Check out the media coverage of the Boys D1  and Girls game.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Lake Country Now: Kettle Moraine boys and Arrowhead girls defend state titles

CHECK OUT THE MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE BOYS D2 GAME.

Wisconsin State Journal: Brigham Borseth ends his Waunakee career as a state runner-up

The Sauk Prairie Eagle: Photos  

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Brian Salgado

Nothing beats the excitement of a boys lacrosse program’s first state championship, and Kettle Moraine got to experience that firsthand with a thrilling overtime victory in the Wisconsin Lacrosse Federation title game in 2016.

But after the Lasers’ decisive 11-2 title defense over Waunakee Saturday night in front of nearly 2,800 fans at Carroll University’s Schneider Stadium, Kettle Moraine coach Michael Stefan admitted just how special this year’s championship was to him. This group of seniors, after all, came up through the program alongside him after he took over the program 2014, and they are the reason Kettle Moraine is the powerhouse it is today.

“Obviously, last year’s game was crazy,” Stefan said. “But this year is more emotional for me because this senior group is the first I had coached with. They bought into what we are and were selfless, and that’s why we are where we are. They’ve built the foundation for many years, and I’m going to miss them.”

Kettle Moraine (20-3) and Waunakee (16-6) traded goals throughout the first quarter, but the Lasers took a 4-2 lead into halftime when sophomore attackman Malloy Murphy and senior middie Nate Tyley scored goals within a minute of each other at the 8-minute, 43-second mark of the second quarter.

The unstoppable offense that kept the Lasers undefeated in Wisconsin in 2017 took over in the third quarter and overwhelmed the Warriors. Kettle Moraine won faceoff after faceoff, keeping the ball on its offensive side as the Lasers scored five unanswered goal in the third quarter.

“We just had the ball more,” Stefan said. “We’re a pretty potent offense, so once we started winning faces and were not in the penalty box, we were able to get the ball more often and the offense could do their job.”

Although all-American senior middie Jordan Schmid played decoy for this game, the depth of the Lasers’ roster gave them the firepower they needed. Tyley finished the game with two goals and an assist, and sophomore attackman Chris Bender scored two goals as well. Senior attackman Nick Psicihulis finished the game with a goal and two assists, as well.

“We’re a team of runs,” Tyley said. “We typically start off kind of slow, but in the second half we usually start to pick it up and pull away like we did today.”

Waunakee coach Mike Reiter was proud of his Warriors for playing through some early-season hiccups and peaking in time for a fantastic postseason run. Despite losing a senior class that includes Brigham Borseth – who scored one of Waunakee’s two goals along with junior Phil Lowney – Reiter expects to have a solid team once again in 2018.

“It’s always nice when you’ve got some players in the pipeline to build off of, so we’ll see what’s going to happen,” Reiter said. “I know our kids will always fight when they play in between the white lines.”

The Wisconsin Lacrosse Federation’s division 2 boys state championship game may have started yesterday afternoon, but the Sauk Prairie boys lacrosse team started its journey to Carroll University’s Schneider Stadium at the end of the 2016 season.

That’s when the Eagles lost yet again to Stoughton in a semifinal playoff game, making them 0-for-6 versus their Madison Area (MadLax) Conference – White rival dating back to May 2014.

Instead of stewing all offseason, the senior Eagles returned to practice just three days after that semifinal, having decided that the 2017 crown was theirs for the taking – if they worked for it.

“It was that mentality the whole year – they wanted to get here, and they wanted to win,” said Dylan Baier, Sauk Prairie assistant coach and the MadLax assistant coach of the year. “That was in the back of everybody’s mind this whole season. They had something to prove and they wanted it so bad.”

That vision became reality Saturday when the Eagles came from behind to defeat back-to-back-to-back champion Catholic Memorial, 9-6, in the division 2 title game at Carroll University’s Schneider Stadium in Waukesha.

It certainly didn’t come easily for Sauk Prairie (16-3), who was tied with Catholic Memorial (13-6) at three goals apiece heading into halftime. The Crusaders then started the third quarter with three unanswered goals – including the second and third goals from attackmen senior Danny Rossi and Jacob Gronowski, respectively – to go up 6-3.

But that’s where Catholic Memorial’s scoring would end, and the Eagles would six unanswered goals en route to the state title. Freshman Willy Hanson attackman scored the first of his two goals for the game before junior attackman Bryce Thistle went off for three of his five goals, including the tying and go-ahead scores where he absorbed checks that put him on his back as the ball hit the twine.

“Five goals is phenomenal – and we needed every one, too,” said coach Bennett West, who was named the Wisconsin coach of the year as well as coach of the year in the MadLax. “We could have gotten frustrated and given up a little bit. But with plays like that by Bryce, it kept us going and turned the momentum in our favor.”

Senior goalie Justin Johnson did his part by saving nine shots throughout the game. He said Sauk Prairie’s critics may have had their doubts about the Eagles’ chances of winning it all in 2017, but he and his senior classmates knew after that painful semifinal loss to Stoughton in 2016 what had to be done to go out on top.

