By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
GREEN BAY — High school soccer is officially back in northeast Wisconsin.
Notre Dame Academy received two goals from Leonardo Rodriquez and two assists from Christian Martinez in a 4-0 non-conference victory over Kaukauna Sept. 17 at Ted Fritsch Field.
“I thought we came out a bit rusty,” said Martinez. “Once we started to communicate, we knew we had to get our combinations and shots on goal up. I thought we passed the ball better after the first few minutes of the game.”
It took eight minutes for the Tritons to get on the scoreboard after Martinez sent a left cross to Rodriquez, who beat Kaukauna goalkeeper Ryan Vanderlois to make it 1-0.
Notre Dame added to its lead in the 21st minute of the contest.
After the Galloping Ghosts punched the ball out of play in their zone, Tritons midfielder John Sack sent a corner kick in, which Sam Limoni knocked home from 6 yards out for a 2-0 advantage.
Notre Dame controlled a majority of the first half, but near the end of the first 45 minutes, Kaukauna’s Miguel Diaz Baez sent in a curving 25-yard shot, but Tritons goaltender Omar Cendejas made the save.
With a two-goal lead entering the second half, the Tritons made it 3-0 after the combination of Martinez to Rodriquez again struck for the second time in the game.
“It’s been fun to see Christian develop into the leader he is,” said Michael Prudisch, Notre Dame head coach. “I know his sophomore year he had a torn ACL, and then last year, he went from a non-starter to a proven passer and scorer throughout the season.”
With less than four minutes remaining in the contest, the Tritons were awarded a penalty kick, and Emmet Lawton tallied the final goal.
“We’ve put in lots of work in the offseason to get to this point,” Prudisch said. “We kept going back and forth in August whether we thought we were going to be on the field or not. I’m grateful our administration, specifically Athletic Director Matt Koenig, put in the work to get us a schedule after the rest of the FRCC (Fox River Classic Conference) postponed its seasons to the spring.”
Box score:
Kaukauna: 0,0—0
Notre Dame: 2,2—4