Bluejays exit soccer playoffs with heads high

The Three Lakes-Phelps boys varsity soccer team was eliminated from the WIAA D4 regional playoffs last week following a 6-0 loss to the Warriors of Amery High School. Hopes were high coming into the contest because the Bluejays defeated the Warriors in a sectional playoff last season, and the two teams battled to a tie game in the regular season last month. Even with the loss, however, coaches and players have expressed that the season was successful with another winning record for the team.

It was a warm autumn afternoon for the three-and-a-half-hour drive to Amery, and the Bluejays spent much of the first half doing what they have been doing all season, controlling the pace of the game with their speed and passing skills. Unfortunately for the visitors, the Warriors lit up the scoreboard first at the 4:42 mark of the first. The goal was controversial for the Bluejays bench because it appeared that a Warrior player made hand contact with the ball moments before the shot.

In the end, the single score was insignificant to the final 6-0 result, but it marked the first of several controversial rulings on the field against the Bluejays that seemingly drained the energy and enthusiasm out of the players, starting early in the second half when the game was still close.

Brad Volkmann is the head coach of the Bluejays and was hoping for a better outcome.

“Every game has adversity, and this one had more than most,” he said, “but a team still has to play well enough to overcome the challenges, and we just could not get it going. Our team is young, and we got a little rattled early on, but we settled down late in the first period and played the way we know is best. We had pressure and opportunity, but couldn’t seem to find the back of the net.”

The coach said that he was especially disappointed for his senior players, Cohen Welsh and Lucas Riker, who have been teammates during their four years with the club.

“These kids had great high school careers,” he said, “and they deserved so much more. Overall, however, it was a very good season where we jelled as a team and really played some great soccer. I love our chemistry and selflessness, and there is no group of young men I would rather coach.”

While Welsh and Riker have long histories of working hard and scoring goals, Volkmann also said that they have been good team leaders, and that their presence will be missed next year. He said the team will also miss Robert Wenberg, who jumped into the goalkeeping position several weeks ago and helped secure important wins for the club down the stretch. Wenberg and long-time keeper Masen Schoeneck made a good tag-team between the pipes as they earned five shutouts this season.

Scoring for the Bluejays was balanced this year, with 10 players scoring multiple goals through the season. The squad was led by Welsh, Riker and Corbyn Gutbrod, who collectively kicked more than 30 goals, while Will Connor, Trenton Peterson, Blake Joslin, Carson Plehn and Ryker Hafer tapped the back of the net for at least three goals each. Schoeneck and Charlie Welsh each scored twice, although Schoeneck was usually busier stopping goals in the keeper position.

Matthew Potrykus and Isaiah Perlewitz were also very adept at stopping goals in their defensive roles, but each found a way to score. The coaching staff also recognized the hard defensive work by Henry Weavers and Liam McKissack, who play deep in their zone with little opportunity to be in a scoring position. The entire team was very good at passing, with tallies often times exceeding 200, which Volkmann said would tire opponents while the Jays would be swarming on offense.

While the Bluejays will lose Cohen Welsh, Riker and Wenberg to graduation, the balance of the team will likely return next season, with eight juniors, including Zach DeHaan, who missed the current season due to injury, but still attended every game and encouraged his teammates from the sidelines.