Regional title sweep for Bluejays soccer team

The Three Lakes-Phelps varsity soccer team won back-to-back playoff games against Regis-McDonell Catholic and Northland Lutheran last week to earn the 2025 WIAA Division 4 regional championship. As the highest seed remaining in their postseason bracket, the Bluejays will next host Amery High School in the first game of sectional competition this Thursday. Amery upset top-seeded Columbus Catholic last week and then upset Northland Pines to earn its unlikely path to sectionals. Meanwhile, the Bluejays have been riding high, winning five of their last six games, including three by shutout.

“This is a great win for our team and for the community that has supported us all year,” Head Coach Brad Volkmann commented after the championship win on Saturday. “To get three postseason games at your home field is a luxury that very few teams enjoy and it is an achievement earned by hard training, hard work, and by just playing soccer the right way. We also have excellent assistant coaches, and a talented squad of players, including several freshman kids who perform every week at levels beyond their years.”

Championship action started last Thursday for the Jays as they faced Regis-McDonell Catholic after defeating them in the regular season earlier in the month. The Bluejays came out very aggressively, dominating the ball and the clock, while smothering the visiting team to the point where they were not able to get a single quality shot on goal during the entire first half.

Grayson Polcaster scored both goals for the Bluejays, including a laser from his right foot mid-way through the first half as defenders were seemingly hanging on his back during the shot. He then scored his 20th goal of the season on a breakaway liner in the second half, giving the Jays a two-point lead. Regis-McDonell Catholic scored its only goal late in the game, but the Bluejays held on for the 2-1 victory.

Two days later, the Jays hosted the Wildcats of Northland Lutheran for the regional championship game, and the storyline was familiar as the home team controlled the tempo with accurate passing and solid defense. There was tension from the crowd when this game was nearing halftime without any scoring, but moments later, Cohen Welsh changed the atmosphere and the score with his right foot as he hit a running dart to the back of the net for his 16th goal of the year. That gave the Bluejays a 1-0 lead at halftime.

Although the Wildcats came into the second half with more aggressive play, Bluejays goalkeeper Masen Schoeneck held out the stop sign as he blocked every shot for the duration of the game. This was Schoeneck’s sixth shutout of the year and his third in the last six games. Polcaster scored the second goal for the Bluejays on a penalty kick as he caught the Wildcats’ goalkeeper leaning the wrong way, and the Jays coasted to the 2-0 regional championship.

According to Volkmann, Polcaster has been playing with confidence, and his shooting has been technically sound during our playoff run. The coach also commented about the efforts of his experienced players, such as Cruz Melton, Ashton Boehm, Matthew Klein, Lucas Riker, and Ethan Potrykus.

“All of these kids are solid,” he said, “and it has really helped with the development of our younger squad. We get so much out of our freshman players such as Matthew (Potrykus), Charlie (Welsh), Corbyn (Gutbrod) and others. This is really a quality lineup along the entire roster.”

The Bluejays will take on Amery at 4:00 p.m. this Thursday, October 30, at Three Lakes High School in the first round of the WIAA Division 4 sectionals.

This is the first time a Bluejays soccer team has advanced to the sectional round in more than 20 years of formal record keeping, and a win on Thursday would take them to Arcadia High School on Saturday for the sectional final. The WIAA State championship game is scheduled for the following week.