Team has to replace goalkeeper
By Greg Seubert
A North Eastern Conference championship probably isn’t in the cards this season for the Waupaca girls’ soccer team.
The Comets posted a 1-15-3 record last year, were outscored 61-10 and have to replace all-conference goaltender Taylor Korth.
Mark Polebitski, the only coach the program has had since it started more than 20 years ago, would like to see this year’s team be competitive, but admitted it won’t be easy.
“It’s going to be tough,” he said. “We have a small freshman class coming in this year, so we had to do some recruiting. Our numbers are little low, but we have it up to about 30 players now. I would say out of the 30 girls here, probably half of them never played soccer before.
“I’m glad to see a lot of girls coming out for the first time, girls who haven’t played soccer and are willing to take this challenge,” he said. “We have athletes, we just need to teach them some ball touches. We’re going to focus on the fundamentals: passing, receiving, kicking. We’re going to work early in the season on physical conditioning. Hopefully, we can stay with the teams a little better than last season.”
The Comets compete in the North Eastern Conference with Clintonville, Denmark, Fox Valley Lutheran, Freedom, Little Chute, Luxemburg-Casco, Marinette and Wrightstown.
“I think the top teams are going to be Wrightstown and FVL, but it’s going to be anybody’s game,” Polebitski said. “We’re trying to get to the middle of that conference. If we can get halfway up that ladder, it’ll be a testament to improvement from last year.
“We’re not going to be competitive with every team we play,” he added. “There are some teams that are just out of our league. There were a lot of games last year where we didn’t get any shots on goal. What we have to do is improve the number of shots in each match. We don’t have the speedster forward like we have had in the past, so it’s going to take a team effort. The team that passes the best is usually the team that’s going to be successful. Possession is going to be the key for us to be competitive.”
Polebitski hasn’t settled on a permanent replacement for Korth, the latest in a long line of standout goalkeepers for the Comets, but the job could go to last year’s junior varsity goalkeeper, Kylie Hiddemen, or Jocybeth Barraza.
“Our goalie situation has been awesome in Waupaca and for the first time, we’re going to have a little turnover,” he said. “Jocybeth was one of our starting defenders last year and one of our top defenders. We’re going to split some time early in the season and once we see them in the net a couple of times, we’re going to decide who that goalie’s going to be.”
Besides Korth, the Comets also have to replace the graduated Nikki Weise and Claire Jungers. Weise joined Korth on last year’s all-conference second team, while Jungers received honorable mention.
“Elle Miller and Ivy Miller have been with this team since their freshman year, so they know what it’s like to play a varsity-speed soccer match,” Polebitski said. “Ivy plays in the midfield and Elle plays back on defense. We also have Lily Sletten, who has been on varsity for three years. Those are the three captains. They’ve been to almost all the open gyms and have been running captains’ practices. They’re very enthusiastic about the season and work as hard any group of kids I’ve ever had in the past.”
Madie Gile and Shyla Koshollek are also penciled in as starters and Polebitski expects Ivy Miller’s freshman sister, Robin, to score her share of goals.
“I’ve been working with her in the youth program since she was in fourth grade and she’s finally up here in the high school ranks,” he said. “I’m really excited to see what she can do.”
Last year’s players have put the 2016 season behind them, according to Polebitski.
“For them, it’s really not about winning or losing, it’s about competing and playing teams as hard as we can play them,” he said. “They have that attitude from last year and attitude’s half the battle. It’s nice to have the technical skills and the desire. We have parts of each. It’s just that we have to pull it out of some of these girls.”
The Comets opened the season March 28 with a nonconference game in Hortonville and do not have a conference game scheduled until they head to Denmark Tuesday, April 11. By that time, the team will have five games in the books, including matchups with Stevens Point and Xavier.
“We’ve done a lot of running this week and I can tell you is they haven’t complained about it,” Polebitski said. “They came back for more. Nobody quit and they want to be part of this team. The girls have the desire to be here. What they have to do is take that desire, turn it into work and become the soccer player they need to be.”
Waupaca Girls’ Soccer 2017 Schedule
Varsity
Tuesday, March 28 – at Hortonville, 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 30 – vs. Shawano, 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 4 – at Stevens Point, 7 p.m.
Thursday, April 6 – vs. Assumption, 5 p.m.
Saturday, April 8 – vs. Xavier, 11 a.m.
Tuesday, April 11 – at Denmark, 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 18 – vs. Wrightstown, 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 25 – at New Holstein, 7 p.m.
Thursday, April 27 – vs. Amherst/Iola-Scandinavia/Rosholt, 6:30 p.m.
Monday, May 1 – vs. Fox Valley Lutheran, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 4 – at Luxemburg-Casco, 4:30 p.m.
Friday, May 5 – at Mosinee, 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 9 – at Freedom, 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 13 – Waupaca Invitational, 9 a.m.
Tuesday, May 16 – vs. Clintonville, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 18 – at Little Chute, 4:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 25 – vs. Marinette, 6:30 p.m.
Junior Varsity
Thursday, March 30 – vs. Shawano, 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 4 – at Stevens Point, 5 p.m.
Saturday, April 8 – vs. Xavier, 11 a.m.
Tuesday, April 11 – at Denmark, 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 18 – vs. Wrightstown, 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 25 – at New Holstein, 5 p.m.
Saturday, April 29 – Waupaca JV Invitational, 9 a.m.
Monday, May 1 – vs. Fox Valley Lutheran, 4:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 4 – at Luxemburg-Casco, 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 9 – at Freedom, 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 20 – Waupaca hosts North Eastern Conference tournament, 9 a.m.
Thursday, May 25 – vs. Marinette, 4:30 p.m.