“The seniors, as soon as we lost, we looked at each other and said, ‘We don’t like this,” Johnson said. “We gotta work harder in the offseason, and we all got into the gym.”

Unfortunately, one senior who couldn’t play in the game was captain Josh Holler, who tore an ACL in his knee during the semifinal game versus Stoughton. He still roamed the sideline to keep his teammates on their toes throughout the game, according to Johnson.

“He’s one of the reasons we got here, so when we walked on this field and he couldn’t do it, it breaks your heart,” Johnson said.

Catholic Memorial, of course, also dealt with some heartbreak of a different fashion at the end of the title game. Considering the Crusaders lost 13 seniors, hired a new coach, were predicted to finish below .500 and were advised to seek a less competitive conference, coach Mike Hoffman still considers 2017 a success.

“It’s an accomplishment, and these guys will appreciate it in a few days,” Hoffman said. “They won’t today, but in a few days, they’ll appreciate that we made it all the way back.”

For a program with as much winning in its history as the Arrowhead girls lacrosse program, one would think it could be a difficult task ranking its myriad of state championships in school history.

However, for coach Tom Truttschel, there’s no doubt that Friday night’s 7-5 victory over Whitefish Bay/Nicolet/Shorewood (WNS) to claim the 2017 Wisconsin Lacrosse Federation title is the sweetest Arrowhead’s current four-year championship streak. That’s because of the difficult road the Warhawks took to get to this summit – including clawing from behind against the lone undefeated team in Wisconsin.

“Among the recent four, this is the top one,” Truttschel admitted after the trophy and medals ceremony that crowned his Warhawks for their four-peat. “I can’t tell you enough how this team probably has the biggest heart of the 10 years I’ve coached. They just know they’ve got to have each other’s backs.”

It looked dire early on for Arrowhead (17-6) as WNS (17-1) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead at 19 minutes, 52 seconds in the first half. The Wolfpack would build a 5-2 lead shortly after halftime when senior middie Izzi Mandli scored her second goal of the game at 21:06 in the second half.

Arrowhead took over from there, however, consistently winning draws and forcing turnovers en route to scoring five unanswered goals to finish the game.
With 10:29 left to play, sophomore middie Jacklyn Batley tied the game at five. Senior attack Lexy Chatham scored the go-ahead goal at the 5:54 mark, and senior attack Emily Dvorak added an insurance goal off a dish from Chatham 10 seconds later. Dvorak finished with two goals for the game.

“Emily is our Braveheart,” Truttschel said. “When we need somebody to take a nose to the goal, Emily is going to be that girl. Nobody can get that shiftiness and dodging around the goal like she can.”

Previous state titles may have been easier to come by, but many members of this championship Arrowhead team admitted having to come from behind made this victory especially special.

“When we started getting our goals and started getting our energy up, we could tell that they’re energy was going down, and we took advantage of that,” said Chatham, who earned her third state title along with fellow seniors Dvorak and goalie Amanda Catalano. “Without all the heart that went into this game, we wouldn’t have won, and it took every single person to do that.”

As for WNS, the team’s lone loss of the season came at the most inopportune time. Coach Meredith Donaldson said the team will struggle most to replace the seniors who helped launch the varsity program just three years ago. That’s especially true of Mandli, who slogged through that first JV season with a 1-10 record before leading the Wolfpack to back-to-back state championship games.

“She undoubtedly is the foundation of this program, Donaldson said. “She has been the most dedicated, passionate player I’ve ever coached.”

This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Catholic Memorial.

The back-to-back-to-back Division 2 Wisconsin Lacrosse Federation champion had reached its breaking point after losing 13 seniors in 2016. Countless people suggested that Catholic Memorial coach Mike Hoffman take his team out of the Classic 8 – Red Conference and into a smaller, less competitive league.

But the Crusaders wanted none of that. Instead, they stayed with the big boys in 2017 and adopted a small-ball style of play to compensate for losing a handful of prolific scorers to graduation.

And after defeating DeForest, 7-5, Wednesday night, Catholic Memorial is heading back to the state championship game for the opportunity to win its fourth consecutive title.

“No one expected us to even have a winning record,” Hoffman said. “That motivated these kids because no one gave us a chance.”

Catholic Memorial (13-5) and DeForest (9-8) took a 4-4 tie into halftime. The Norskies finally took a 5-4 lead with about 2 minutes to play in the third quarter. In the fourth, however, the Crusaders brought the defensive chaos they’ve become known for in 2017, scoring four fourth-quarter goals on unsettled plays. Junior middie Colin Stein sealed the victory when his top-shelf score gave Catholic Memorial a 6-5 lead.

On defense, Hoffman credited his long poles – junior Zach Davis, senior Cliff Watson and junior Vinny Haight – for keeping the DeForest offense at bay. The Crusaders managed to squash a 3-minute man-down situation where they limited the Norskies to just two shots.

