DeForest girls soccer falls in state semifinal 1–0

DeForest's historic girls soccer season ended in a 1–0 state semifinal loss to Wauwatosa East at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee.

And even in a 1-0 loss to Wauwatosa East (16-4-1) in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) Division 2 state semifinals at Uihlein Soccer Park, DeForest made one thing clear: DeForest aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Despite being outshot 19-1 on the day, DeForest (14-7-1) were within striking distance all afternoon long, Because of a strong effort in goal from their freshman goalkeeper, Kobi Burdick.

Altogether, Burdick had 11 saves, the WIAA reported. In the final 20 minutes of regulation, she held off a frenzy of shots from the Red Raiders, tipping the shots over the crossbar with her outstretched arms.

“I was really proud of myself, and I just knew I could do it, so I just gave it all my own, and I just went for it,” Burdick said, who had nine second-half saves.

State semifinal recap

DeForest freshman goalkeeper Kobi Burdick had 11 saves — nine in the second half — during DeForest 1-0 loss to Wauwatosa East in the WIAA Division 2 state semifinals on Thursday, June 18, at the Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee.

Throughout regular-season play, Burdick split time at the goalkeeper position with senior Alice Viklund. However, Viklund was sidelined with an injury in early May and later returned home after completing her foreign exchange program.

With Burdick manning the goalpost, Wauwatosa East struck early, scoring the lone goal of the game at the 3:37 mark of the first half.

But from then on, Burdick settled right in. And so did her team, staying within the one-goal mark the rest of the way.

For DeForest, Thursday was a stark difference from its sectional final win over fifth-seeded Edgewood. DeForest scored two early goals in the first half — one from senior Marissa Titel and the other from freshman Violet Colwin — to secure the 2-0 shutout victory.

This time, DeForest found itself in a different position five days later, trailing early.

But Burdick knew her team wasn’t going to quit.

“I knew my team could do it, and they wouldn’t give up, so I just had faith in them,” Burdick said. “And I knew if I played my best, then there was really nothing else I could do, besides believe in myself.”

With Wauwatosa East striking early, DeForest was searching to find a way to wiggle in a goal against a stubborn Red Raider defense that boasted a 3-5-2 defensive formation.

In response, Norski coach Josh Howard said they tried to open up the field with their wings, spreading the back line to create space in the midfield. The goal was simple: to spread Wauwatosa East’s defense out.

Early in the second half, they did just that when a shot by freshman midfielder Allison Rusch sailed a hair high at the 53rd minute.

It was the lone shot DeForest had on the day.

“That was one of the opportunities that we were looking for, and it’s unfortunate that we couldn’t fall on the other end of it and capitalize,” Coach Howard said.

Threatening to tie the game up, despite being outshot by 18, is what Coach Howard felt best reflected his team’s mindset throughout the 80-minute game.

“We’re not going to go down without a fight,” Howard said. “We’re a young team, but we stayed mentally in the game, no matter where we were in the game. We had a long battle.”

While DeForest's season may have come to a close, it wasn’t without their touch of history. Thursday’s game was DeForest's first game ever at state as a program.

“It’s just great for the program, for the girls that paved the way before them from the very beginning until now,” Coach Howard said.

Throughout the playoffs, DeForest engineered a historic “Cinderella” run. Despite being the No. 7 in their sectional, DeForest reeled off four consecutive victories — Burlington, Waukesha West, Monona Grove and Edgewood — to secure a place to Milwaukee.

DeForest was the lower-seeded team in three of those four matchups.

Previously, DeForest’s deepest postseason run was the sectional final game, which happened just the previous season. They made sure to flip that record on its heels in a hurry.

“It’s sad that we’re not playing on Championship Saturday, but I’m extremely happy for the team and being able to put a mark on our program history,” Coach Howard said.

“And now, we just keep building on this.”

PLAYER STATS

Pos # Player Sh SOG G A

------------------------------------------------

GK 0 Kobi Burdick 0 0 0 0

2 Allison Rusch 1 0 0 0

6 Marissa Titel 0 0 0 0

8 Skylar Spridco 0 0 0 0

Additional details

9 Alyssa Annen 0 0 0 0

10 Nona Jean 0 0 0 0

11 Ania Jean 0 0 0 0

12 Alayna Eoff 0 0 0 0

13 Violet Colwin 0 0 0 0

15 Hailey Estness 0 0 0 0

18 Graci Morrison 0 0 0 0

Substitutes

------------------------------------------------

3 Mary Stubris 0 0 0 0

4 Olivia Osborne 0 0 0 0

5 Brooklyn Tutaj 0 0 0 0

14 Ema Rincon 0 0 0 0

Totals 1 0 0 0

GOALKEEPING

# Goalie Minutes GA Saves

-----------------------------------------

0 Kobi Burdick 80:00 1 11