By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
DE PERE – Midway through the season, the De Pere boys’ soccer team didn’t pick up a victory for two weeks.
But now, the Redbirds are hitting their stride when it matters most.
No. 8-seeded De Pere picked up a 3-1 victory Oct. 19 over No. 9 Green Bay East in a Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) Division 1 regional semifinal game at Cloud Family Field at De Pere High School.
De Pere’s Kevin Ramirez scored all three goals in victory for the Redbirds.
“With it being our last home game of the year, it’s exciting,” De Pere Head Coach Martin Valenzuela said. “We knew we could do it if we worked hard. The boys put the work in.”
Andrik Diaz got an early look for the Red Devils when he sent a shot toward goalie Evan Engel, but the shot was stopped with ease.
After a few more good looks, East’s Mauricio Vazquez was issued a yellow card in the 20th minute for not making a play on the ball.
Midway through the first half, the tide turned to the Redbirds after Kevin Ramirez notched his first goal of the night in the 26th minute for a 1-0 lead.
“(Ramirez) is one of our best players,” Valenzuela said. “As long as his teammates are there to support him, he’ll get the results like he showed tonight.”
A bit later, with De Pere pushing the offensive button, Jacob Calewarts and Noah Maki moved the ball to Ramirez, who made a defender miss and launched a ball into the back of the net for a 2-0 advantage.
The Red Devils didn’t go home without a fight.
A minute later, the Redbirds failed to clear their zone, and Ahmed Abdi put in a goal from the middle of the field to cut the margin to 2-1.
With De Pere holding a one-goal lead at halftime, neither team came out with much offensive firepower to start the second half.
With about 15 minutes remaining, East nearly tied the contest after Andrew Hale sent a corner into Hayden Josephs.
Josephs’ shot went over the crossbar, barely missing its mark.
De Pere took advantage of the missed opportunity when Ramirez scored his third goal of the night in the 67th minute to end the scoring.
“It means everything to me to step up like we did tonight,” Ramirez said. “I’ve been out several games, so I’m happy to be back and contribute. We get another opportunity against Bay Port.”
The Redbirds advanced to face the top-seeded Pirates in a WIAA regional final game Saturday, Oct. 23, at Bay Port at 1 p.m.
“We need to stay focused on the game at hand,” Valenzuela said. “The boys know they can play with anybody. We have each other’s back, and these boys want it. We’ll be ready to go.”
Other area Oct. 19 scores
Division 1: No. 2 Green Bay Preble 10, No. 15 Manitowoc Lincoln 0.
Division 2: No. 1 Pulaski 10, No. 8 Merrill 0; No. 2 Kaukauna 3, No. 7 Green Bay West 0; No. 4 Wausau East 3, No. 5 West De Pere 1; No. 3 Green Bay Southwest 3, No. 6 Ashwaubenon 1.