Phantoms stay on top

DE PERE – On Tuesday, Oct. 15, the West De Pere Phantoms (11-4-2 overall, 9-0-1 conf.) faced off against the No. 2 team in the Bay Conference, Xavier(13-6-1 overall, 6-3-1 conf.), in an effort to lock in their top spot in the Bay Conference standings — a 4-0 win did just that.

An Aidyn Gauthier breakaway gave West De Pere another opportunity but his shot deflected off a Xavier defender and soared just outside the near post in the 36th minute.

Phantoms forward Evan Capelle launched a shot off a moment later, but after Xavier’s keeper pushed it over the crossbar, the game remained in a 0-0 stalemate going into halftime.

However, the second half was a different story entirely.

Xavier’s Ethan Long found himself in a 1v1 with West De Pere’s keeper in the 50th minute that the Phantom defense was able to recover and defend out.
A cross by West De Pere’s Landen Arnstad, dummied by Grayson Birder at the penalty line for a Payton Woldt shot over the net seemed to shift the momentum in favor of the Phantoms.

A shot from half field by  Pelayo Mata-Gonzalez rang the crossbar and resulted in an own goal when Xavier defender Ben Kaufman attempted to head the ball out and it ended up in the back of the net.

The Phantoms capitalized and continued to widen their lead with another rocket from half field in the 70th minute by Capelle to give them a 2-0 lead.
Just 1 minute later, Capelle cleaned up a mess in the box, smashing a volley into the goal for a 3-0 lead.

Finally, a header by Kasey Kamler in the 35th minute off a cross to the PK line put the game away for the Phantoms with a 4-0 final score.