Twenty-one goals give Bluejays soccer team a winning week

After coming out of the gate slowly this season, the Three Lakes-Phelps  boys varsity soccer team won two of three games last week, scoring a total of 21 goals in the process. Two of the home games were played in Phelps while crews were completing a new track surface surrounding the soccer field at Three Lakes High School. The Bluejays now have a 2-3-1 record this year, which could change dramatically this week with a busy period of four games on the schedule.

Action started on the road last week as the Jays traveled to Michigan for a matchup with Iron Mountain High School. They left the state just a short time later with their first victory of the year by defeating the Mountaineers 8-0 in cool and wet playing conditions. Senior player Cohen Welsh was the star of this game scoring three goals and controlling the tempo for the visiting Bluejays.

Early in the contest, Welsh put the visitors on the scoreboard with a jumping head shot to the right corner of the net. He was able to leap high for the interception shot as an Iron Mountain defender was trying to clear the zone, and while the goalkeeper was charging in his direction. Three minutes later, Welsh found the back of the net again drilling a loose ball to the same spot of the net from nearly the same location on the field as his first score. 

Later in the period, Will Connor scored his fourth goal of the season working through heavy traffic on the Mountaineers’ side of the field.  At the point of his shot, there were six defenders and the goalkeeper directly in the space between Connor and the corner of the net. The Bluejays took a 3-0 lead into the second half, where Corbyn Gutbrod scored the first of his two goals in the game. Carson Plehn then jumped on the scoring bandwagon, kicking a hard shot off a nice feed in front of the net by Welsh.

Welsh and Gutbrod scored again on shots that each bounced off Mountaineer defenders, while Masen Schoeneck ended the game with a long high shot from the right side of the field. Schoeneck started the game in the goalkeeper position, but as with all three games last week, shared his keeper responsibilities with Robert Wenberg, a senior from Phelps High School.

Head Coach Brad Volkmann said late last week that he has been experimenting with positions on the pitch and has tested some players at different positions. 

“I started moving things around during the last three games,” he said.  “Players have shown me that there are several different positions where they can be successful, and the flexibility has made a positive impact on the team.  Robert, for example, did a phenomenal job in the pipes, which frees Masen in other areas. Masen is very athletic and helps us when we need speed and strength against specific opponents.”

Volkmann went on to say the changes are not only good for the current team composition, but it also helps develop some of the junior players for the future. 

“Our younger kids are always watching, learning and improving in our system. We look to getting better as the season moves on, and the players are really stepping up.”

The Bluejays next played back-to-back games in Phelps and split those matches by defeating Peshtigo 9-1 before falling to the Flivvers of Kingsford High School 4-2. Peshtigo ended up with the first goal of their match with the Bluejays before being overwhelmed with scoring by Welsh and Ryker Hafer, each getting three goals, while Gutbrod, Trenton Peterson and Isaiah Perlewitz earned single goals. Two days later, the Jays lost to Kingsford in a close game with Welsh kicking both goals for the Bluejays, bringing his total to eight goals in the last three games. 

The Jays played early this week on the road at Northland Lutheran High School before returning home this Thursday, September 17, for a 5:00 p.m. rematch with Iron Mountain.