“Once we got out of that, I knew we were in good shape,” Hoffman said. “We try to hold the opponents to under five or six goals, and we’ll score seven or eight. We’re not going to outscore anybody.”

The victory earned Catholic Memorial a match with Sauk Prairie, who defeated Stoughton to advance to the championship game. The squads met April 1 in Prairie du Sac, where the Crusaders lost 9-7.

The D2 title game will take place at Carroll University’s Schneider Stadium in Waukesha at 4 p.m.

The girls lacrosse scene this week revolves around whether Arrowhead can pull off an unimaginable four-peat this weekend by winning their fourth consecutive Wisconsin Lacrosse Federation state championship.

But upstart Whitefish Bay/Nicolet/Shorewood (WNS) has a long memory. And after taking the mighty Warhawks to the brink in the final game of the 2016 season, the Wolfpack earned a rematch with Arrowhead when it defeated University School of Milwaukee (USM), 8-4, in a semifinal game Wednesday night. It’s the second time in WSN’s three-year existence the Wolfpack has made it to the title game.

WNS (17-0) put the pressure on USM (16-4) right from the start, scoring just 24 seconds into the game and dropping another goal within the next 3 minutes of the first half. The Wolfpack added a third unanswered goal before the Wildcats got on the board. WNS took a 4-1 lead into halftime and never looked back.

“We got off to a really good start when we looked downfield and found an open cutter off the crease and was able to put it in the back of the net,” WNS coach Meredith Donaldson said.

Senior middie Izzi Mandli led the Wolfpack with three goals and an assist. Freshman middie Lauren Flemma added two goals and two assists for WNS , junior attack Landry Elliot scored two goals and an assist, as well.

WNS had to keep the USM offense at bay without the services of one of the Wolfpack’s top defenders. Sophomore Lauren Lex sat out the semifinal game after getting banged up in the quarterfinal match with Mukwonago. However, sophomore Abbe Hansen stepped in admirably for Lex, and Donaldson said WNS didn’t miss a step as a result.

“It’s [Hansen’s] first year on varsity, and she came in and did an absolutely phenomenal job,” Donaldson said. “She did everything expected of her and more to get us a nice win.”

WNS will meet Arrowhead in the state title game at Carroll University’s Schneider Stadium in Waukesha Friday at 7 p.m. When the teams met May 23, the Wolfpack won, 12-8.

The Arrowhead Red girls lacrosse team collectively held up four fingers in their team picture, representing the program’s fourth consecutive trip to the Wisconsin Lacrosse Federation’s state championship game. However, that doesn’t mean all the current Warhawks – even the enviable senior class that runs 19 deep – have experienced any or all of those title runs.

And if anyone is wondering where the motivation for Arrowhead stems from after so many dominant seasons under coach Tom Truttschel, there it is – getting everyone a chance to raise the trophy.

“We have less than half of this group that went to state last year, so they’re motivated for the teammates who haven’t been there yet,” Truttschel said after Arrowhead’s convincing 15-2 victory over Franklin. “Also, they want that two-peat or three-peat for themselves, so the fire is there.”

Arrowhead (16-6) made early work of Franklin (10-6) by starting the game with an 8-0 run before the Sabers could get on the board. Senior attack Lexy Chatham scored two of her game-high four goals to close out the first half, sending the Warhawks into intermission with a 10-1 lead.

“My teammates found me in the circle, and if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have those goals,” Chatham said. “We’ve been working really hard on our offense lately.”

Truttschel said Chatham has been the key to Arrowhead’s offense this year, knowing just the right buttons to push to make the Warhawks go in any situation.

“Lexy is our quarterback on offense,” he said. “She really calms our team down on offense when she needs to. She’s got a smart lax I.Q. – she knows when to look for her teammates and when to slow it down to take a one-on-one. She’s grown a lot in these last two years, and she’s one of our leaders on offense.”

Senior attack Emily Dvorak added three goals for the Warhawks, as well. Senior attack Sophie Elrod and sophomore middie Jacklyn Batley scored two goals apiece for Arrowhead.

When Franklin managed to break through to the Arrowhead side of the field, senior goalie Amanda Catalano made some incredible saves.

“She had an amazing game tonight with a lot of saves,” Truttschel said. “We had thought about switching to into a man defense, but we stayed with our solid zone defense. We thought maybe we’d isolate a few of their top players, but we saw no reason to do that as long as we play our top game.”

As the Sabers’ impressive postseason run ended, so did the high-school careers of senior captains Jackie Krueger, Dani Lindsay and Jess Lucht, who scored one of Franklin’s two goals on the night. Franklin coach Jill Kyhn realizes her seniors won’t be easily replaced, but the future is bright for young team with a high ceiling.

“[The seniors] literally were the first girls in line when we said we were holding a lacrosse clinic, so they are just great leaders,” Kyhn said. “We’ve got a really good core group of returning players, some of which improved drastically this year.”

Arrowhead will face Whitefish Bay/Nicolet/Shorewood at Carroll University’s Schneider Stadium Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Wolfpack defeated University of School Milwaukee, 8-4, to advance to the state finals.