Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Final Conference Matches

The final week of regular season conference matches takes place this week.

Thursday Oct 10th
Appleton v DSHA jv  6pm @Appleton

Muskego v Kettle Moraine  5:30pm

Saturday Oct 12th
Brookfield v DSHA 10am
CMH v Vernon 9:30am  Minooka Park
Oak Creek v Kettle Moraine 2pm Oak Creek High School

Thursday, October 3, 2013

WGR Results

Thursday Oct 3rd
Catholic Memorial 71  Kettle Moraine 20
     Crusader Cpt. Maggie Wesolowski scored two tries and helped lead her side on to a victory against a tough Kettle Moraine side that found its way to four tries of their own.   A lot of young players for both sides got a chance to play in a fun, friendly match that began with a special moment of silence and prayer for the Olson family.

Saturday Oct 5th
DSHA 72  Vernon 5
     The Dashers were on fire to begin that match and put in several tries with their blistering pace in the first twenty minutes.  Some key substitutions in the first half showed DSHA could keep their patterns going with their depth.  Vernon's inside center proved to be a good runner, but the inexperience of the rest of their side was not enough to keep pace with the Dashers.

DSHA jv 36  Appleton 5
    Appleton impressed with a talented flyhalf, who helped them notch a try against a DS jv side that has been able to get a lot of matches in this fall. 

Brookfield 5  Oak Creek 66
     According to one of the coach's report, "Good defensive play from junior Emily Winter and the sister act of Jenna and Alyessa Bales" kept Brookfield in the match. Emily crossed over for a try in the first half, and some long scampers from senior Savannah Porter and newcomers Raina Anderson and Mary Sullivan showed the flashes of impressive athleticism on Brookfield's squad.
    For Oak Creek, their backline did most of the scoring: Liz Grall (9-sophomore), Anisa Feto (10-senior), Kayla Kurszewski (13-junior), Tiffany Beneckey (12-senior), and Megan Bird (15-freshman) all had at least one try each. Kandace Fons (7-senior) also scored, and played solid defense with Abby Larch (lock, freshman) in the forwards; both made several tackles behind Brookfield's line of gain.
     Brookfield had trouble establishing defensive lines and some difficulty tackling, but played excellent ball for a team with so many freshmen and new players. They were still hustling back to midfield after the scores near the end of the game, which observers found impressive. They'll be great next year if they can keep that group together.
     Thanks to both coaches for their match reports!

 


Standings (not including non-conference matches)
Division I
DSHA   (4-0)
CMHS   (3-1)
Vernon  (2-1)
Kettle    (1-3)
OCHS   (1-3)
Brkfld   (0-3)

Division 2
DSjv       (3-0)
App/Fdl  (2-1)
Musk      (0-3)

Saturday's D1 Collegiate Match at Minooka Park

Saturday Oct 5th 
UW-Milwaukee hosts the University of Minnesota in a Division I collegiate women's match at Memorial's home pitch, Minooka Park.  Kickoff is scheduled for 10am.  Those without a match that morning should check out what collegiate rugby is like.

A slew of WGR alumns will be playing on both sides, including the Buckvich sisters from Brookfield.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Week 4 Preview

Thursday Oct 3rd
Catholic Memorial (2-1) v Kettle Moraine (1-2) 4:30pm  Minooka Park
    A Knightmare win would put them ahead of CMH in the standings, as they'd hold the head-to-head tie breaker.  KM seems to have stabilized their team under their new coach some recruits have helped to round out their side.  Can CMH rebound from a draining match last weekend?

Saturday Oct 5th
Vernon (2-0) v DSHA (3-0) 10am Vernon Town Hall Park
    The two remaining undefeated conference teams face off in what has to be WGR's GAME OF THE WEEK.  Vernon played DSHA tough last fall on their home pitch and after an impressive match against Oak Creek, go into this game with some momentum.  The Dashers as well are coming off their best half of rugby after a good test.  Two teams in mid-season form should make for a good contest.

DSHA jv (3-0) v Appleton/Fond Du Lac  (2-0)  1130am Vernon Town Hall Park
     The DSHA jv team showed some impressive speed and athleticism and is now really starting to play some rugby and gain experience.  Appleton made an impressive debut to the conference and continues to grow quickly from their matches against experienced sides.

