Once Mother Nature finally gives the Waupaca area a break, soccer fans will be in for a treat.
That’s according to Waupaca girls’ soccer coach Mark Polebitski.
He rated this year’s squad as one of his best since Waupaca High School started its girls’ soccer program in 1997.
“This team reminds me of two other teams that we’ve had,” he said. “One year, we lost to Plymouth by one goal in a sectional final when we were ranked in the state. One year, we had Morgan Abert and Cassie Glodowski. That was a very talented group and we were also ranked in the state.
“This group reminds me of them for a couple of reasons,” he said. “One is their athletic ability and two is their love for the game. These girls cherish the game. They love it, they live it, they breathe it. That’s what sets them apart from other teams.”
Like most other spring sports teams in northeastern Wisconsin, the Comets are dealing with not being able to practice outside.
“We’re all inside and it looks like we’re all going to be inside for at the minimum three more weeks, so the first couple of games are going to have to be rescheduled,” Polebitski said. “It’s a struggle with gym time. We have five different sports competing for the gym. We’re scheduled tight, but everybody’s dealing with it. It’s amazing. You walk around this building after school and every inch of this school is being used: the gym, the weight room, the hallways. We’re all making it work.”
The Comets were 15-7 last year and finished third in the Eastern Valley Conference.
“It’s good that we’re back in Division 2 this year,” Polebitski said. “That’s where we’re supposed to be. We should be one of the better Division 2 teams in the state.”
Even better than returning conference champion Appleton Xavier, a state qualifier in Division 2 in 2012?
“We have to get through some of the top teams like Fox Valley Lutheran and Winneconne, but of course, the prize is Xavier,” Polebitski said. “Xavier’s going to have a very strong team. They have one of their best teams in school history and we lost a close one to them last year, 2-1.”
The Comets and Hawks are scheduled to play Tuesday, May 14, in Waupaca.
“Hopefully, we can play good enough defense and have just enough offense to pull it off,” Polebitski said. “I think it’s going to be between Xavier and us again and it should go right down to the wire.”
This year’s returning players include seniors Mikaila Johnson (forward, goalkeeper) and Jocely Barraza and Jenny Gauerke (midfielder); juniors Sierra Patzke (midfielder), Lizzie Hanke (midfielder), Holly Johnston (midfielder), Courtney Jungers (defender), Josie Waitrovich (goalkeeper/defender) and Anna Abrams (defender); and sophomores Maleva Butkiewicz (midfielder), Alyssa Nicewander (midfielder) and Amber Van Handel (defender).
Johnson, Patzke, Hanke and Waitrovich will share team captain duties and all four are looking forward to a successful season.
“I expect us to work hard and go with the flow,” Johnson said. “We’re all working together.”
“We have a lot of girls that are really excited to be here and really want to play soccer,” Patzke said. “I expect us to do really good and be better than last year.”
“I think we have a really good chance of going far this season,” Hanke said. “We’re going to able to build on what we had last year.”
“We have a lot of excited girls to play soccer, so it’ll be fun to finally play outside,” Waitrovich said.
“Sierra and Lizzie played on a team last year that ended up taking fourth in the nation, so they’ve been playing soccer,” Polebitski said. “There’s a group that went over to Appleton to play indoor soccer in the winter. Josie’s been working on her goalkeeping all winter, so they’ve been touching the ball all winter.
“What’s going to help us is we have a core of girls that are multiple-sport athletes,” he added. “The basketball players are coming in in shape. Their footwork is good and that’s important. I was really impressed by the level of fitness that everybody on the team came in with this year. It’s probably the fittest team I’ve ever seen.”
Several returning players have varsity experience, which should help, Polebitski said.
“We have forwards coming back,” he said. “We have midfielders coming back. We have defenders coming back. We have goalkeeping coming back. We have returning players at every different position on the field and we’re going to get some pretty decent help from the JV team from last year. We’re going to be solid all the way through. Our top 18 players will be as good as any 18 players I’ve ever had.”
The Comets were scheduled to open their season today (Thursday, March 28) at home against New London, but that game has been put on hold.
“It’s going to be tough to schedule our first four games,” Polebitski said. “Our schedule is really tight right now. I think we’re going to try and reschedule some of them and get them in on Saturday evenings. It’s tough to play two days in a row. Soccer’s a physical game that demands a lot of energy from players. If you stack these games too close together, that’s where injuries occur. We’re only in two tournaments this year, so we have a lot of Saturdays open. The other problem is matching up days with the other schools.”
That’s a big change from last year, as teams were able to get outside on the first practice day and early games weren’t rescheduled.
“The first thing we’re going to have to do when we get outside is we’re going to have to learn how to organize our defense,” Polebitski said. “I don’t care how you look at it, the game starts with defense. You have to stop that other team and win that ball. We’re going to have to go over corner kick situations and direct kick situations. That’s where the teamwork is going to come in. Hopefully, we can get our ball touches and fitness in inside so we can move right to the tactical part of the game once we can get out.”
Jed DeYoung and James Rusch are back as assistant coaches, with Rusch coaching the Comet JV squad.
“The coaching staff is really looking forward to this group,” Polebitski said. “We’ve talked about this for the last couple of years and saw this coming. Finally, we’re here.”
Waupaca
Girls’ Soccer
2013 Schedule
Varsity
Thursday, March 28 – vs. New London, 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 2 – vs. Stevens Point, 7 p.m.
Friday, April 5 – vs. Hortonville, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, April 9 – vs. Winneconne, 7 p.m.
Saturday, April 13 – at Wausau West Invitational, 10 a.m.
Tuesday, April 16 – at Little Chute, 4:45 p.m.
Monday, April 22 – at Wausau East, 5 p.m.
Tuesday, April 23 – vs. Ripon, 4:45 p.m.
Friday, April 26 – vs. Seymour (rescheduled from March 26), 7 p.m.
Tuesday, April 30 -vs. Berlin, 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 2 – at Clintonville (rescheduled from April 25), 4:45 p.m.
Friday, May 3 – vs. Menasha, 4:45 p.m.
Monday, May 6 – at Fox Valley Lutheran, 4:45 p.m.
Thursday, May 9 – at New Holstein, 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 11 – Waupaca Invitational, 9 a.m.
Tuesday, May 14 – vs. Appleton Xavier (Parents’ Night, rescheduled from May 13), 7 p.m.
Friday, May 17 – vs. Wisconsin Rapids Assumption, 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 21 – at Freedom, 4:45 p.m.
Junior Varsity
Thursday, March 28 – vs. New London, 5 p.m.
Tuesday, April 2 – vs. Stevens Point, 5 p.m.
Friday, April 5 – vs. Hortonville, 5 p.m.
Tuesday, April 9 – vs. Winneconne, 5 p.m.
Thursday, April 11 – vs. Amherst, 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 13 – at Wausau West Invitational, 10 a.m.
Monday, April 22 – at Wausau East, 5 p.m.
Tuesday, April 23 – vs. Ripon, 4:45 p.m.
Friday, April 26 – vs. Seymour (rescheduled from March 26), 5 p.m.
Saturday, April 27 – Waupaca Invitational (rescheduled from April 28), 9 a.m.
Tuesday, April 30 -vs. Berlin, 5 p.m.
Monday, May 6 – at Fox Valley Lutheran, 4:45 p.m.
Thursday, May 9 – at New Holstein, 5 p.m.
Saturday, May 11 – at Wrightstown Invitational, 9:30 a.m.
Tuesday, May 14 – vs. Appleton Xavier (rescheduled from May 13), 5 p.m.
Thursday, May 16 – at Amherst, 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 21 – at Freedom, 4:45 p.m.