With a conference title on the line and a one-goal deficit to rival Appleton United, Neenah boys lacrosse coach Paul Zielski called a second-quarter timeout with a message specifically for the eight seniors on his roster:
This is your game.
The elder Rockets immediately responded. Senior Ike Miller scored four goals in a five-goal run to put Neenah ahead for good in a 14-12 victory that completed the Rockets’ undefeated Bay Valley Conference season.
“We put it on our seniors’ shoulders, and those guys stepped up,” Zielski said. “We came together as a team and played really strongly.”
Neenah (15-4-1, 9-0 Bay Valley Conference) and Appleton traded goals throughout the first quarter until Appleton (11-5, 7-2) took a 4-3 lead off sophomore Nate Htwe’s two second-quarter goals. That’s when Zielski called the timeout that would change the course of the game.
“We called a timeout, brought everyone together to cool everyone off, and Coach just said, ‘Put it on your backs, seniors,’” Miller said. “And we practiced that ever since right off the dodge.”
Miller responded with four unanswered goals over a six-minute span. He would finish the game with five goals.
“He’s a complete player,” Zielski said. “He’s a kid you want to have with the ball in his hands in the last 30 seconds if you need a goal because he can work, and he’s not a selfish player. He deserves an all-state nomination.”
Senior middie Reid Molitor scored one of his team-high six goals to cap off the five-goal run that gave the Rockets a 7-4 lead with 55 seconds left in the half.
Appleton cut Neenah’s lead to one with 4 minutes, 1 second left to play when junior attack Liam Janson scored his sixth goal of the game to bring the score the 13-12. United’s offense would threaten multiple times in the final moments of the game, but Neenah’s senior goalie Matt Lange – the 2016 Bay Valley Conference player of the year – made countless saves to keep the Rockets in the lead.
“In the last 30 seconds, he had three beautiful saves and kept us from letting this game get any closer,” Zielski said. “He put a lot on his shoulders, too.”
Despite not winning the conference crown, Appleton coach Eric Marsh was far from disappointed in his team’s effort considering the experience gap between the two squads. While Neenah’s roster is loaded with seniors, 11 of United’s 19 players are underclassmen, so a two-goal loss for the conference title is a huge morale boost.
“This was an experience game for us,” Marsh said. “We’re super young. For us to go in and battle like this against a team with great seniors, I’ll take the two-goal loss.”
Neenah will host Wausau in the regional semifinal round of the state tournament Tuesday evening. Appleton hosts Janesville on Tuesday evening, as well.
This season WisconsinLacrosse.com highlighted select games from around the State of Wisconsin. Made possible by a donation from Amplify Lacrosse.
