’ ” Kornish said. “It’s been a while since kids have been able to do that, so we’re taking advantage of it.” Drescher agreed. “It’s a great feeling,” he said. “It might feel a little less with all the teams opting out because of COVID and all that. But still, we had a chance. We had a good team last year, but didn’t quite make it there. So this feels great.” • Sauk Prairie 3, Dodgeville/Mineral Point 1 — Senior Misael Dominguez opened the scoring in the 15th minute and freshman Eliot Carlson followed soon after with a second goal to ignite the host Eagles in a sectional semifinal match last Thursday. Joe Baumgardt found Dominguez open just to the right of the net, and he converted at the 15:38 mark. Carlson then scored off an assist from senior Kyle Been to give Sauk Prairie a 2-0 lead at 21:10. “We knew they were unbeaten coming in and were a tough team,” Kornish said of second-seeded and fifth-ranked Dodgeville/Mineral Point. “They were not going to go away easily so we knew early goals were going to be important for us. To score both of those off set pieces was huge for us. They were a team that put up a lot of goals, and our defense was rock solid.” Quinn Baier capped the Eagles’ scoring when he made it 3-0 off an assist from Dominguez at 74:26. Junior midfielder Drew Hottenstein pulled Dodgeville/Mineral Point (10-1-0) within 3-1 with a goal at 78:30. It was the first goal Sauk Prairie had allowed in three postseason games. But Eagles’ goalkeeper Luke Baumgardt, who finished with four saves, stymied the Dodgers the rest of the way.   Oct. 31 WIAA D2 sectional final  Sauk Prairie 3, West Salem 0 West Salem ............…. 0 0 — 0 Sauk Prairie …........... 1 2 — 3 First half: SP – Samuel Drescher, 20:26. Second half: SP -- Quinn Baier (Jaden Hilden), 48:19; Drescher (pk), 78:26. Saves: WS (Tyler Leren) 9; SP (Luke Baumgardt) 3.   Oct. 29 WIAA D2 sectional semifinal Sauk Prairie 3, Dodgeville/Mineral Point 1 Dodgeville/MP  ......…. 0 1 — 1 Sauk Prairie …….….. 2 1 — 3 First half: SP – Misael Dominguez (Joe Baumgardt), 15:38; Eliot Carlson (Kyle Been), 21:10. Second half: SP -- Quinn Baier (Dominguez), 74:26. DMP – Drew Hottenstein (Owen McDonald), 78:30. Saves: DMP (Breuer) 7; SP (Luke Baumgardt) 4.