Waupaca to host Mosinee Oct. 27
By Greg Seubert
Two wins.
That’s all that separates the Waupaca boys’ soccer team from the program’s first-ever trip to state.
The Comets won a WIAA Division 3 regional championship Oct. 22 with a 6-1 win over Lakeland at Waupaca High School after opening state tournament play two days earlier with a 9-0 win over Amherst/Iola-Scandinavia/Rosholt.
Top-seeded Waupaca will now host third-seeded Mosinee Thursday, Oct. 27, in a sectional semifinal. Mosinee won its regional championship Oct. 22 with a shootout win over second-seeded Clintonville. The winner will face Rice Lake or Amery at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, in Rice Lake for a sectional championship.
Waupaca 6, Lakeland 1
Seth Boldt scored three goals and added three assists for the Comets.
He opened the scoring at the 23:58 mark off of an assist from Luis Jorgensen. Jorgensen added an empty net goal less than a minute later to give the Comets a 2-0 halftime lead.
Boldt came up with his second goal 5:27 into the second half and teammate Forrest Ziebell scored two minutes later off of one of Boldt’s assists.
Jorgensen’s second goal off of Boldt’s third assist gave Waupaca a 5-0 lead 12:35 into the second half and Boldt capped the scoring four minutes later.
Kyle Wuestenhagen scored Lakeland’s goal with less than two minutes to go in the game.
Waupaca 9, AIR 0
Jorgensen and Boldt combined to score seven of the Comets’ goals.
Jorgensen scored Waupaca’s first two goals in the first 14:25 of the game and added two more in the first 4:22 of the second half, while Boldt found the net twice in the first half to help Waupaca take a 5-0 Ziebell and Quentin Polebitski added solo goals in the first and second half, respectively.
The Comets improved to 18-2-3 on the season with the two wins.
“I’d say we’re just being consistent,” coach Mat Lawniczak said. “I don’t think there’s anything different from how we started the year. The big thing is we’re all healthy.”
It also doesn’t hurt having Boldt and Jorgensen, two of the state’s top scorers this season.
“It’s the whole team working together, it’s not just the two guys,” Lawniczak said. “I can’t say that those two don’t work really well together. They’ve played with each other for so long. They know where the other one is and almost with their eyes closed, they can connect the ball across the field.”
Goalkeeper Nate Schuler-Jones stopped 13 of Lakeland’s 13 shots on goal.
“The guy spent the offseason learning how to play goalie and soaked up anything and everything,” Lawniczak said. “It’s not just what he did in the offseason. He stays after every practice, he’s working on the weekends. He wants to help his team and wants to get better.”
A No. 1 seed for the state tournament assured the Comets of playing at home through the sectional final round.
“The biggest thing is we’re not on a bus for two hours,” Lawniczak said. “The guys have a ritual here. The fact that we can keep that every game is just a comfort level for the guys and that means a lot.”