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.
“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