Sunday Oct 6th
Brookfield (0-3) v Oak Creek(0-3) 2pm Brkfld Soccer Complex's Outdoor Fields (Weyer Rd)
    Two teams with a lot of athletes and potential.  Both teams still in the fight for a top four finish and a chance at 'second season' in the playoffs.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Winona St and WGR Alumni

Winona St, two-time National D2 Women's Collegiate finalists, boast several WGR alumni playing in their ranks.

Their recent match report highlights the contributions of Georgia Porter, a junior captain and scrumhalf, formerly of Vernon; along with sophomore flyhalf Katie Dries, from Catholic Memorial.  Katie is CMH's all-time leading points scorer and holds all their kicking records.  She's continued her kicking prowess with Winona.

Winona St won 41-0 over Mankato St. last weekend.  Porter scored a try in the match and Dries converted 3 kicks.

In a somewhat related note, another WGR alumni, Coach Jeff Noe led his Winona St men's collegiate D2 team to a big upset win over UNI on Saturday.  Making the match even more impressive is that it was a road match for them.  Congrats and best of luck No-E.

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Week 3 Scores

Saturday Sept 28th
DSHA 34 CMHS 12
     Seems like this match followed the pattern of recent meetings, with DS scoring early, CMH responding and taking a lead, only for DS to pull away in the second half. Right from the kickoff, the action was fast and furious with a lineout deep in DSHA's half. Memorial had the ball in space with three ballcarriers on one defender, but took the ball into contact with two open players outside and a lost chance to score early. Instead, a great turnover to DS and a try the other way. CMHS scored two tries though and took a 12-10 into halftime.
     Then it seemed to be a tale of two halves. As well as Memorial played in the first half, DSHA played in the second half. The Crusaders kept losing possession early and DS began to dominate possession, eventually running in three tries in the second half.
DSHA jv 32 CMHS 0

Brookfield 15 Kettle Moraine 44
     An improved Brookfield came out with some impressive athleticism and alot of strength in their pack. But KM's experience and conditioning seemed to win out by the end of each half. Kettle held a narrow 22-15 lead at halftime. It was KM Captain "Sayhill's" day though. Lindsay Hillmer scored three tries in the first half, and hit two conversions. Co-Captain Courtney Crouse also scored at lest two tries, including a wonderful finish where she stretched her arms out to dot the ball down just on the line after a long breakaway.
     Brookfield Captain Destiny Dallas, playing #8, impressed with her composure and ball carrying ability.  New fullback Reina Anderson also made a strong debut and showed potential in the open field. 

Sunday Sept 29th
Oak Creek 22  Vernon 48
     In what was described as a very hard-hitting and exhausting match, Vernon were excellent at keeping possession.  Vernon scored one of their tries after a 12-phase barrage wore down the Knight's pack.  Oak Creek senior Anisa Feto scored two tries, along with fellow senior Monica Claudio, who returned to #9 after missing their first conference match.  Freshman Megan Bird scored on a long run and shows a lot of promise.

Division II
Appleton/Fond Du Lac 29   Muskego 0
Another nice game from the new girls team up north, who seem to be able to find ways to put points on the board.  It will be interesting to see how they do against the DSHA JV team.

Standings (Brookfield and Vernon still have a rain-out to make up)
DSHA  3-0
Vernon 2-0
CMHS  2-1
Kettle   1-2
OCHS  0-3 
Brkfld  0-2

Division 2
DSHA jv 2-0 (against CMH, Muskego)
Appleton 2-0 (home and away against Muskego)
Muskego 0-3

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Match of the Week

Saturday Sept 28th
DSHA v CMHS   9:30am Brookfield Outdoor Soccer Fields 
     (W212N4933 Weyer Road Menominee Falls)

     Our game of the week.  Two top four finishers at Nationals a few months ago square off in an early season midterm test.  The winner will be in the driver's seat to win the conference.  Both sides graduated multiple seniors last year and have retooled their sides.  Both sides return their 9's and 10's and a strong core of athletes. 

DSHA jv v CMHS jv  10:45am  Brookfield Soccer

Brookfield v Kettle Moraine 11:30am  Brookfield Soccer
     Both sides are hoping to notch their first conference wins after a tough draw in the early weeks.

Appleton v Muskego  11:00am Lions Park
     Both sides play a rematch up in Greenville.

Sunday Sept 29th
     Oak Creek v Vernon  12:00pm Oak Creek High School
     What will Oak Creek do now that they've survived two tough opening matches?  Can Vernon repeat their strong run in conference from last fall?  They are traditionally stronger in the fall and return their 8 and 9 in particular.