By Rich Palzewic
Sports Editor

DE PERE – Coming into its Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 2 regional final game against West De Pere, the Pulaski girls’ soccer team was considered an underdog by many.

As a No. 7 seed, the Red Raiders pulled off the upset over the No. 2 Phantoms in a 1-0 victory June 4 at West De Pere High School.

Pulaski sophomore Ellie Mangold’s first-half goal in the 19th minute was the only tally of the game.

Pulaski sophomore Ellie Mangold scored the only goal of the game. Rich Palzewic Photo

“I saw my teammate Brianna (Kapla) coming down the field with the ball, and she sent a perfect ball to the middle,” Mangold said. “I ran as fast as I could to it and saw the goalie coming out. I tried to put my foot on it and get it toward the net. I was excited to see it go in the back of the net.”

The win for the Red Raiders advanced them to a sectional semifinal game Thursday, June 9, against Fox River Classic Conference rival Green Bay Southwest, who won its regional final game against Slinger, 5-1.

The victory for Pulaski (9-7-2) also avenged an earlier-season loss to West De Pere (11-6-4).

The Red Raiders lost to the Phantoms April 11, 1-0.

“We lost a tough one to them earlier in the season,” Mangold said. “It was a close game, so it gave us the confidence we could compete.”

Pulaski Head Coach Kelly Logue said she was “extremely proud of her team.”

“What a great group of girls,” she said. “They’ve worked hard all season, overcame a lot – it was a total team effort.”

Logue said her team didn’t focus on the seedings.

“We focused on our game,” she said. “We knew anybody we faced was going to be a good team.”

Pulaski’s seeding might have been a bit deceiving, though, because when those came out, the team was 4-7-1 and had lost six games to weather at that point.

The Red Raiders ended the season by winning four of their last five regular-season games and outscored their opponents 13-0.

Another key moment in the game came during the 57th minute.

Pulaski goalie Ella Sasse came out of goal to try and corral a bouncing ball but collided with a teammate.

The ball deflected back toward the goal with West De Pere’s Faith Walder bearing down on a golden opportunity to tie the game.

But before Walder could get off a shot, Sasse hustled back and grabbed the ball.

“That was a key moment, for sure,” Logue said. “(Sasse) showed her leadership and determination on that play. Nothing was going to get into the net.”

Other local regional final scores

Division 1: Appleton North 2, Bay Port 0; De Pere 6, Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln 0

Division 2: Green Bay Southwest 5, Slinger 1; Cedarburg 8, Ashwaubenon 0

Division 3: Notre Dame Academy 4, Xavier 0