This was supposed to be the Year of the Lasers.
Kettle Moraine was getting plenty of press, traveling throughout the United States and Canada to play top-notch non-conference competition and returning to Wisconsin to rack up an undefeated in-state record.
But then the Lasers encountered Verona in the state semifinals. Now the state final game looks like a Madison-area block party as Verona faces Waunakee Saturday night at Schneider Stadium at Carroll University.
“No doubt, this is big for us as an area,” Verona coach Nathan Lutterman said. “Historically, Madison has been a stronger area than Milwaukee. But this year Milwaukee had the top-end teams while Madison year in and year out has a much deeper conference.”
Verona (12-6) is peaking at just the right time. Yes, the Wildcats already lost to Waunakee twice this year, but they have defeated the Middleton and Sauk Prairie in Madison Area-Red play. They also beat independent powerhouse Hudson, as well.
Lutterman chalks up the rough stretches to a a learning curve within his squad, which boasted the second-highest RPI in the state behind Kettle Moraine.
“I think for large stretches of the year we were learning to trust each other as a team,” Lutterman said. “We were just learning to trust our teammates, learn the system and not rely on just one or two people to play the game. And you see it when you look at our playoff results.”
Those results include holding Middleton, Appleton United and Kettle Moraine to just six goals apiece.
Waunakee will have to contend with senior attacker Ian Edwards, who is a two-time All-American who set the program record for points in a season this and is close to scoring 300 points for his high school career.
For Waunakee, this is the Warriors’ fourth appearance in the title game with coach Michael Reiter at the help. They have lost their last two title games, including one versus Verona that went into overtime.
Waunakee – making a consecutive tournament appearance after losing to Kettle Moraine last year – is guided by senior leadership. The Warriors boast about eight athletes with two seasons on the varsity squad.
Senior attacker Jarrett Wulf leads the offensive attack with with 42 goals for the season. Reiter calls senior middie Jeremy Werner one of the best two-way midfielders the state of Wisconsin has ever seen.
Senior middie Connor Smith also had 30 goals – many of them in clutch situations – on the season. On defense, a pair of brothers mind the opponent: senior defenseman Alan Olkowski and sophomore goalie Ray Olkowski.
